Sunday, December 7th: Ballard-Made Cookware, Seattle’s Oldest Winery, Beautifully Bound Journals, The Best Canned Tuna Ever & Crepes!

Forged iron cookware from BluSkillet at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

What do local food, local art and your Ballard Farmers Market all have in common with this photo? Only the best gift ever for the cook in your life! These hand-forged iron skillets made by Blu Skillet Ironware are beautiful, cook foods perfectly, can go from stovetop to oven to grill to campfire, and are made right here in Ballard! And while they will go toe-to-toe with the finest cookware available anywhere, and they are so special that they were recently featured in the Wall Street Journal, they are made for you, the good people of Ballard, because that’s just how they roll. I’ve used one of these every day for over a year, and I love it. And so will you and yours!

Refillable bottles (left) from Wilridge Winery at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

How do you keep the good times rolling this holiday season while minding your impact on the environment, saving money, and supporting the oldest winery in Seattle? Why, with these refillable 1.5 liter bottles of wine from Wilridge Winery, that’s how! Available in three different varietals, these are good, sturdy table wines that will keep you and your guests happy, and you can get them right here today at your Ballard Farmers Market!

Canned local albacore tuna in a variety of flavors from Fishing Vessel St. Jude at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

As colorful as any holiday lights, these cans of albacore tuna from Fishing Vessel St. Jude are quite simply the best canned tuna you will ever taste. They come in many different flavors, but more importantly, they contain the young, North Pacific albacore caught by St. Jude — low in heavy metals and high is beneficial omega-fatty acids. Don’t pour off the liquid in the can, like you do with that corporate canned tuna from the Big Box stores. St. Jude doesn’t add any water. That liquid is the natural juices of the tuna itself, or in other words, it’s pure flavor. Oh, and canned tuna from St. Jude makes for great stocking stuffers!

A savory breakfast crepe from La Crespella at Ballard Farmers Market. Photo courtesy La Crespella.

Our buddies Samuele & Sara Lucchese, the culinary geniuses behind Pasteria Lucchese, are branching out! Starting today, they will be offering fresh sweet and savory crepes at your Ballard Farmers Market. Look for La Crespella for fresh, delicious, creative crepes made with Market-fresh ingredients!

Handmade leather bound journals from No Boundaries at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

These beautiful, handmade, leather-bound journals from No Boundaries Books are each unique. They are made in Seattle, feature hand-stitched domestic leathers and 100 sheets of recycled cotton paper sourced from India. The leathers, their colors, and the paper itself varies from book to book, so no two are the same. Some come with gorgeous stone clasps, and they are available in a variety of sizes. They will allow you and yours to preserve memories in a wonderfully memorable package!

Ozette potatoes from Alvarez Organic Farms at your Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

This could be the last week for our friends from Alvarez Organic Farms at your Ballard Farmers Market until the asparagus starts popping out of the ground next spring. So load up on onions, garlic, dried peppers and beans, pepper wreaths and these Ozette potatoes today, while you can. And remember, garlic, onions and potatoes make great stocking stuffers, too!

Seasonal gluten-free deliciousness from nuflours at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

‘Tis the season for gluten-free holiday treats from nuflours gluten-free bakery. Flavors from peppermint to cranberries, to delightful cookies and festive cakes and brownies, nuflours will make your holidays that much more bright, especially if your diet requires you to avoid wheat products.

Reishi mushroom concentrate from Ascended Grounds at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Ascended Grounds makes a lovely variety of concoctions out of medicinal mushrooms, from teas to coffee infusions to chocolates, and more. They will boost your immune system during the cold, dark, wet months. And what better gift can you give than the gift of good health?

One-ounce recycled gold coin from Itali Lambertini at Ballard Farmers Market. Photo courtesy Itali Lambertini.

Itali Lambertini makes stunning gold jewelry in Port Townsend using recycled gold. That means no war, no corrupt mining rights and no sooner-or-later environmental catastrophe is necessary. But maybe you are just looking for a gift for a youngster that they can hold onto as an investment or an heirloom. Consider one of these one-ounce recycled gold coins. They are individually minted by Itali Lambertini, and they are pure gold without any government bank involved. Save the salmon in Bristol Bay. Save your drinking water. Save a mountain in North Central Washington. And invest in the future of our youth, both in coin form and by treading lightly on the planet they will also inherit from us.

Growlers and growler coolers from Soda Jerk Fresh Soda at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Don’t forget to make provisions for the designated drivers and the kiddos attending your holiday parties. Pick up a couple of growlers of fresh sodas from Soda Jerk Soda right here at your Ballard Farmers Market! And right now, when you purchase a growler, they will throw in an insulated shoulder bag for a special price! These bags allow you to carry your growler in comfort, keeping your hands free for additional shopping and to carry other bags. And don’t forget their soda syrups! Both the syrups and the sodas make for great mixers!

Carolina models a beautiful garlic braid from Kirsop Farm at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Beautiful and delicious. Well, I was talking about the garlic braids, but I guess that statement covers Kirsop Farm’s Carolina, too! But back to the braids… they make for a nice, natural decoration for your home from which you will be able to harvest heads of garlic for months to come. And, as if it really needs saying… they make a great gift!

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, October 31st: BOO!!! How About Some Market Treats!

Dante Rivera, owner of Dante's Inferno Dogs, slinging dogs at your Ballard Farmers Market. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

I spent Saturday afternoon partying with Dante Rivera, his staff and his friends, family and fans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Dante’s Inferno Dogs. In fact, Dante’s is the same age as your Ballard Farmers Market. We both were born in the summer of 2000 here on the mean streets of Ballard. One could say we grew up together. In fact, Ballard Farmers Market has nurtured, or incubated, a number of businesses over the years. Indeed, it is one of its roles. Today, let’s take a look at our five prepared food vendors, four of which developed their businesses by vending at Ballard Farmers Market to the point where they now have storefronts. And vending at Ballard Farmers Market seems to give our vendors a unique sense of community that they carry with them as they grow, as evidenced by Dante’s support of other Market vendors in his business, and the party he threw today. Thanks, Dante!

Devra, owner of Patty Pan Grill, slinging fine veggies quesadillas at Ballard Farmers Market. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Patty Pan Grill is another one of our bedrock vendors. You may be one of the throngs of people who enjoy one of their veggie quesadillas every Sunday, but you may not realize that Devra gets most of those veggies directly from our many farmers each week. You should just see her load up on boxes of veggies at the end of the Market each Sunday. And if you can’t wait to get your weekly fix, you’ll be excited to learn that Patty Pan Grill just opened, last week, a new storefront at 23rd & Madison in the Central District, just a short distance from our sister Madrona Farmers Market. The menu there will change daily and will be seasonally based, using ingredients from our Market farmers and other local farms.

Veraci Pizza co-owner Marshall Jett being interviewed by Food Network Canada. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Veraci Pizza is another Market vendor that now has a storefront — theirs at 5th & Market here in Ballard. From Veraci’s humble beginnings with its pizza oven wagons in our market system, Veraci Pizza has expanded to operating multiple wagons throughout the Seattle area on any given day, as well as doing so in Portland and Spokane, too. So great has the legend of Veraci grown that Food Network Canada interviewed owner Marshall Jett at Ballard Farmers Market earlier this year for a series they are doing on great street food in North America, due to air in the next year.

Fresh, hot mini donuts from Market Mini Donuts. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Market Mini Donuts is our most recent addition. It is a sibling business to Ballard Farmers Market’s founding farm, Anselmo’s. These little suckers are nothing short of addictive, and since they’re small, you don’t have to feel as guilty about polishing off a dozen of them! They actually were slinging their donuts at Dante’s party yesterday afternoon. Their chocolate coated donuts, if you ever get a chance to try them, are outrageously good. I finally forced myself to stop eating them when, well, they ran out.

A typical wall of humanity cued up for Anita's Crepes. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

You may wonder why I don’t have a lovely, close up photo of Anita’s Crepes, our fifth prepared food vendor, that also now has a storefront of its own, on Leary Way across from Hales Brewery in Frelard. Well, the simple answer is that the line at Anita’s is always so long, it is hard for me to get close enough to get such a photo. You see that black canopy on the left in the photo above? That’s Anita’s. Now, you see that sea of humanity stacked up in cue for Anita’s Crepes — that wall of people? They wait patiently for a long time to get their crepes. I am not going to risk my life by trying to barge into that line, or get inside their booth and slow them down, lest that mob becomes unruly!

Whole grain emmer, rye and wheat from Bluebird Grain Farms. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Hey, there’s lots of other deliciousness to be had amongst the many tables of your Ballard Farmers Market. Bluebird Grain Farms is here today, but then they’ll be gone for a couple of weeks, so stock up on grains and flours now. Today will likely be the last for corn, peas, tomatoes and many other sensitive summer crops, so grab them while you can. Mind you, it is the last day of October. In a normal weather year, these crops would have come and gone weeks ago! Autumn Martin returns with her Hot Cakes! today. Yunmers! These little cakes that you take home and pop in your oven that come out all molten chocolate are to die for! And you’ll find lots of great fall crops, from apples and pears to winter squash, sunchokes and Brussels sprouts.

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!