Don’t Forget the Sweet Delights and Beverages

This weekend is famous for the Extreme Sport of Easter Egg Hunting.  It’s a good idea to have something on hand that will replenish energy and lift your spirits before the day is over.

Ballard Farmers Market has what you need.

Jonboy Caramels – A Perfect Sweet Treat 

But be careful, you can’t stop at just one.

Jonboy Caramels. A taste of bliss.

*****

We can’t forget the Pies.

Deborah, and her pies at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Ask Deborah about the marathons she runs every year.

These pies have local farm-sourced ingredients and the best Crusts.

*****

Pete’s Perfect Toffee

The Pete behind Pete’s Perfect Toffee. Photo copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Share these toffee bark pieces with your loved ones. They will delight everyone.  All who savor this treat will smile as they whisper   “Yum” repeatedly. Or, you may want to take home a package of his signature “Perfect” toffee. A treasured heirloom recipe passed down by Pete’s grandmother, it can turn into a favorite for your family too. Pete will sample whatever you’d like to try.  When you taste Pete’s fudge, you’ll want to share it. And tell Pete a joke.  He loves them.

Pure bliss in a square called bark. Pete’s Perfect Toffee at Ballard Farmers Market.

*****

Nuflours Gluten-free Bakery

Heavenly Brownies from Nuflours Bakery at the Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Nuflours Bakery is 100% gluten free.  They have creamy macaroons, cupcakes, lemon bars, multi-grain bread, rolls, and much more.  All of it moist & delicious.

 *****

Whitehorse Meadows Blueberry Farm is Back

Stop at Valerie’s canopy to pick up a package or two of these wonderful berries.  Frozen fresh from last season, they are perfect little snacks for kids of all ages, and make nutrition fun.

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

*****

Truffles from Soulever Chocolates. Photo copyright by Zachary D. Lyons.

Handcrafted Vegan Truffles by Soulever Chocolates

*****

Remember the Liquid Refreshments

Soda Jerk Sodas 

Soda Jerk Sodas-Maker of handcrafteed sodas and mixed jellies. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Sodas are available in Growlers.  Cory makes pure Syrups and Fine Jellies too.  You can use these Syrups to create your own signature drinks.  Fun.  Delicious..

*****

Communi-Tea Kombucha

Fresh kombucha from CommuniTea at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Refreshing and nutritional.

 *****

Midweek Update for Wednesday, October 22nd: Sunchokes, A Recipe From Nash’s, Sweet Potato Chips, Keta Salmon Skeines & More!

Poblano peppers from Stoney Plains Organic Farm at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

In this epic year of peppers, even Westside farms like Stoney Plains Organic Farm are getting in on the action. In fact, apparently, they have a gargantuan harvest of these gorgeous poblano peppers in progress right now. So if you want to get your chile relleno on, this is the time to do it! Stop by and grab a big bag full this Sunday at your Ballard Farmers Market!

Organic pink lady apples from ACMA Mission Orchards at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Pink Lady apples are one of my favorite eating apples. They are super crisp, sweet, and have just the tiniest hint of tartness. They have become a standard here in the Northwest in recent years, helped by their openness to long storage while maintaining their quality. Enjoy some of the first organic Pink Lady apples of the season this week from ACMA Mission Orchards at your Ballard Farmers Market!

Sunchokes from Summer Run Farm at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Sunchokes are in the house! North America may not have any native potatoes (though we Northwesterners lay claim to the Ozette as our own), but we do have this tuber, a member of our beloved sunflower family. You can eat them much like potatoes, including making soups, mashes, root roasts and even home fries. And they have the added benefit of actually being good for blood sugar levels. Yes, the skins are edible, and they can be eaten raw. When cooking, it is good to cut them and then put them in a bowl of water with some lemon juice in it to keep them from turning color on  you before you drop them in the pot, steamer or baking dish. Enjoy a true American native crop this fall! These are from Summer Run Farm, the winners of the first farm to bring sunchokes to Market this season award.

Arugula from Nash’s Organic Produce at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Nash’s Organic Produce has begun to harvest a bumper crop of arugula, and to that end, Devon has shared with us another great recipe, though I can’t help but ponder how this salad might be using some of their own delicious whole grains, or perhaps subbing some Glendale Shepherd fresh sheep cheese.

Quinoa, Beet and Arugula Salad

• 1/2 lb. beets
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1/2 lb. arugula, chopped
• 5 oz. goat cheese

Cook beets until tender, peel and slice. Bring water to boil, add quinoa, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Whisk vinegar, olive oil, honey, garlic, salt, pepper together. Remove quinoa from heat, add 1/2 of salad dressing, cover refrigerate for ½  to 1 hour. Stir in onion, arugula, goat cheese, beets and remaining dressing, toss and serve.

Fresh Puget Sound Keta salmon skeines (eggs) from Loki Fish at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

With the annual Puget Sound Keta salmon season in full swing, Loki Fish has lots of fresh salmon skeines (salmon roe) available right now. Make your own ikura, or use them in any number of ways, from garnishes to salads and soups to sushi and more. Ask the fine folks at Loki for ideas this Sunday at your Ballard Farmers Market!

Sweet potato chips from Lyall Farms at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Lyall Farms has begun to harvest its wonderful Beauregard sweet potatoes from their fields in Sunnyside. And that means not only the sweet potatoes themselves at your Ballard Farmers Market, but these awesome sweet potato chips. If you love sweet potatoes, get thee to Lyall Farms this weekend!

Blueberries from Hayton Farms at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Finally, we finish up this midweek epistle with these beautiful blueberries from Hayton Berry Farms. This Sunday will be Hayton’s last for the 2014 season at your Ballard Farmers Market. It has been a berry season for the record books, but it had to end sometime, right? So why not load up for one last hoorah of fresh berries for this year, before you begin pining away as you await the first berries again next May.

Sunday, August 24th: Prolific Crops of August, 2014!

Bags of pickling cucumbers from Stoney Plains Organic Farm. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

As growing seasons go here in Washington, few in memory have been more epic than the summer of 2014. Crop after crop has come in earlier, produced larger yields and tasted better than ever before. And one such stunning crop is pickling cucumbers, which have been with us in earnest since a mind-blowing June! These particular bags of pickling cukes come from Stoney Plains Organic Farm. As you can see, their cukes are nice and straight, making them ideal for packing in mason jars for pickling. And you can get these bags pre-sorted by size, such as “extra small,” “small,” “medium” and “large,” so if you are putting up a lot of pickles this year, you can just get the size you want in one of these bags and make your like much easier. I have been pickling Stoney Plains cukes since the mid-1990s. I used to get them from Terry’s dad, Bob Meyer, at the Olympia Farmers Market that he helped found in the late 1970s. In fact, Bob also help found Washington Tilth Producers, Washington State Farmers Market Association and the Organically Grown cooperative distributors. We lost Bob back in 2002, but all of us who love great, local food here in Washington still owe him a great debt of gratitude, and I, for one, dedicate one jar of pickles to his memory every year!

Hot chile peppers from Alvarez Organic Farms. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

I was over visiting Hilario and Eddie Alvarez on their farm in Mabton, Washington on Friday. Alvarez Organic Farms now counts the number of chile pepper varieties they grow at more than 400, many of which are new varieties without names that have resulted from crossbreeding amongst the other varieties. Don Hilario took me on an exhaustive tour of his pepper fields (well, it exhausted me, but I think he could have kept going all night), and just when I thought I had seen every pepper on earth in the many acres of peppers in the fields behind his house on the mother farm, he said with pride, “Okay, now let me show the farm where we grow the bigger varieties of peppers!” I think that farm had more peppers on it than the mother farm. Hilario grows them all with pride, and his son, Eddie, brings them by the truckload to us here at your Ballard Farmers Market every Sunday. For that, we are all grateful. 2014 is an extraordinary year for peppers, too, with the hot, dry, sunny days making their plants produce more peppers that are more colorful, sweeter and hotter than ever! Enjoy.

Fresh basil from Growing Things Farm. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

It is time to get your pesto on, folks, or whatever you like to do best with fresh basil from Growing Things Farm! Their basil is so beautiful and fragrant right now, ready for your caprese salads, that fish, that perfect dessert with peaches and more. I had the good fortune of visiting Michaele and her crew on the farm on Thursday in Duvall, and to see their robust basil fields. This is food grown with love!

Purple Sensation pears from ACMA Mission Orchards. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Say what? Yes, these are a new crop of pears. These are organic Purple Sensation pears from ACMA Mission Orchards, just in time for packing in the kiddies lunch bags (say it ain’t so!). And in case you haven’t noticed, this year has seen the fruit trees of Washington put out record fruit sets of the most delicious fruit ever, earlier than ever. See, global warming does have its up sides.

Tomatoes from Colinwood Farm. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Tomatoes. If you aren’t relishing 2014’s absolute abundance of tomatoes of all kinds, you must not love tomatoes. Because many of us live through the cold, dark, wet months solely for the promise of farm fresh, vine=ripened tomatoes come summer, and this summer’s bounty is enough to carry us through two Northwest winters. These gorgeous maters are from our buddies at Colinwood Farm in Port Townsend.

Blueberries and raspberries from Hayton Farms. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Just in case you missed the memo, raspberries are back in full force now from several farms. These are from Hayton Berry Farms, up in Skagit Valley. They’ve also got these lovely blueberries currently, as well as their most prolific blackberry harvest in years. Yes, this continues to be an epic year for berries folks. Make sure you take advantage!

Bratwurst from Skagit River Ranch. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Holy cow! Labor Day Weekend is next week! Time to get ready. Load up on sausages, steaks, chops and more from Skagit River Ranch today, and get grilling with the family while everyone is all in one place at the same time for the last time until Thanksgiving!

Baby red romaine lettuce from One Leaf Farm. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Look kids! It is adorable little heads of baby red romaine from One Leaf Farm! The summer of 2014 has been great for lettuce, too. One Leaf grows a lovely selection of heirloom lettuces that are beautiful and delicious. But like so much else this summer, you had better enjoy it now with vigor, lest you regret missing it come December.

Fortune plums from Collins Family Orchards. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

We are getting into serious plum season now, with such deeply sweet and complexly flavored varieties such as these Fortune plums from Collins Family Orchards from Selah. They are big, juicy and ready to eat, and you have to admit, they are also gorgeous, eh?

Eggplant from Alm Hill Gardens. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Spectacular eggplant from Alm Hill Gardens awaits you today at your Ballard Farmers Market! I enjoyed some simply pan-fried last night. Awesome. Eggplant, like peppers and tomatoes, comes from the summer-loving nightshade family, and that means it, too, is having an epic year. Try some on the grill, alongside those sausages!

Fresh kombucha from CommuniTea. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Have you had a refreshing bottle of kombucha from Communi-Tea Kombucha lately? Then today’s is a good day for one! Communi-Tea brews its kombucha in Seattle’s Central District. It is real, unfiltered, and comes with a small amount of naturally occurring alcohol, so you have to be 21 to buy it. But that means this is honest kombucha. And it comes in eco-friendly refillable bottles, too!

Jersey cow yogurt from Samish Bay Cheese. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Looking for Jersey cow yogurt? Samish Bay Cheese, from Bow, Washington, has it! They offer it in plain and Greek, and occasionally they have seasonal flavored versions. Samish Bay also has a great lineup of award-winning cheeses, as well as grass-fed beef and pastured pork. Yummers!

Raisin pumpernickel bread from Sonhomish Bakery. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Have you been on the lookout for a nice raisin pumpernickel bread around Seattle, but been frustrated in your search? Snohomish Bakery has you covered! So grab a loaf today, and enjoy the toast you’ve been missing tomorrow!

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, August 10th: Happy Farmers Market Week!

Happy National Farmers Market Week! Check out this list of all the amazing benefits markets like your Ballard Farmers Market provide to your community. (You can download this image just by clicking on it.) And guess what else? Your Ballard Farmers Market just won Seattle Weekly’s Readers’ Choice Best Farmers Market Award for at least the fifth year in a row! (Honestly, we’ve lost count. And thank you!) Oh, hey, we’ll have great recipe cards for Farmers Market Week from Washington State Farmers Market Association today at the Market Information Desk, too.

Copia (top) and Brandywine tomatoes from One Leaf Farm. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

One Leaf Farm is rocking the Brandywine and Copia tomatoes right now! The Brandywines (bottom) may not be the most flamboyant of tomatoes, but they are one of the most delicious — the perfect vehicle for salt and mayo, or on a BLT, or in a simple caprese salad. Copias, on the other hand, are quite flamboyant. Just look at all their different colors and stripes and shapes and sizes! Plus, they are awesome to eat, and they will add a ton of character to whatever creation they join!

Pan-roasted padron peppers from Alvarez Organic Farms by Chef Derek Ronspies of Le Petit Cochon. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Padron peppers from Alvarez Organic Farms as pan-roasted by Chef Derek Ronspies of Le Petit Cochon last week during his cooking demonstration at our sister Wallingford Farmers Market. Consider this as enticement to visit today, AND as a recipe. Get your skillet nice and hot, with a high-heat oil, toss in the padrons and pan-roast until tender and a bit browned. Finish with a good sea salt. Eat. You’re welcome!

Rubels blueberries from Whitehorse Meadows Organic Blueberry Farm. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

These are Rubels blueberries from Whitehorse Meadows Farm. They are a domesticated wild huckleberry from the East Coast. The berries are small and full of flavor, and they remind me of the wild blueberries we used to pick while hiking up Cadillac Mountain in Maine’s Acadia National Park. I remember I used to eat my weight in them.

A saffron crocus in full bloom at Phocas Farms. Photo courtesy Phocas Farms.

Our pal Jimmy, from Phocas Farms, tells us that he’s still got some saffron crocus corms available today for you to plant to grow your own saffron, and that if you get them today, you still have time to get them in the ground so that you can harvest them this fall! Yep, these beauties bloom in the fall. See those gorgeous red threads in the flower above? That’s the saffron. So grab some today, and start your own little saffron plantation! Oh, and he’s got a little bit of last year’s saffron harvest left, too!

Lodi apples from ACMA Mission Orchards. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Guess what? It is already apple season! The first apples of the year are now arriving at your Ballard Farmers Market. They tend to be tart, green-skinned varieties, like Ginger Gold, Gravenstein, Shamrock, and these organic Lodi apples from ACMA Mission Orchards.

Carrots from Nash’s Organic Produce. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Nash’s Organic Produce is going carrot crazy this week! Besides these sweet and crunchy bunch carrots, they’ve got plenty of their five-pound bags of Nash’s Best Carrots, as well as big bags of juicing carrots. So get down with your bad, carrot-loving self today at your Ballard Farmers Market!

Cherry plums from Tiny’s Organic. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

From the pages of the confused fruit handbook come these cherry plums from Tiny’s Organic Farm. But unlike so many other stone fruits that have been hybridized to create things like apriums, pluots, nectarcots, peachcots and more, cherry plums are actually a true plum, not a cross betwixt cherry and plum. They get their name from their small, cherry-like size and their color. But they have the flavor and texture of a plum. So mix it up this week and try yourself something new… or actually old, in this case.

Baby cabbages from Stoney Plains Organic Farm. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

And under the heading of learning something new every day comes these little, baseball-sized baby cabbages from Stoney Plains Organic Farm. You see, after they harvest the full-sized cabbages in the field, they leave the cabbage plant there, and it grows a second, smaller head of cabbage… this cabbage. Who knew? So, if you need just enough cabbage for one serving of cole slaw, or perhaps you want to braise or grill little, individual servings of cabbage, this is for you!

Rosa-Hale peaches from Martin Family Orchards. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Free-stone peaches have arrived. There is a family of peaches, all with the word “Hale” in their names, and these are the big, yellow, sweet and juicy peaches for which Washington is famous. They come freely off of their pits, ergo the term “free-stone,” and that makes them ideal for cooking and canning, as well as just eating fresh. Think of the pies, cobblers, preserves, salads, and more! These particular peaches are Rosa-Hale peaches from Martin Family Orchards.

Soft-ripened Tallulah cheese from Glendale Shepherd. Photo courtesy Glendale Shepherd.

If you love stank cheese like I love stank cheese, then this cheese is for you! Meet Tallulah, a soft-ripened sheep’s milk cheese from Glendale Shepherd. This is the kind of character-rich cheese that would make a Frenchman weep. If you prefer to wrestle with your cheese instead of waltzing with it, you gotta get you some Tallulah today at your Ballard Farmers Market! Oh, and this just in: Glendale Shepherd as also begun packaging a five-cheese shredded blend of their sheep cheeses for easy sprinkling on pastas, salads, grilled sandwiches, roasted veggies and more.

Collard greens from Oxbow Farm. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

I loves me some Oxbow Farm collard greens! Sautéed until just tender with some lovely bacon from Olsen Farms, Skagit River Ranch or Sea Breeze Farm, and some heirloom garlic from Jarvis Family Garlic Farm, how can you go wrong? It is delicious and nutrient dense, and it makes a great side for so many proteins, or just build dinner around the collards themselves!

Canned salmon from Loki Fish. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Do you have guests visiting from out of town who want to bring home a taste of Seattle’s famous salmon with them? Loki Fish makes it easy! Just get some of their canned salmon. It is self-stable, comes in a convenient, sturdy carrying case, and when they get it back to Dubuque, it’ll be better tasting than any other fish they can get there! (It ships well, too.)

Pain au Chocolat from Snohomish Bakery. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

There is just something about a chocolate croissant, you know? Flaky, buttery pastry wrapped around deep, dark chocolate… meow! I heart them! And Snohomish Bakery makes some lovely ones that they offer to you right here at your Ballard Farmers Market. Grab one to snack on at the Market, and a few more for tonight’s dessert!

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.