Main Street Farmers Market is a dynamic new produce/meat market that emphasizes local foods and their importance on the economy. This week, the market will sponsor a series of events promoting the local food economy.

One of the tastiest events will be held Friday evening. Participants will meet at GreenSpace, 63 E. Main St., to engage in a discussion on local food and how it affects the local culture, community, ecology and economy. The event will focus on how to grow a stronger food system by working holistically. The keynote speaker will be Sandor Katz, author of "Wild Fermentation" and "The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved."

After the talk, 212 Market, Lupi's Pizza (downtown, Hixson and Brainerd), St. John's/St. John's Meeting Place and Tienda Jalisco will have Main Street Farmers Market menu specials.

For a listing of all the events during the market's Chattanooga's New Food Economy Week, log onto www.chattanoogafarmy.com. The market is on Main Street across from Hiroshi's. It's open 4-6 p.m. Wednesdays featuring produce and meats from a dozen area farms.

After a mention of Bright School's summer cooking camp, I received another recommendation for children interested in cooking.

"Cooking With Books," a summer camp session at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, combines cooking with reading. Children read books that mention food items, then go into the kitchen and create the dish in the book. It's a way of learning the fundamentals of cooking while tossing in a bit of reading, science and math, said Cindy Storey, camp director.

The camp will be held 9 a.m.-noon July 13-17. It is open to rising first- through third-graders and will cost $125. For more information, call 622-1481 or log onto www.myolph.com.

I was saddened to learn of the recent destruction of blueberry bushes at Bollenbacher's Blueberries in Sweetwater, Tenn., causing the farm to be closed to pickers this year.

Gus Bollenbacher explains: "There was a big crop of berries on the plants in May, but on May 15 there was a storm with 6 inches of rain, high winds and dime-size hail that removed most of the green berries from the bushes. Then there was another storm in early June that finished the job."

There are other blueberry growers in the region, including Tidwell's Berry Farm in Spring City and Varnell's Blueberry Hill in Sale Creek. At Blueberry Hill on Gann Road in Hixson, farmer/owner Bob Fazio said the berries are looking perfect and should be ripe and ready for picking the week of July 4th.

Speaking of blueberries, here's an easy, delicious recipe to add to your files. It comes from "Cooking for Two" from America's Test Kitchen, home of Cook's Illustrated, one of my favorite resources for recipes and cooking tips.

Blueberry Crumble

Avoid instant or quick oats in this recipe. They are too soft and will make the crumble mushy.

1/4-1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Salt

2 cups fresh (not frozen) blueberries

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and chilled

Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 F. Combine 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Gently toss the berries with the sugar mixture. (If the fruit tastes tart, add up to 1 1/2 tablespoons more sugar.) Divide the berries between 2 (12-ounce) ramekins (see note).

Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt together in a medium bowl. Add the butter to the bowl and, using your fingers, blend the butter into the dry ingredients until dime-size clumps form. Pinch together any powdery parts, them sprinkle the topping evenly over the berries. Do not press the topping into the berries mixture, or it may sink and become soggy.

Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the topping is deep golden brown, about 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Let the crumbles cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before serving with a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of ice cream.

Note: The crumble may be prepared in an 8 1/2- by 5 1/2-inch baking dish. Also may be easily doubled or tripled if serving more than two people.