1 of 6
Mama Sugo's logo includes a representation of the spoon that doled out love and discipline in owner Vito Lafata’s youth.
2 of 6
Felted alpaca wool felted over soap -- a two-in-one at shower or bath time.
3 of 6
Yarn and fibers from the alpacas.
4 of 6
Simple Girl spice blends add flavor to foods sans calories.
5 of 6
The all organic ingredients for Stellie Bellie's Not-so-Chocolaty-Mousse.
6 of 6
Stella Brockman, left, and her mother, Diana, cooks and owners of Stellie Bellie.
The Tower Grove Farmers' Market opened for the 2016 season on April 16. The Market is open every Saturday until fall from 8 a.m. - 12: 30 p.m. SLM's Pat Eby caught up with some of the new vendors. This is part two of her series; part one can be found here.
Alpacas of Troy
Warm, fuzzy, and soft rules at Alpacas of Troy farm stand at TGFM this summer with softly spun cones of yarn and fiber. They sell practical alpaca products, too, like soaps enclosed in a wooly felted blanket that do double-duty, a washcloth and soap in one, or dryer balls that soften clothes without the use of fabric softener or dryer sheets. You’ll even find notecards with photos of likeable alpacas who seem to stare out from the cards, a ‘who-are-you?’ look on their placid faces.
Jeff Suchland raises the fine animals for their plush fiber. He also sells young alpacas to other farmers anxious to start or improve a herd. At the farm, classes in knitting and spinning bring in money too. He teaches shearing classes as well and shears his own herd. (SLM took a trip to the farm earlier this year.)
The activities bring in cash or save money, but to farm profitably, Suchland added one more alpaca product to his mix. Alpaca meat. The meat is lean and sweet with cuts similar to lamb. “The chops are probably the best cuts or the ground meat. I often cook shanks, long and slow, as you would lamb,” he says.
Interest in the meat ran high on opening day. “Alpaca is a staple of diets in some countries but it’s not well known here. Selling meat is another way to promote sustainability. Not every animal is good for fiber,” he says.
Later Saturday evening, images of alpaca burgers cooking on the grill came up on my Facebook page from a satisfied Tower Grove customer, so read up on alpaca meat and if meat isn’t on your shopping list, pick up some dryer balls or add some yarn to your knitting basket at Alpacas of Troy.
Healing Acres Farm
At Healing Acres Farm website farmers Mark Moore and Cindy Hatton proclaim “Fresh food is good, local is better, and healthy is best.” They raise their animals humanely, grass-fed and finished, not just because it’s trendy, but because grass-fed animals produce higher quality, nutrient-dense meats.
Hatton and Moore, who is also certified natural health practitioner, grow the kind of food Moore believes his clients should eat: hormone free meats and poultry, produce raised from non-GMO seeds grown without pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. “Mark’s dad died of cancer at a too-young age,” Hatton says. “Good food is one of the keys to health, which is why we started Healing Acres.”
Hatton and Moore raise interesting and heritage breeds. Here’s a few of the many: Scottish Highland cattle, hogs from a Tamworth x Red Wattle cross (right), Katahdin sheep, Kiko and Myotonic goats and so many breeds of chickens the henhouse must look like a united nations of birds.
In addition to chicken eggs, shop here for goose eggs. They’ll also have a selection of microgreens and seasonal produce as well as some value-added farm fermented foods.
Mama’s Sugo Sauce
When Vito Lafata (right) decided to bring his mama’s simple and delicious sugo sauce recipe to market, he did it right. He bottled a fresh-as-summer tomato sauce with a buttery-rich mouthfeel and a lush texture. He even added his mama’s wooden spoon to the label. “That spoon? It stands for love, for stirring the sauce and for discipline. Mama used it both ways,” Lafata says.
You can pick up Mama’s sauce at Straubs or at Mama’s Sugo Sauce website, but if you stop by Tower Grove Farmers Market, you just may have a taste and a conversation with Vito, whose other business is Vito’s Sicilian Pizzeria & Ristorante on Lindell.
Simple Girl
Stop by the Simple Girl stand on the third Saturday of each month at TGFM for sugar-free all-natural barbecue sauce, salad dressings, spice blends and hot sauces made right in St. Louis. Tiffany Prinster first teamed up with her mother, Linda Prinster, and her aunt Leanne Mennemeier in 2008 when the three worked with people on restricted diets who needed ways to make food taste better.
“Today, more people than ever want foods that are free of sugar and chemicals,” Tiffany Prinster says. “We rebranded ourselves in March of 2015 as ‘Simple Girl.’ We’ve grown from a web-only business to distribution in Straub’s and in 12 Dierberg’s stores as well as at the farmers market.”
Stellie Bellie
Baby, Stella, and Diana Brockman have something good for you. “Grown people can find good healthy take-out foods at a number of places, but not babies,” Diana Brockman says. “My daughter Stella, who is a nurse at Mercy Hospital in labor and delivery came up with the idea of fast, healthy foods for babies made with no preservatives, fresh as you can get.”
The mother-daughter team will bring three different fresh offerings to market each week. Bring a cold-pack with you to take home the treats. Opening day offerings (all at right) included Not-so-Chocolaty Mousse made from all-organic avocados, bananas, dates and orange juice with a bit of Kakao cocoa for color; Go-GREEN Beans; and Crazy Good Breakfast Quinoa with apples and a hint of cinnamon.
“Our main testers are baby Zoe, 6 months, who is in the video on our Instagram page, and my niece Birdie, who is 7 months old. We keep it in the family and make our food in the kitchen at The Wolf, which is owned by my sister Denise Biribin and her husband, Bob,” Diana Brockman says. “Opening day a woman bought our Go GREEN Beans as a treat for her dog that she brought to the market in a stroller.”
Alpacas of Troy
555 S. Ridge
Troy, Mo
636-465-9218
Healing Acres Farm
Text: 217-361-6826
Voicemail: 217-522-4025
Mama’s Sugo Sauce
314-534-8486
Simple Girl
Stellie Bellie
