Iowa City Farmers Market kicked off its 51st season Saturday. Here are 5 vendors to try.
Homemade naan bread and chocolates. Big, salted caramel pretzel cookies. Custom woodworking.
Iowa City Farmers Market shoppers can get something to fill their bellies and walk away with some new home décor during the 51st season of the downtown market located at Chauncey Swan Park, which kicked off Saturday morning.
Dozens of vendors selling produce, baked goods, plants and more attended the first market of the season, which had more than 100 vendors sign up by the end of April.
The Iowa City Farmers Market runs through the end of October every Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to noon. Check out these five newer vendors the next time you’re at the farmers market.
Ansel’s Awesome Sauce
The hot sauces of Ansel’s Awesome Sauce are made for hot sauce lovers, said owner Ansel Cummings.
His journey with hot sauce began as a kid in rural Iowa, though he hadn’t been exposed to a sauce that was hot and complex in its flavor until about a decade ago. It inspired him to make his own hot sauce.
Ansel’s Awesome Sauce offers six levels of heat and two different blends — original and a smoked blend. They are the same sauces, except half of the peppers in the smoked blend are smoked with hickory wood chips, Cummings said.
All the ingredients used in Cummings’ sauces are locally grown. Carrots, onions, peaches, garlic and apple cider vinegar are among the ingredients that make up the base of Cummings’ sauces, which are amped up depending on the peppers used. A milder sauce uses serrano peppers and some of the hottest sauces use ghost peppers and Carolina Reapers.
“There's something here for everyone,” he said. “Whether you're very low on the introductory level or you are an experienced hot sauce fiend.”
Saatvik Swaad
Saatvik Swaad, translated to Divine Taste, offers both Indian baked goods and baked goods inspired by Indian flavors. The food is vegetarian or vegan as well. Neha Kuchhal started at the Iowa City Farmers Market last May. She was inspired by other vendors’ creativity to become a vendor herself and realized she had different flavors to offer shoppers.
“You feel like you have something you can serve to the people,” she said.
Kuchhal makes naan, a flatbread, with jalapeno cheese and cilantro garlic. She also makes chocolates — some in the image of delicate flowers — chai-flavored cookies and chessboard cookies. The latter comes with tiny chocolate chess pieces. Kuchhal will be at the Iowa City Farmers Market every other Saturday.
Timber Concepts
The Marion-based, family-owned woodshop and first-time Iowa City Farmers Market vendor does custom décor and furniture along with renting out their pieces for weddings and events.
Sydney Franklin is part of what is a largely two-person operation that began Timber Concepts to bring more high-end furniture options to Marion and the surrounding area.
Timber Concepts does not chop down any trees for their pieces, salvaging wood instead and using natural finishes.
“We don't want to use any chemicals ... we don’t want to use anything that you couldn’t eat off of directly,” she said.
Over the Moon Farm & Flowers
Over the Moon Farm & Flowers made its Iowa City Farmers Market debut last September, and though its time at the market was brief, it won Best Farmers Market Vendor from Little Village’s Best of the CRANDIC 2022 awards. The Delaware County farm grows seasonal flowers, including sunflowers, and sells pasture-raised chicken, turkey and duck, among more, said co-owner Anna Hankins.
Carson Bakes
Crumbl Cookie lovers, meet Carson Bakes. Carson Bodnareks’ puffy, large cookies with flavors like snickerdoodle churro with a homemade caramel sauce to coconut lime will satisfy folks looking for a unique cookie, though fans of classic flavors shouldn't worry. Bodnarek had traditional flavors including sea salt chocolate chip at Saturday’s market as well, though flavors will rotate throughout the season, he said.
Bodnarek, who is from Iowa City and bakes at home, said he is hoping to get his name out there during his first Iowa City Farmers Market season. Carson Bakes will be at the Iowa City Farmers Market for about eight weeks this season.
Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or 319-519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: New Iowa City Farmers Market vendors to try during 51st season
