By HOLLY PIERCE and WENDY DENNIS

MELROSE — The Melrose/Wakefield Monthly Winter Farmers Market will hold its next market day on Sunday, March 15 from noon to 4 p.m. at Memorial Hall, 590 Main St. in Melrose, and will continue on with its final winter season market day on April 19.

We had to miss our February date due to stormy weather but promise an extra special day on March 15. And, the heck with the Ides of March. March 15 is World Consumer Rights Day!

Fun fact: On March 15 1962, President John F Kennedy gave an address to the U.S. congress in which he formally addressed the issue of consumer rights. He was the first world leader to do so and the consumer movement now marks March 15 every year as a means of raising global awareness about consumer rights.

What is especially cool is that, this year, Consumers International (CI) has decided to make helping consumers choose healthy diets the theme of World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) 2015.

We will be sharing more information about WCRD 2015 and the market day on our website, via our e-mail newsletter and social media and, of course, in next week’s column here but, in the meantime, here is a preview of our March 15 market day:

We are looking forward to welcoming our new vendor specializing in Ethiopian food! Adey Foods will have ingredients for your own home cooking for sale as well as some tasty dishes you can purchase and try right at the market. Please join us in welcoming them to the market.

Chef Holly Pierce, aka Miss Holly, will be gearing this month’s cooking demo to our youngest cooks, although it is sure to be fun, informative and tasty enough to please kids of all ages. She will start food prep at around 1 p.m. on the upper level.

We were able to make room for three favorite vendors whose last visit was scheduled to be the market day we had to cancel last month. In Good Taste and Trow’s Treasures will be with us this month, as will Ackermann’s Maple Farm unless the sap starts flowing and they need to be in the woods harvesting.*

We will continue providing a “café seating” area on the stage where you can take a break from shopping and enjoy, along with a bite of Ethiopian food, a tasty beverage or baked treat from Pour Man’s Coffee, a sweet from Spindler’s Confections, a bite of Ethiopian food or a cup of delicious clam chowder from Roberto’s Seafood.

As always, there will be plenty of locally grown produce including winter squash, beets, onions, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, kale, collards, spinach and Brussels sprouts, pasture-raised meats, poultry, eggs and cheese, hard cider, fresh fish, dips, spreads, sweet and savory preserves, fresh baked goods, seasoning mixes, teas, cheesecake, hand crafted candy, root and ginger beers, soaps, candles and herbal products and handmade crafts.

Here are the vendors coming on March 15:

Farms and Food: Farmer Dave’s, Oakdale Farm, and Red Fire Farm, Lilac Hedge Farm, Shady Pine Farm, West River Creamery, Roberto’s Seafood, Bondat Foods, Samira’s Homemade, In Good Taste, Fior D’Italia, Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery, Swiss Bakers, The Popover Lady, Goodies Homemade, 7ate9 Bakery, The Roasted Granola, Coutt’s Specialty Foods, Vermont Gourmet Candy Dish, Doves and Figs, Soluna Garden Farm, Spindler Confections, Ackermann Maple Farm and, for our canine and feline friends, Emmett’s Edibles.

Beverages: Pour Man’s Coffee, Tower Root Beer, Far From the Tree Cider and Down East Cider.

Artisans: Halls Sugar Scrubs, Kittredge Candles, Mary Ellen Crafts, Sarah’s Originals and Trow’s Treasures.

In addition, there will be live music all market day by banjo extraordinaires Ed Britt and Don Borchelt.

Along with credit and debit cards via our Market Bucks system, the Winter Market also welcomes SNAP/EBT transactions in exchange for Market Bucks. The Winter Market will match SNAP/EBT purchases up to $5 per visit so all of our neighbors can afford to eat healthy local foods. Just stop by the Market Manager Table.

Our local farmers provide safe, nutritious food and also jobs that help boost our economy. Farmers Markets provide a unique opportunity for our farmers to sell the foods they raise directly to us, the consumer, which is good for all involved. And, our other vendors, while adding value to the market with their unique products, also benefit from selling directly to us. It’s a win-win and by taking part you are helping to create a more vibrant community and economy for everyone.

Now, as promised, here is the third recipe from Miss Holly’s January cooking demo:

Apple-wiches

• 2 firm, sweet-tart apples (Farmer Dave’s had some Gold Rush apples that I used)

• Smoked cheddar cheese (from West River Creamery)

• Regular or whole wheat flatbread (from Samira’s) Honey

These are super simple and totally yummy – both kids and adults were gobbling them up!

For the apples, Elyse at Farmer Dave’s introduced me to their Gold Rush apples (they look like a golden delicious with a firmer texture to them). She likened them to an Asian Pear and she was pretty right on. They are juicy, just sweet enough and have a crisp, firm texture to them. If you don’t have access to those, really, use your favorite apple. Slice them thinly and set aside while you get the rest of the ingredients ready.

You can either grate/shred the cheese or slice very thinly. I cut the flatbread into quarters and then opened each quarter up (kind of like splitting a pita open). Scatter some of the cheese on the bread, lay the apple slices on top and drizzle with the honey (many of our vendors had local honey with them). Cover with the top of the bread and pop in the toaster oven (or regular oven at 375) for about 7-8 minutes until the bread begins to get crispy and golden and the cheese is melty. A perfect after-school or snowy afternoon snack!

To contact Miss Holly, you can e-mail her at holly@thesoulchef.com or see www.thesoulchef.com

Also, go to our website and click the survey link on our website to help us choose the hours for next season.

See you at the market!