Nikki Madisen: Patron Saint of the Farmer’s Market
The orderliness of Nikki’s home challenges everything I know about cooking. Without a pile of unwashed dishes, a single fly, or an untidy towel in sight, I immediately understand that - to Nikki - cooking is a sort of sweet ceremony not to be betrayed by rush or disorder.
Ever a supporter of small makers, locally crafted treasures and trinkets are perched with quiet poise on tables and shelves. The lush houseplants throughout are a testament to Nikki’s inherent care and intuition for living things. Nothing is done en masse or without intention, and it is clear that Nikki’s exacting attention has created a home of presence and meaning. Even her first try at fresh pressed florals, from the summer farmers markets, has produced heirloom quality keepsakes tucked away in the pages of a hardcover edition of “Moby Dick”.
Who taught you how to cook?
No one taught me - I probably started really cooking when I was twenty. Growing up, food prep was the ultimate chore for my parents. My mom won't mind me saying she declared “I hate cooking” multiple times a week, every week. The running joke in our family was “the dinner is done when the smoke alarm is going off.” Mom would put it together and say “I made it. I'm done. I'm walking away.” There was not a lot of love for the food prep process, but it was a very supporting environment.
If I wanted to try making brownies, my mom would have a stack of books on hold at the library, ten videos she looked up, and she’d say, “you're going to do great.” She had ultimate confidence in me cooking.
It was very natural when I did start. I favored watching Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” and “Iron Chef” when I was about ten, so I had this basis of interest but didn't really want to try.
Off on my own, I learned out of desperation. It was a great way to learn… lots of doodling, lots of trial and error, lots of failure that came with learning a lot of good stuff.
Do you have any special early memories being in the kitchen?
My grandma was an amazing baker, but she was seventy when I was born. I was the last grandkid and happy to be in the kitchen, but it was kind of a chore for her at that stage.
She liked to cook very methodically and practically, spending an entire day baking then freezing it. When guests were over, she’d pull some out. I can picture every surface of the living room, dining room, covered in trays of fudge and pies and brownies, my grandpa's hand sneaking up which she’d slap. Now, with me, it’s Eric’s hand I slap.
You mentioned working from recipes earlier, can you speak to that?
I do favor a recipe as my starting point. I don’t really use cookbooks - it's a lot of Googling and then I have one master notebook that I jot all my notes in.
If I need to reference something, I kind have my own living timeline: what I tried, what worked, what didn't… I did inherit from my grandma old church cookbooks where all the ladies shared their recipes. Some were good but it's just so nondescript what my grandma wrote… she'd have a note in the corner like “too much oil”. Well what is the right amount of oil, grandma? What should I be doing?
There’s definitely some learning curve to it all.
What are some of your favorite items to cook?
Anything I haven't made yet - I love to try new things. I'm the collector type, so I like to collect hobbies and trinkets and recipes…
I find it exciting to try the next new thing - I think that's what's great about the market - learning about a new product or item I've never seen.
Jenn at Minnie Farms will have the most amazing varieties of squash I've never come across - suddenly it's this new inspiration to try cooking this ingredient that I've never had before.
Even just wanting to take advantage of what's currently in season - what are ten different ways I can prepare this eggplant?
It's just that inspiration that I think comes with cooking, but I have my favorites that I go back to.
I can see why you like baking — it’s very recipe specific. You can't really ad-lib except maybe with sourdough…
I love order - I love that kind of control - I think it lends well it's my personality. You can add flavors and things, but for the most part you need the exact measurements. You need the science. Baking just works better with my brain. I do love cooking - I think the measure your heart philosophy is fun, but I want to default to a recipe. It’s my comfort zone.
I'm guessing that when your mom was cooking, she was going from a recipe as well?
She had her Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and that was it. She got it from my grandma when she got married and then nothing else. I think when I got married, she gave me that year’s version of it.
But yeah, that’s her default - even if she made hard boiled eggs, she’d use that book. It worked.
Oftentimes, folks in our community compile collections of recipes… have you ever done that? Or would you?
I would love to do that! I think in the From the Ground market community it’s happening naturally and organically so it would be amazing to put them down in writing. I love seeing on social media how people like Nicole Boersma will share “I just made some stock today. My aunt wanted a video, so I’ll just post it for everyone here.”
There's obviously a desire to share and learn, so I think that would be amazing to have something like that.
What is an underrated ingredient you're often reaching for?
High quality vanilla - it’s my favorite thing in my pantry. For years I just bought the cheapest vanilla extract on the shelf, but, when I finally splurged, it upped the level of everything I made.
It’s such an underrated ingredient. Making my own eventually is a big goal, but for now Frozen Farms has this great vanilla bean paste. I get sad whenI run out because the bake just won't be the same.
As the Patron Saint of the farmers market (anointed by me) how have you seen the From the Ground Farmers Markets evolve?
That’s the only title I’ll be responding to from now on - I’ll put it on every name tag from here on out.
The markets are special place! When we first started coming to the markets, we weren't living here. We were still living in Wisconsin and making six hour trips each way to come every weekend.
I wanted to go to these specific markets. Wisconsin markets were missing that community piece that is so strong with our markets in the Keweenaw, plus there’s more vendors and a huge variety of goods.
It's authentic. It's genuine. It's people also searching for that same connection beyond just “here's your goods, here's my money” There's something deeper there and that never got lost.
All three markets have grown, and they're unique in their own way. This year is the first year I really got to take advantage of going to all three.
When we first moved here, my first market I went to Zach's table for mushrooms and he offered to build me this variety box with a little of each type of mushroom he had. It was this beautiful fungus bouquet that I spent the rest of the market walking around with. Nearly every person I passed stopped me to say something about it. It was such a connection organically; we all shared this joy for the experience of being at the markets, talking to each other about the things we love. That's really what kicked off my social media interest in posting market goods.
I thought if I'm experiencing this in just 10 minutes at the market, there's gotta be more in this community that I can become part of.
I never thought I'd be so grateful for Instagram. I connected to so many people and makers and community members.
Everyone's personality was as stellar as their produce.
I’m so thrilled to support and watch it continue to grow. The Patron Saint of the Markets is all I want to be.
What is your most used kitchen gadget?
My canning equipment I bought like 6 years ago. It’s a basic starter kit - everything came with it. It’s served me incredibly well - I've made hundreds of jars of jam and jelly with just that decent intro kit. It’s a good reminder that you don't need the most expensive tools to get the job done. I have purchased a few of those handy, gimmicky tools.
What ingredient would you like to see fresh locally? It could be possible or impossible.
First I think of citrus – I try to get my jams as like close to all local as possible and I could use local lemons and try marmalades.
Otherwise avocado - I'd love to just make a great guacamole like right off of the trees.
What is your favorite holiday to cook for and do you have any specialty dishes?
Thanksgiving is my favorite to cook for because we look forward to the leftovers as much as we do the actual meal. I purposely plan to double the green bean casserole this year because I want to eat it for a week. Plus I can make stock afterwards. I love how you stretch it all.
Pies are my specialty. There was one year recently when my mom said “I just want a buffet of pies. I think everything else is great, but just give me a buffet of pies” She asked if we could start with dessert - forget the appetizers. Honestly she was onto something - it was pretty legit. I had like 4 different pies and we grazed for the first hour before the actual meal.
Where they all sweet pies?
For the most part, yeah, those are my mom’s favorite. I first started making French silk pie which has since become a beloved Keweenaw dessert for me to bring everywhere.
Do you have any heirloom tools in your kitchen?
Eric's family is very much about tradition and his grandma’s was to give everybody that married into the family a piece from her crystal set. As a baker, out of all the pieces, I got an amazing dessert tray.
Can you talk some on your experience with cheese making?
I’m a self-taught cheesemaker. There are certain things, like milk and honey, and that are just better when sourced closer to home. When I started doing goat milk herd shares my first few batches of cheese were like rubber balls. They were so tough and hard – you could slice through it like mozzarella. Mozzarella is great, but that’s not what you’re looking for in a goat cheese in my experience.
So I did some trial and error: lots of YouTube videos, lots of checking out from the library, and then changing variables like my hang time.
I feel like I've gotten it down well, so now I’m on to trying add-ins.
Would you ever leave your current position to become a professional cheesemaker?
Danielle and Grace of Big Goat Farm have jokingly offered me a position when their dairy is up-and-running. I said sign me up – my application is already in! I watch a lot of cheese monger videos to learn about the different kinds and the aging process. I'd love to get into hard cheese making, but I've heard some horror stories.
But I do have imposter syndrome, so I never call myself a professional at anything. I do think that's what encourages me to keep learning though.
I would love to branch out more – I do feel like something’s on the horizon. I’m excited to see what continues to unfold and how my work evolves along the way. For now, I’m embracing opportunities as they arise and learning from the community around me.
Regarding seasonal eating, is there anything that you do from season to season?
When I was at the cool season market the other day, I was telling someone that my shopping mindset had shifted. It’s no longer “what am I going to make fresh?” but “how can I take what's available and have it last all the way through the season?” I’ll spend a day doing big batches of roasted veggies to freeze.
I started dehydrating and drying a lot this year. I’ll have a full pantry of all my own herbs. I even tried pressing flowers from my Ghost House Farm bouquet subscription.
What is one of the loveliest compliments you've ever received on your cooking?
I had someone tell me that my salsa was better than their mother's salsa. Anytime someone says “it's better than my mom’s ___” or “my dad's ___” – that’s a pretty high compliment.
The fact that something I made can draw out a similar feeling or emoition is a very powerful thing.
What makes you excited to cook for other people?
I love making notes in my phone when somebody mentions their favorite food or their favorite dessert. I’ll bring it to them later and often, they forget they said it and ask how I know. It brings this level of excitement to making something. I like to figure out how to make it taste just right for them.
You talk a lot about noticing these things that are specific to other people but how would you like to be cared for by this community?
I’ve already gotten so much care and general the support. I’ve been encouraged to dive in and just do the market next year. I think I'm going to pick one and just fully commit to doing a full season, so stop by my booth!
I had the absolute pleasure of organizing Harvest Moon Night Market with Gray and Danielle last year and connecting with the makers and vendors on that level was magical. We intend to keep organizing whimsical and community focused events so participating in the fun is a huge support!
