Fall is a fabulous time to enjoy cooking on the grill!  In our next Facebook Live event, Ashley Uphoff from The Bluffs Grass-Fed Beef will share tips on grilling the perfect flank steak while Elise Carey from EJ Terra will cook up a side dish to complement the meat.  Tune in on Monday, September 21 at 7:00 p.m. for fall cooking ideas with two of our producer-owners.

​After fine-tuning your grilling skills with our cooking demonstration, be sure to come by our next Pop-Up Market because we will be featuring that very same beef from the The Bluffs.  The Market is on Tuesday, September 22 from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.  Once again we will be in the parking lot behind the Purple Carrot Market Building (53 E Broadway) with four of our producer-owners offering fresh, local foods. 

Something special about this Pop-Up Market:  the Purple Carrot will have an apple press so that you can press your own apple cider.  Just bring a jug or container in which to bring your cider home. 

​Need some apples to press?  Ron from the Foothills Orchard (Owner #324) says they will have bushels of Sweet Tango, Cortland, and Honeycrisp apples.  Some of the apples are slightly damaged, but they will be perfect for pressing into cider and are ½-off the regular price.  In addition to their beautiful apples, the Foothills Orchard will have a variety of squash (from blue hubbards to pumpkins) that serve double duty:  they make wonderful fall décor as well as good eating.  They also still have  tomatoes (Roma, cherry, and heirloom varieties) and peppers (from sweet bells to the ultra-hot peppers).  If you are looking for something special or need larger quantities, please contact Ron at 320-420-7622 for more information or to pre-order items.

Ashley & Ross Uphoff from The Bluffs Grass-Fed Beef will have steaks, roasts, ribs, ground beef, stew meat, and beef sticks as well as chickens and free-range eggs. Learn more about the Uphoffs and their Scottish Highland cattle with our producer profile below.  All of their meats is in stock, so check out their order form to see all they have available.

Elise with EJ Terra (Owner #275) and Joelle (Owner #126) will bring a variety of jams and jellies, pickles, salsas, and salves.  In addition, Elise will have her homemade soaps and Joelle will bring her pickled beets, corn relish, sauerkraut, dip mixes, herbal seasonings.

To help our community stay safe, we ask the everyone maintain proper social distance and remember their mask during our Pop-Up Market.  Hand sanitation will be available and part of the apple pressing operation.

We look forward to seeing you at both events!

On Monday, September 25th the Purple Carrot Market hosted its 1st Annual Ownership Event at Jerry and Jackie Januschka's (Owners #94) elegant barn venue just outside Little Falls. Current owners and their guests gathered in this local space to enjoy fellowship, food, and great live music provided by local band, Down River Drifters. Collectively we learned more about each other, the Purple Carrot Market, and its stage of development.

Social hour featuring a veggie platter of local produce gave way to a tasty meal comprised of a salad, Shepherd's Pie, roasted squash and apple crisp that was prepared by Tomas Zimmerman (Owner #174) of the A.T. Black & White. From the veggies to the bread and all the way down to the coffee to enjoyed with dessert, the food was all sourced locally from farmers, growers and producers. Everyone enjoyed each other's company while an update was given on the Purple Carrot's current status. Attendees took in all the information and asked some great questions about what is next with the Market.

Many folks stayed after the dinner and short presentation to enjoy the live music, the venue and, most importantly, the community of being with each other. Several non-owners were so excited to be a part of this event and the Co-op, they chose to become the newest owners themselves! Families and established local businesses were among the 14 new owners that were welcomed last night! The gift of an ownership share was even presented to a family to be able to partake in the Co-op (Did you know you can gift a share?! It's a great gift idea for that someone who doesn't need any more knick knacks!)

All in all, it was an amazing event put on by the Purple Carrot Market. When the night came to a close, the Co-op welcomed 14 new owners which brings our ownership to 234 households. Let's keep making our dreams become a reality with sharing the knowledge of what the Purple Carrot can and will do for our community!

Special thanks to:

• Jerry & Jackie Januschka for providing our wonderful venue. Also for donating the grass-fed, organic ground beef for the Shepherd's Pie.
  
• A.T. Black & White for preparing our delicious meal.
  
• Sprout for sourcing veggies and resources to make this event happen.
  
• Thrivent Financial Action Team grant for the funds to help make this event happen.
  
• Down River Drifters- local band that provided live music which we all enjoyed.
  
• Reality Roasters for providing the coffee to help warm our souls.
  
• C21 New Horizons Reality for providing the bottled water.
  
• Riley Nelson with Dying to Film, LLC for capturing candid moments of the evening which will provide a lifetime of memories to come.
  
• Purple Carrot Market Board of Directors for all their collective efforts to make this event a success.  Particular thanks goes to Ally White (Owner #179) for chairing the event.