Sunday, April 28th: Pasture-Raised Chicken, Organic Asparagus, Cardoons & Adorable Little Lettuces!

Whole pastured chicken from Growing Things Farm. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

I remember my first Growing Things Farm chicken way back in 1999. I drove out to the farm in East King County on a rainy, muddy November day and picked it up, fresh, to bring up to my family in Bellingham for Thanksgiving dinner. It was the first time my family had ever had chicken instead of turkey on that holiday. And boy, howdy, were we thankful! My dad, who grew up on a farm, was thrilled to eat a chicken that tasted like, well, a chicken! And I, for the first time, learned what a chicken was supposed to taste like. We’ve been eating chickens at Thanksgiving ever since! Well, Michaele has a fresh harvest of chickens today at your Ballard Farmers Market, so head on up to the 22nd Avenue end of the Market an grab one or three, and enjoy real chicken! You can thank me later. (Oh, BTW, there is a difference between “pasture-raised” and pasteurized.”)

Organic asparagus from ACMA Mission Orchards. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Been looking for certified organic asparagus? ACMA Mission Orchard has it! In fact, did you know that all of ACMA’s crops are now certified organic? Yup! So stop by and get your asparagus on today, and grab some apples, while you’re at it. Oh, asparagus, we love you so! Especially roasted in a hot oven with morel mushrooms from Foraged & Found Edibles and some green sweet onions, or grilled on the barby.

Tom Thumb lettuce from One Leaf Farm. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Under the heading of, “those are friggin’ adorable,” come these little heads of Tom Thumb lettuce from One Leaf Farm today at your Ballard Farmers Market. One Leaf loves growing all manner of lovely lettuce varieties, and this early spring lettuce is so sweet and crunchy —  you know you’ve missed it all winter long. Look also for Little Gem lettuce, as well radishes!

Stokesberry Sustainable Farm sausages by Link Lab. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Have you met the new lineup of link sausages from Stokesberry Sustainable Farm? They are made using Stokesberry’s wonderful forrest-raised pork by Link Lab Artisan Meats in Wallingford. They come in three varieties, from left to right above – Shiitake & Sage, Fremont Beer Bratwurst and Chipotle Tequila. Link Lab’s Fremont Beer Brats recipe is perhaps the best bratwurst recipe in Seattle, I dare say. So get thee to Stokesberry, and get your sausage on! Just save me a package of brats!

Cardoon from Oxbow Farm. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

No, this is not rhubarb. It is cardoon. A member of the artichoke family (not to be confused with Jerusalem artichokes, which are not related to artichokes at all, but are in the sunflower family), they grow tall and put out big, brilliant artichoke flowers that are edible. However, cardoon is most commonly harvested for the long stalks of its leaves, which are cooked by braising them in liquid. Like all things artichoke-y, cardoon is favored in Italy and throughout Southern Europe. Pick some up from Oxbow Farm today and experiment with it!

Rhubarb from Sidhu Farms. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

This is rhubarb! This rhubarb is grown by Sidhu Farms in Orting, along the Puyallup River — the most prolific rhubarb growing region in the United States. Rhubarb is technically a vegetable, though it seems most commonly used as an ingredient for desserts, which may explain why the State of New York reclassified it as a fruit in 1947. Of course, it makes for great sauces for savory dishes, too, as well as fabulous cocktails. But let’s face it — rhubarb crisp is a reason unto itself to live!

Carrots from Colinwood Farms. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Ah, carrots, how we have missed you! But carrots are slowly returning to your Ballard Farmers Market. Colinwood Farms was the first this spring with these lovely specimens (above). and while more and more are coming each week, they are still in limited supply, so get here early, if you want any. Otherwise, when you show up at the Market Information Desk at 2 p.m. asking about carrots, we may have to tease you. Consider yourself warned.

Al Pastor tacos from Los Chilangos. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Have you visited the newest prepared food vendor at your Ballard Farmers Market yet? Los Chilangos cooks up brilliant Mexican street food for breakfast and lunch every Sunday, using many ingredients from Market vendors. Their fish tacos are made with rockfish from Wilson Fish. Their pork comes from Olsen Farms. Their eggs are from Stokesberry Sustainable Farm. And they source cheese from both Samish Bay Cheese and Twin Oaks Creamery. Try finding another taqueria around here doing that!

Growlers and growler coolers from Soda Jerk Fresh Soda. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Right next door to Los Chilangos, you will find fresh sodas from Soda Jerk Fresh Soda to quench your salsa-induced thirst. Like their newest flavor, Lime-Cilantro-Jalapeno. You can get a cup of soda to go, or you can get a growler to take home and enjoy. Growlers are a half-gallon, and Soda Jerk now has these nifty new reusable growler cozies, to keep your soda cool and well-carbonated until you get it back to your fridge. Plus, growlers are refillable! Bring it back next week and exchange it for a fresh bottle.

Please remember bring your own bags every Sunday, as Seattle’s single-use plastic bag ban is now in effect. Also, please take note of our new green composting and blue recycling waste receptacles throughout your Ballard Farmers Market, and please make an effort to use them correctly. Each container has what’s okay to put in it pictured right on the lid. Please do not put the wrong materials in, because that drives up the cost of recycling and composting, and it can result in the entire container being sent instead to a landfill. Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated.

There is plenty more local deliciousness waiting for you today at your Ballard Farmers Market. Just check What’s Fresh Now! for a more complete accounting of what is in season right now.

Sunday, April 14th: More Asparagus, Baby Red Chard, Blue Oyster Mushrooms, Baby Summer Squash, Rhubarb, Green Onions & Sausages!

Asparagus from Magana Farms. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Ignore the thermometer, or you will miss out on all manner of spring deliciousness at your Ballard Farmers Market this week. Like even more asparagus. Yes, Magana Farms rejoins us today for the 2013 season, and they will bring with them plenty of asparagus. And Lyall Farms will also have plenty more asparagus with them today, too!

Baby red chard micro greens from One Leaf Farm. Photo courtesy One Leaf Farm.

These beautiful, adorable little micro greens are baby red chard sprouts from One Leaf Farm. Thinning time on the farm means stunningly deliciousness, delicate greens for us at your Ballard Farmers Market. Don’t go cooking these lovelies. Use them raw in a salad, or garnish a nice piece of fresh halibut from Wilson Fish with them. Of course, you’ll have to get to One Leaf and Wilson Fish early enough that they each still have these delicacies. Consider yourself warned!

Rhubarb from Oxbow Farm. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Oxbow Farm, newly returned to your Ballard Farmers Market just last Sunday, is also rocking the springliciousness with cabbage, collard and kale raabs, purple sprouting broccoli that is nothing short of jaw-dropping grilled alongside some of the first fresh king salmon of the season from Wilson Fish, and everyone’s favorite Oxbowteer, Alice. But really pleases me is the first rhubarb of spring — something I like to think of as the first fruit of the summer, even though it is a vegetable. Doesn’t your first rhubarb crisp of 2013 sound like a pretty nice dessert for tonight?

Farmer Jessie Hopkins of Colinwood Farms holding baby zucchini with blossoms. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Jessie Hopkins of Colinwood Farms always warms up your Ballard Farmers Market on the coldest, wettest days with his smile, but what really makes him happy are the first baby zucchini of spring. Fresh out of his greenhouses in the heart of Port Townsend, they come with the blossoms still attached. Cook them for a nanosecond, and maybe stuff those blossoms with some fresh chevre from Twin Oaks Creamery for a reach treat.

Blue oyster & shiitake mushrooms from Sno-Valley Mushrooms. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

One must arrive at your Ballard Farmers Market pretty early in the day in order to score some of these beautiful blue oyster mushrooms from Sno-Valley Mushrooms. And while their shiitake mushrooms stick around deeper into the market day, they also almost always sell out. If you haven’t tried these great, locally-cultivated mushrooms from Duvall, you are missing something special. Just don’t dillydally getting here for some!

Green onions from Gaia’s Natural Goods. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

What up! Yes, another spring favorite as arrived at your Ballard Farmers Market — green onions. No, these are not scallions. That is an entirely different oniony beast. Green onions are simply baby onions, usually produced as the farm — in this case Gaia’s Natural Goods — thins its onion fields in order to let the remaining onions stretch out into the beautiful, bulbous creations we will enjoy later in the summer. So, enjoy these kids while you can, as they will  be teenagers (a.k.a., spring onions), and then mature onions before you know it!

Sausage from Skagit River Ranch. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Did someone say sausage? With so much spring deliciousness to grill right now, from raabs to broccoli to mushrooms to greens to green onions, why not toss on some gorgeous sausages from up yonder in Sedro-Woolley, too? Skagit River Ranch is renowned nationally for its organic ranch and its practices, but we love them locally for the amazing meat and poultry they bring to your Ballard Farmers Market every week. For instance, have you ever tried their sweet Italian sausage (bottom-center, above)? They are so spot-on, they bring tears to the eyes of expat New Yorkers who long of a real sweet Italian sausage like they remember growing up back East. Just leave a package for me today, okay?

Frozen blueberries from Whitehorse Meadows Farm. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

There is no need to be missing local blueberries with your morning oatmeal this time of year. That’s because Whitehorse Meadows Organic Blueberry Farm has lots of them frozen from last year’s harvest. I just take a handful of them every morning and toss them in the bottom of my bowl, and then I dump my hot oats right over the top of them. Of course, they are also great for blueberry pancakes and muffins, a nice sauce, or whatever else you desire!

Making a breakfast burrito at Los Chilangos. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Then again, maybe you’d like someone else to cook breakfast for you this morning. How’s about a freshly made breakfast burrito from Los Chilangos, then? Los Chilangos is our newest vendor at your Ballard Farmers Market, and they are making their breakfast burritos using fresh eggs from Stokesberry Sustainable Farm, and potatoes and pork (in their homemade chorizo) from Olsen Farms! Their fish tacos feature fresh fish from Wilson Fish, and their are working into their menu many more ingredients from Ballard Farmers Market farmers, fishers and ranchers. I dare you to show me another taco stand, truck or shop in town that can say that!

Phocas Farms succulents nestled in a Daily Bird Pottery planter. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

We finish this week’s installment of all things delicious and wonderful at your Ballard Farmers Market with a little bit of the wonderful, and perhaps delicious… in its beauty! This lovely table top planter from Daily Bird Pottery is perfect on your back deck filled will adorable and colorful succulents from our own Phocas Farms! What a simple idea, eh? Stop by to see Darby at Daily Bird for the planter, and then head on down to see Jimmy at Phocas for some chicks to fill it!

Please remember bring your own bags every Sunday, as Seattle’s single-use plastic bag ban is now in effect. Also, please take note of our new green composting and blue recycling waste receptacles throughout your Ballard Farmers Market, and please make an effort to use them correctly. Each container has what’s okay to put in it pictured right on the lid. Please do not put the wrong materials in, because that drives up the cost of recycling and composting, and it can result in the entire container being sent instead to a landfill. Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated.

There is plenty more local deliciousness waiting for you today at your Ballard Farmers Market. Just check What’s Fresh Now! for a more complete accounting of what is in season right now.

Sunday, January 20th: Rockridge Ciders Return, Rapini, Dino Kale, Chickweed, Salad Mix & Other Signs Of Brighter Days To Come!

Honey Crisp Apple Cider from Rockridge Orchards. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Wow. Is it just me, or does everyone feel like we’ve been wandering about in a fog all week. I mean, seriously. But hey, we’ll take it, won’t we? Sure beats rain! Anywho, Rockridge Orchards returns this week, after a two-week hiatus, ready for action, and for your thirst. So swing by and get your fix of sweet and hard ciders, berry wines, cider vinegars and seasoned salts. Cuz you may not care who’s playing football today, but you sure miss you some cider!

Rapini from Stoney Plains Organic Farm. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Cold, foggy weather aside, there is hope that we are steadily marching forward toward spring. The days are getting longing — really, they are, even if the sunsets are overrun by fog every evening. And Stoney Plains Organic Farm has the season’s first rapini! Fresh out of their greenhouse, which affords them the luxury of thumbing their noses at Old Man Winter, this cousin of broccoli is a refreshing, energizing promise of spring to come, right now, in January. Enjoy!

Eggs from Alm Hill Gardens. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

This time of year, egg production slows a bit. See, just like us, chickens don’t particularly care for cold air and long, dark nights. There’s a lot of science stuff to explain it all, but suffice it to say that, well, they’d rather be in Cancun right now (where they’d be laying eggs like crazy, I’d imagine). The good news is, Alm Hill Gardens is bringing some of their eggs to Market right now, which is helping take up the slack. That said, if you want farm-fresh, local eggs this time of year, you best get to your Ballard Farmers Market early, as they will sell out earlier in the day than other times of year.

Rainbow chard from Full Circle Farm. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Looking for some tender greens to nourish your body and your soul? Full Circle Farm has lovely rainbow chard. Of course, they also have dino kale, spuds, beets, sunchokes and much more now, too. Full Circle is located just east of Seattle in Carnation, where they have become one of Western Washington’s most successful farms. Want local? How’s grown in King County sound?

Fresh sausages from Sea Breeze Farm. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

It’s golden ticket weekend at Sea Breeze Farm. That means that hidden amongst hundreds of packages of their sausages in their meat cases is one package of sausage that contains a golden ticket good for a $100 gift certificate to their restaurant, La Boucherie! Yuppers. And you’ve got eight different delicious, artisan sausages from which to choose: Toulouse, Campagne, Provence, Gremolata, Chorizo, I-Heart-Brandy, Finnochio-Dulce and Breakfast. And they are all amazing, made from the farm’s own meat and other local ingredients. You’ll want to spend all next week eating a different one each night, regardless of the golden ticket!

Dino kale from Children’s Garden. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Children’s Garden is another King County farm that has worked hard to extend its season in order to bring local deliciousness to you at your Ballard Farmers Market all winter long. Employing the use of row covers to help keep up temperatures for their greens, they are able to bring to you lovely, luscious leafiness like this dino kale right through the cold, dark months.

Herbal teas from Harbor Herbalist Teas. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Harbor Herbalist Teas makes wonderful herbal teas from local and regional ingredients, mostly grown on the West Coast. They offer a tremendous selection of soothing, comforting, healing, warming teas, with a flavor to please every palate. Come by and introduce yourself to your local tea maker, and take some home to help you shake off the foggy gloom this evening!

Chickweed, a.k.a., Satin Flower, from Nash’s Organic Produce. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Chickweed. It’s not just for your pet cockatiel anymore! In fact, it is a tasty, nutritious winter green that makes for a great salad or a nice garnish. Now, this ain’t your backyard’s chickweed. Chickweed has many, many varieties. This one is bred for eating and for helping farms fix nitrogen into their soil during crop rotation. And those smart kids out at Nash’s Organic Produce in Dungeness figured out it was the right over-winter crop to grow, as it serves that dual purpose. It’s about crop rotation, and it’s about economics for them, and for us, it’s about lunch!

Spicy salad mix from Colinwood Farm. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Last, but certainly not least today, is this gorgeous salad mix from Colinwood Farms. If you think you either need to forego salads during the winter in order to maintain a local diet, or you have to quit the local diet in order to get your salad on, you would be in err. Colinwood has their greenhouses in Port Townsend working hard, all winter long, cranking out delicious salad mix to keep us happy, healthy and sane!

Please remember bring your own bags every Sunday, as Seattle’s single-use plastic bag ban is now in effect. Also, please take note of our new green composting and blue recycling waste receptacles throughout your Ballard Farmers Market, and please make an effort to use them correctly. Each container has what’s okay to put in it pictured right on the lid. Please do not put the wrong materials in, because that drives up the cost of recycling and composting, and it can result in the entire container being sent instead to a landfill. Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated.

There is plenty more local deliciousness waiting for you today at your Ballard Farmers Market. Just check What’s Fresh Now! for a more complete accounting of what is in season right now.

Sunday, November 4th: Meat, Seafood, Poultry, Dairy: Local, Sustainable & Humanely-Raised Animal Protein!

Fresh ducks from Stokesberry Organic Poultry. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

This week, we pay tribute to the many farmers, fishers and ranchers at your Ballard Farmers Market who produce animal products. And we start with a farm that epitomizes why we all love to get our meat and poultry here: Stokesberry Sustainable Farm. See, they put it right in their name: sustainable. And it is important to note that sustainable is about more than just the environment. It is about how the animals are treated, what impact their meat will have on your health, how the farm and its animals impact the land they are on and the communities they are in, whether the business, and your support of it, are contributing positively to the local economy, and even the relationship one has with the farm… in this case, a direct one. It matters that the people who grow our food have real, actual faces. They are real, actual people. We come to know them over weeks and months and years, and we trust them like we would our doctor, lawyer or mechanic. All of this is part of sustainable. And part of your Ballard Farmers Market. Just some food for thought as you pick up a dozen eggs, a duck and some chicken fat today from Stokesberry.

Smoked holiday hams from Olsen Farms. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Olsen Farms travels farther than any other farm in the state to sell at farmers markets. They hail from the tiny town of Aladdin, so far up in the northeast corner of the state, it is almost in Alberta. Olsen may be best known for the 20+ varieties of potatoes they grow, but they also produce beef, pork and lamb. They’ll have these gorgeous holiday hams soon, and fall tends to be a good time to get sheep skins from them, too. And, of course, they make a nice selection of sausages, as well.

Tarantella, or belly tuna, from Fishing Vessel St. Jude. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Fishing Vessel St. Jude, based at Ballard’s own Fishermen’s Terminal, catches adolescent albacore tuna off the coast of Washington as it swims south from the North Pacific, where it spends its first year of life. Because it is still young, and because those cold northern waters are a little cleaner, they are very low in heavy metals. And that cold water also means they are higher in fat content, and thus rich in beneficial omega fatty acids. And the fattiest part of the fish is its belly. That’s what this Tarantella comes from. Canned tuna doesn’t get much more amazing than this!

Fresh sausages from Sea Breeze Farm. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Mmm. Fresh sausages. Fresh from George and the gang out at Vashon Island’s Sea Breeze Farm. Sea Breeze raises cattle, pigs, lamb, veal calves, chickens, ducks, the odd goat, and other tasty animals. They sell their meat from their refrigerated cases at your Ballard Farmers Market, and lovely charcuterie made at their Vashon butcher shop, as well as the aforementioned sausages, bacon, ham, and even raw milk products, cheese and wine.

Lard from Samish Bay Farm. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Lard is making a comeback, especially when it comes to fresh lard straight from the farm from happy, healthy, pastured pigs. This ain’t 1970s lard. And with the holidays will come baking season, and for the fluffiest biscuits and the flakiest pie crust, you will need lard. Well, Samish Bay Farm, perhaps best known for its cheese, also raises pigs and cattle. That means they offer pork, beef, yogurt, and yes, lard. Now, go make the best apple pie ever!

Pickled salmon from Loki Fish. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

For a real fall treat, try out some pickled keta salmon from Loki Fish. Loki is also based out of Fishermen’s Terminal, and the Knutsen’s fish for all five Pacific salmon species in Alaska by summer, and in the fall, they fish for keta and pink in Puget Sound. In fact, they have fresh Puget Sound keta salmon available right now! And they have the other species available flash frozen, smoked, canned, loxed, in burgers and sausages, and more! Oh, but the pickled keta. Yummers. Bring this to a holiday party, and you will be the hero of the day.

Fresh, local butter from Golden Glen Creamery. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

There is just something special about good butter, am I right? And this time of year, so many things just scream out for butter — from spuds to toast to hearty breads. Lucky for us, we’ve got really good butter — indeed, farmstead butter — right here at your Ballard Farmers Market from Golden Glen Creamery. They have it plain (salted and unsalted), as well as in a variety of fun flavors, from savory to sweet. Of course, they’ve also got plenty of great cheese still, too.

Beef steaks from Skagit River Ranch. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Sometimes, you just need a good steak. So how’s about one of these beauties from Skagit River Ranch? They’re grass-finished and raised on lush, natural pastures, and they never see grain in their diets nor the inside of a truck. Skagit River Ranch also raises pigs and chickens and turkeys and more… all on their happy ranch along the Skagit River in Sedro-Woolley. It is worth the trip up there to see it, if you can. In the meantime, enjoy the delicious products of their hard and passionate work right here at your Ballard Farmers Market! (And don’t forget to order your holiday turkeys and hams now!)

Smoked whole sides of white king salmon from Wilson Fish. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

The season may be over for fresh Washington coastal, troll-caught king salmon from Wilson Fish, but they still have plenty of it smoked and frozen. And if you haven’t tried their smoked king salmon, you do yourself a disservice. It is so rich and delicious, and frankly, unsurpassed. Imagine your holiday party with a side of smoked king like this on a platter in the middle of the table. Your guests will think you a god. Oh, and Wilson will likely have other local fresh fish, like rockfish, ling cod, true cod and others on and off through the winter!

Seastack cheese from Mt. Townsend Creamery. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Mt. Townsend Creamery, from Port Townsend, makes about a dozen different kinds of amazing cheeses. Just ask the American Cheese Society, with whom several of Mt. Townsend’s cheeses placed first, second or third in America in recent years. You can try them for yourself, right here, at your Ballard Farmers Market, because they will let you sample most of their cheeses. And you’re going to need lots of cheese over the next few months, right? Just don’t get here too late in the day, as many varieties will sell out before 3 p.m.

Oysters on the half-shell, on the beach at Hama Hama Oyster Company. Photo courtesy Hama Hama Oyster Company.

Now is a great time of year for fresh oysters, be they raw on the half shell (above), jarred for frying or making oyster stew, smoked or pickled. And Hama Hama Oyster Company has you covered for all your oyster needs. Plus, they’ve got Manila clams, Dungeness crab, crab cakes and more!

Whole pastured chicken from Growing Things Farm. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Let’s finish our stroll through all things animalicious this week with one of the most delectable chickens you will ever taste. Heck, my family eats these instead of turkey for Thanksgiving! Seriously. If you are still buying factory farmed chickens at the Big Box stores because they’re cheap, and you didn’t know that “free range” just means they get a little more room to move around inside a cage in a building for their entire lives, then you owe it to yourself to spend a little extra money for a real chicken from Growing Things Farm. Trust me. There really is a huge difference, and once you try one, you will never buy a Big Box store chicken again!

Finally, another reminder to please bring your own bags every Sunday, as Seattle’s single-use plastic bag ban is now in effect. Also, please take note of our new green composting and blue recycling waste receptacles throughout your Ballard Farmers Market, and please make an effort to use them correctly. Each container has what’s okay to put in it pictured right on the lid. Please do not put the wrong materials in, because that drives up the cost of recycling and composting, and it can result in the entire container being sent instead to a landfill. Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated.

There is plenty more local deliciousness waiting for you today at your Ballard Farmers Market. Just check What’s Fresh Now! for a more complete accounting of what is in season right now.