Northwest Farmers Markets ‘04

To Market, To Market…To Buy a Fat Plum, Bok Choy or Carrot

Home cooks are catching on to the craze of seasonal ingredients. Long the hallmark of Seattle chefs, who have earned the reputation of taking today-ripe ingredients and preparing them with a creative flair, now restaurant customers are celebrating the season’s bounty-spurring culinary creativity in their own homes.

Being close to the farm is making this cross-over from restaurant to home kitchen easy. Many local growers encourage farm visits to learn more about our region’s growing seasons and what crops are available. They are excited about what they do and are very knowledgeable about what they grow. A few have their own farm stands.

As "corny" as it sounds…. don’t forget the area fairs and agricultural expositions. Off the midway and past the corn dogs you will find helpful growers and producers of locally-grown goodies able to answer just about any question. Visit Puget Sound Fresh (www.pugetsoundfresh.com) for an update of what crops are at their freshest.

While traveling about the state, take advantage of fresh farm road food. For a statewide listing of farmers’ markets visit www.wafarmersmarkets.com.

Pike Place Market brings the bounty of our region to residents each and every day in downtown Seattle. Visit www.pikeplacemarket.org.

• Cooking demonstrations on summer Sundays teach market-goers how to take advantage of what is today-fresh. The Chef and Crop schedule for Sundays 2004 is:

• 6/13                 Culinary School Competition                             Asparagus

• 6/20                 Karen Jurgensen, Baci Catering                            
  Rhubarb          

• 6/27                 Matt Janke, Matt's In the Market
  Beets

• 7/4                   Tasting                                                             Strawberries

• 7/11                 Janice Vaughns, Dish D'Lish
  Greens

• 7/18                 Dan Pellegrini, Pink Door
  Mushrooms

• 7/25                 Ben Warner, Library Bistro and Bookstore Bar
  Fish/Shellfish

• 8/1                   Kraig Hanson, Cutters                                      Blueberries

• 8/8                   Mulugeta Abate, Pan Africa
  Peppers

• 8/15                 Brian Papenfuss, Alibi Room
  Summer Squash

• 8/22                 Peter LeVine, Vivanda                                      Peaches

• 8/29                 Naomi Andrade Smith, Villa Victoria
  Tomatoes/Tomatillos

• 9/5                   Dawnula Koukol, Café Flora Restaurant & Catering
  Eggplant

• 9/12                 Matt Dillion, Stumbling Goat
  Honey

• 9/19                 Bruce Naftaly, Le Gourmand
  Pears

• 9/26                 Carol Nockold, Dandelion
  Apples

On Wednesdays, through October, Pike Place Market celebrates organic growers. Farmers with organic goods are grouped together under the awnings - out front and accessible.

Saturdays, local celebrity chefs lead market tours. Items are selected and a meal is prepared from what is farm fresh on that day. Cost is $65 per person for the 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. tour and meal. The 2004 schedule includes:

• 6/26      Matt Janke, Matt's in the Market

• 7/10      Ben Warner, Library Bistro & Bookstore Bar

• 7/17      Peter Levine, Vivanda Ristorante

• 7/24      Wilfred Boutillier, Maximilien in the Market

• 7/31      Jim Drohman, Le Pichet

• 8/7        Daisley Gordon, Campagne

• 8/14      Mulugeta Abate, Pan Africa

For tickets contact: Ticket Window, (206) 325-6500, or purchase online at www.pikeplacemarket.org.

In Seattle, weekly farmers’ markets bring nature’s bounty to our neighborhoods. (www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org ) Here shopping becomes a treasure hunt as people seek to select the tastiest, freshest, ingredients. These gatherings of local growers, who make a living growing our food, bring a plethora of local and organic selections to the doorsteps of our communities. This July’s bounty includes: berries, cherries, lettuce, greens, field tomatoes, new potatoes, corn, cucumbers, peaches, apricots, summer squash and peas. Select on the sensual. Pick what looks, feels, smells, tastes good.

Neighborhood Farmers’ Markets

Wednesdays

Columbia City Farmers’ Market

3 – 7 p.m.

Now through October 15

Columbia Plaza at S. Edmunds

4801 Rainier Ave. S.

Thursdays

Lake City Farmers’ Market

3-7 p.m.

Now through October 16

Corner of NE 127^th and 30^th NE

Parking lot behind fire station

Saturdays

University District Farmers’ Market

9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Now through November 22

University Heights Community Center

Corner of NE 50^th and the "Ave"

 

Magnolia Farmers’ Market

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Now through October 18

Magnolia Community Center parking lot

2550 34^th Ave. W.

Sundays

West Seattle Farmers’ Market

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Now through October 30

Key Bank parking lot, Alaska Junction

Corner of 44^th S.W. and S.W. Alaska

In addition to bringing great tasting food to our mouths, there is music for our ears and cooking demonstrations for our brains.  Special events take place each week at the farmers markets. The successful on-site Chef’s Demonstration series returns in July to each Market. Produce tastings this season will give Market shoppers the opportunity to sample in-season more than 25 varieties of (cooked) potatoes, 12 varieties of pole beans and 18 varieties of fresh tomatoes that appear on the farm tables over the summer.

Area chefs have accepted the challenge of creating an on-site recipe using only fresh market produce available of the farm tables that very Market Day. They are charged with producing a dish for under $10, which will serve four people. This season’s schedule includes:

Columbia City Farmers’ Market

• 6/30     Matt Dillon, Stumbling Goat

• 8/18     Cynthia Hobbs, The Wellington

• 8/25     John Neumark, Serafina

 Lake City Farmers’ Market

• 9/9       Peter Raskin, Union Bay Café

• 9/23     Luis Balenciana, Mojito

 Magnolia Farmers’ Market

• 8/7       Mauro Golmarvi, Assaggio

• 9/11     Ludger Szamania, Szamania’s

University District Farmers’ Market

• 7/31     John Neumark, Serafina

• 8/14     John Sundstrom, Lark

• 8/14     Joseph Jimenez de Jimenes, The Harvest Vine

• 9/25     Kevin David, Oceanaire

 West Seattle Farmers’ Market

• 8/15     Wayne Johnson, Andaluca

• 8/22     Hajime Sato, Mashiko’s

• 9/12     Dan Thiessen, Salty’s

• 9/26     Charles Rameseyer, Ray’s Boathouse

Another method people are finding in gathering regional and seasonal goodies is by joining a CSA (community supporting agriculture). Select farmers make available a portion of their products on a share-only basis. Members of the CSA purchase their seasonal share with bushels, baskets and boxes delivered on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. The farmers know how much crop to plant, because they know how much they have pre-sold.

Don’t forget, area growers have more than fruits and vegetables. Nuts, eggs, shellfish, baked goods, meats and cheeses are being produced by many boutique producers.

Sometimes you may have to purchase more than what you think you need. Be creative and ask the farmer for suggestions. My husband and I buy beef from Hemlock Highlands in Sedro-Woolly who raise Highland cattle (www.hemlockhighlands.net). We subdivide the cut-to-order, naturally-raised beef with others. Our small-numbered household also arranged with Ninety Farms in Arlington (www.ninetyfarms.com) to deliver our CSA box every other week.

Going to market….with a star chef

John Neumark, executive chef of Serafina Restaurant, has led tours of Pike Place Market to help people uncover the hidden treasures within this labyrinth of opportunities. Chef Neumark suggests the following - whether visiting a big farmers’ market or a small roadside stand.

1. Bring cash. Most farmers do not have the ability to take credit cards so cash is king at the farmers' markets. Also, bring as many singles as you can. Change making is often difficult on busy market days.

2. Before you begin selecting items, stroll about to check out what is available and what looks the freshest.

3. Adopt a seasonal approach. Farmers' markets, unlike grocers, have only the most seasonal items. When it's gone, it's gone.

4. Taste and sample. If offered a taste, try it. Different farmers come from different growing regions and may have different varieties. Sample and savor.

5. If you don't recognize something, ask for a taste or ask the farmer for information. Don't forget to ask how to use it, prepare the item and serve it.

6. Bring a cooler so you can store your treasure. Bring a larger shopping bag to stash all those smaller bags of goodies you will gather.

Processing Produce

Taking advantage of nature’s bounty means that, once home, you have to pay attention to the handling of your treasures.

Tomato Talk

Summer’s bounty of tomatoes is bursting in many Seattle gardens and farmers’ markets.

·  Select tomatoes at various stages of ripeness. That way you will be able to enjoy them all week long, not just for a day or two.

·  To ripen tomatoes, put stem side up at cool room temperature (55 – 70 degrees) for a day or two. Do not place them on their shoulders, stem side down, on your windowsill. This will cause bruising. For speedy ripening, please tomatoes in a brown paper bag, stem-side up.

·  Do not refrigerate tomatoes, unless they are fully ripe or cut. While a day or two in the refrigerator should not hurt them, cold air does make tomatoes mushy.

Good Greens

Even organically-grown items will have some farm debris. Once home, all items should be inspected and washed to remove soil and insects.

·  To save weekday time, pre-wash and prepare salad greens, bowl-ready at a moments notice. Braising greens or those to be steamed can also be prepared and stored for a few days.

·  Keep cut greens in containers or bags with a slight amount of moisture to keep crispness.

·  Greens like to be stored in a cold, but not freezing, area of your refrigerator. Lettuce stored at too high a temperature will develop a pink coloring on the rib. Store greens away from apples, pears or peaches. These fruits emit a gas that encourages a russet spotting of greens.

Mina Williams/Summer 04