Sunday, April 24th: Fresh Washington King Salmon, Gorgeous Greens, Perfect Plants, Bunny-Earred Bread, Lovely Lavender & Pie!

Fresh, wild, Washington king salmon from Wilson Fish. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Happy Charlton Heston Week! That week in which, every year, ABC airs The Ten Commandments, complete with miracles, brilliant Technicolor, and a cast of thousands. (There were some other holidays this week, too. Please refer to your childhood and/or religious persuasion to identify those.) Also, Happy Opening of 2011 Washington Coastal Salmon Fishing Season!!! Woohooooooo! Yup, it’s back! Fresh, local king salmon from Wilson Fish. If you have never experienced some of Wilson’s fresh king salmon, well, you’ve never really had fresh king salmon before — unless you caught it yourself. This fish is so fresh, so say it’s from the future! But get here early. It will sell out fast.

Kale raab from Full Circle Farm. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

For a very short period each spring, it is raab season. Raab is the budding tops of overwintered crops of the brassica genus, like cabbage, kale and rutabaga, as they begin to flower before going to seed in spring. It is sweet, tender and delicious. Check out these spectacular kale raabs (above) from Full Circle Farm, and look for many other raabs on farm tables through your Ballard Farmers Market today.

Rhubarb plants from Stoney Plains. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Did yesterday’s warm sunshine get you thinking of gardening? Did you spend the day cleaning up your garden beds? And did you know that your Ballard Farmers Market is the best place in town to get plants for your garden? That’s right. Many of our farmers have great plant starts for your garden, like these rhubarb plants from Stoney Plains. Indeed, they have cabbage, sweet corn, even strawberry plants, as well as all manner of culinary herbs at Stoney Plains right now. So come get your garden on!

Bunny-eared baguette from Tall Grass Bakery. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

The bakers at Tall Grass Bakery got into the holiday spirit with this baguette twisted into bunny ears. Now, if they had formed one of their olive fougasse loaves into the face of Charlton Heston, I really would have been impressed!

Lavender plants from Woodinville Lavender Farm. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

This long, hard winter has been rough on a lot of normally hardy herb plants in many of our gardens — lavender in particular. Why not start from scratch with some beautiful, healthy and fragrant lavender plants from Woodinville Lavender Farm? Get them in the ground now, and they’ll develop strong roots and be ready to weather next winter after brightening up the yard all summer long!

Coconut cream pie from Deborah's Homemade Pies. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Did you promise to bring dessert to Easter supper today? And did you forget to make something? Never fear. Deborah’s Homemade Pies are here! And let’s face it — why would you even bother trying to make a pie yourself, when you can get the best pies in town right here at your Ballard Farmers Market from Deborah! Seriously. I would not lie to you about something like pie. You can thank me later!

There is much more waiting for you at your Ballard Farmers Market today. Just check the What’s Fresh Now! listings in the upper right-hand corner of this page for a more complete accounting of what is in season right now.

Sunday, March 20th: Farewell, Oh Winter Of Our Discontent!

Daffodils from Children's Garden. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Woohoo! It’s spring!!! Okay, that was not necessarily the snowiest winter ever, but it was one of the coldest. Heck, Seattle didn’t even have a high temperature in all of 2011 that was at or above normal until yesterday. Brrr. And we’ve noticed it on the produce tables at your Ballard Farmers Market, because cold, gray skies do not much food make. Ah, but it’s spring, and the sun (that’s that blinding fireball of an orb you’ve been trying to figure out) is out today in a bright blue sky (yes, that’s what the sky looks like without clouds), and Children’s Garden, as well as my own, has daffodils! And with that, we bid the winter of our discontent farewell, and wish it is not hit in the bum by the door on its way out.

Cascadian Edible Landscapes will help you eat your yard. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Besides daffodils, I’ve got violets and crocuses blooming in my yard, and ornamental cherries are finally in bloom all over the city. Heck, as I walked through Ballard on Saturday, I was shocked to find that I still had neighbors — lots of them! Yes, we have been starved for some sun folks, and we all were out worshiping it yesterday. I saw a lot of folks tending to their yards, prepped garden beds and pruning trees. Good on you. And now is as good a time as any to start making your yard more edible. Well, Cascadian Edible Landscapes returns today with all sorts of wonderful native plants that will feed you for years to come, so let them help you eat your yard!

Fresh mizuna from Stoney Plains. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

No, this is not a file photo. This is fresh mizuna from Stoney Plains that I captured just two weeks ago. Yes, green things are back, baby. Woohoodillihoo!!! Hey, I like root veggies and cabbage as much as the next guy, but lordy, have I missed me some leafy greens.

Red radishes from Colinwood Farms. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

And how’s about some new red radishes from Colinwood Farms?! A-friggin-men! Let me hear it, people!!! Yes, we are indeed slowly climbing out of that deep, dark, cold, wet hole that was winter 2010-2011. Adios, La Nina. We’ll miss you… not! Oh, Colinwood has some righteous salad mix right now, too.

Beautiful braising mix from Full Circle Farm. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Some braising mix from Full Circle Farm will cheer you about right about now, as well. Heck, anything leafy and green will, I’d say. Being the simplistic kinda guy I am, I like just lightly sauteing this stuff in olive oil with a bunch of garlic, but hey, maybe you’re into soup or quiche. Who am I to judge you?

Soft pretzels from Tall Grass Bakery. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

I know you’ve got some mustard in your fridge that is just dying to get slathered all over one of these soft pretzels from Tall Grass Bakery when you get home. That is, unless you eat them all before you get home. It’s a tough call, I know. But as your physician and your attorney, I recommend that you convince yourself that you will in fact make it home with some, but that you hedge your bets by buying some extras, so you can, in essence, have your pretzels and eat them, with mustard, too.

Chili sauce, sans garlic, from Four Sisters Gourmet Sauces. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

For me, there is no such thing as too much garlic. But for some, garlic can be their nemesis. And then there are simply times when garlic is not indicated. Well, the ladies from Four Sisters Gourmet Sauces — the folks who make amazing Vietnamese chili sauces from Alvarez peppers — are now making a version of their red chili sauce without garlic. Yep. And if that weren’t enough, they are also now making a version of their green chili sauce without any sugar! Thank you, sisters, for your thoughtfulness… and your delicious sauces, too!

Coconut cream pie from Deborah's Homemade Pies. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Okay, it’s time for dessert. So how about a nice coconut cream pie from Deborah’s Homemade Pies? Of course, it seems that every time I feature one of her pies on the blog, it is always the week she doesn’t actually have any of that kind. But never fear. All of her pies are awesome. If she’s out of coconut cream, just try one of her other pies. I’m telling you, these are the best pies in town. Had the Weekly considered Deborah’s pies when they belittled the so-called pie “trend” here, they’d have sung a different tune indeed. Her crust alone is worthy of a new religion. So, am I coming through on FM yet? Step away from your computer and get yourself down here right now and eat some pie!!!

There is much more waiting for you at your Ballard Farmers Market today. Just check the What’s Fresh Now! listings in the upper right-hand corner of this page for a more complete accounting of what is in season right now. But please note that due to our recent cold weather, some crops may not be available as anticipated.