Midweek Update, Thursday, November 13th: San Juan Island Sea Salt & Pinckney Cookie Cafe Return! Crabapples! Dried Beans & Dried Chiles!

San Juan Island Sea Salt at Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

You use salt every day… probably multiple times a day. Wouldn’t it be nice to get that salt right here at your Ballard Farmers Market, too? Well, now you can! San Juan Island Sea Salt Company returns this Sunday with their wonderful pond evaporated sea salt made on San Juan Island with the waters of our own beloved Salish Sea. Why not season your food with a taste of home, eh? And this will not be the last time you’ll here me say this in the next several weeks: it makes a great gift!

Wickson crabapples from Booth Canyon Orchard Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Don’t let this image fool you. These are tiny Wickson crabapples, not full-sized apples. It was developed by Albert Etter in Humboldt County, California by crossing two other crabapple varieties. Grown by Booth Canyon Orchard, they have a strong flavor suited well to making ciders. This Sunday is likely your last opportunity to get some of them this season.

Hurrerite (left), tiger, black & pinto beans, and hard red wheat, from Kirsop Farm Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Kirsop Farm from Tumwater joined our vendor ranks two weeks ago. Kirsop is a certified organic farm that grows a great diversity of crops, much like Nash’s Organic Produce and Alm Hill Gardens. In addition to Kirsop’s gorgeous veggies, which currently include magnificent romanesco and Pink Beauty radishes, they also grow lots of legumes and grains. Right now, you can get four different kinds of dried beans: hurrerite, tiger, black & pinto, and well as hard red wheat. All are great for hearty fall soups, stews, salads and more!

Dried chipotle peppers from Alvarez Organic Farms Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

While our friends at Alvarez Organic Farms bring the last of this year’s fresh peppers to your Ballard Farmers Market this coming Sunday, they will also have many varieties of dried chile peppers, including these chipotle peppers. Their dried peppers will keep for months, if you don’t use them first, and they are great added to all kinds of recipes. Try some of the chipotles mashed with some Lyall sweet potatoes, some garlic and a little maple syrup. Nummers!

Double chocolate chip cookies from Pinckney Cookie Cafe Ballard Farmers Market. Copyright Zachary D. Lyons.

Michael Pinckney returns with his Pinckney Cookie Cafe this Sunday at your Ballard Farmers Market. Michael makes his cookies using local flour from Shepherd’s Grain, and, as he likes to put it, the number one ingredient in his cookies (except the oatmeal raisin, of course) is chocolate. As I like to put it, they’re like Cougar Mountain cookies, only really good!

Sunday, May 18th: We Celebrate Our Norwegian Heritage, The Eruption Of Mount St. Helens, Our Generous Vendors & The Return Of Summer Run Farm!

Huge heads of lettuce from Summer Run Farm. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

As Ballard celebrates is Norwegian heritage this weekend, and Washington remembers when Mount St. Helens blew its top 34 years ago on this day, your Ballard Farmers Market welcomes back yet another farm for the 2014 season. That’s right! Summer Run Farm from Carnation has finally rejoined us, bringing with it those ginormous organic heads of lettuce for which they are so well known.

Hanging out on the roof of Hotel Ballard during the Farmers Market Dinner & Auction to Support Fresh Bucks. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Today, we also give thanks to our Ballard community and beyond for filling the Rooftop Pavilion of Hotel Ballard on Tuesday night for our inaugural Farmers Market Dinner & Auction to Support Fresh Bucks. In fact, we had to bring in extra seats and table settings to accommodate the crowd. It was a spectacular evening with great food by Chef Jason Stoneburner and his topnotch crew at Stoneburner Restaurant, and Auctioneer Jason T. Haynes, who lit the place on fire with his platinum-coated Kentucky tongue. We raised a pile of cash to help expand and enhance the Fresh Bucks program, though the more we raise, the more folks we can help eat great local food every week. If you would still like to donate, please go to our Brown Paper Tickets page before June 1st! Also, please see the event’s webpage so that you can check out all the generous folks that made the event such a success.

Pork chops from Olsen Farms. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Today’s post is dedicated to the many generous vendors at your Ballard Farmers Market who donated goods and auction items to our Fresh Bucks fundraiser. Without them, none of it would have been possible! Olsen Farms donated pork shoulder and potatoes, for instance.

A Mother’s Day 2009 visit to Ballard Farmers Market from the entire family Vojkovich of Skagit River Ranch. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

And Skagit River Ranch donated a whole lot of wagyu beef short ribs. Plus, Eiko, Nicole and George (above) all attended the event. I think George won a 10″ French skillet from our own Blu Skillet Ironware in the auction, too!

Dino kale from One Leaf Farm. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D., Lyons.

One Leaf Farm contributed a whole bunch of greens for the menu. And they are excited to offer their first harvest of Dino kale of the 2014 season today, too!

Clayton Burrows of Alm Hill Gardens (a.k.a., Growing Washington) talks farmers markets with Senator Maria Cantwell. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Clayton Burrows of Growing Washington (a.k.a., Alm Hill Gardens) helped the auctioneer, though I’m not sure he remembers. His farm also helped out with eggs, rhubarb and arugula.

Salad mix from Colinwood Farms. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Colinwood Farm, in Port Townsend, may be best known for bringing us their amazing salad mix all year round, including the dead of winter. Now, they are also known for providing us with gorgeous chard for Tuesday’s affair that accented some lovely pasta.

Gene Panida of Wilson Fish proudly showing of his “Bag-O-Fish.” Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Gene & Janai Panida of Wilson Fish also joined us Tuesday night. Chef Jason’s quick cure of their freshly-caught Washington king salmon served almost as sashimi was definitely a highlight of the menu.

It’s green garlic season at Alvarez Organic Farms! Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Thank you, Eddie, Junior and the whole Alvarez Organic Farms team for providing organic asparagus for the dinner, which Chef Jason cooked so delicately. I saw several tables asking for more!

Jerry Stokesberry of Stokesberry Sustainable Farm holding one of their fresh chickens. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Jerry & Janelle Stokesberry of Stokesberry Sustainable Farm provided a bunch of their organic duck eggs that were perfectly cooked and added to a lovely salad of One Leaf Farm’s Golden Frills mustard greens. They also generously bought a ticket to the event to be donated to a member of the community unable to buy one for themselves!

Blooming succulents from Phocas Farms. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Jim Robinson of Phocas Farms offered up not one, but two auction items for the event! First, he contributed a gift certificate for $100 worth of these gorgeous succulents he grows, meaning someone in Ballard is going to have a garden now that is the envy of all! And if that wasn’t enough, Jim also threw in a second auction item: three nights at his spectacular vacation rental home on Freshwater Bay, just west of Port Angeles, overlooking the Straight of Juan de Fuca, complete with a fridge stocked by Nash’s Organic Produce and dinner for two at Alder Wood Bistro, your farm-to-table dining destination in Sequim! If you are looking for a nearby getaway, you can’t beat this place.

Brian enjoys a fresh soda from Soda Jerk Sodas, as well as his new paper hat! Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

We enjoyed a few different flavors of Soda Jerk fresh sodas during the evening… some straight, and some mixed into some fine cocktails!

Shucked, smoked & pickled oysters from Hama Hama Oyster Company. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Hama Hama Oyster Company offered an auction item of a seafood basket of oysters, clams and Grandma’s crab cakes that they would deliver to your door!

Bacon from Crazy Farmer George at Sea Breeze Farm. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

George Page of Sea Breeze Farm kicked in an extraordinary farm dinner experience for two out at his farm on Vashon Island!

Hominy bread from Tall Grass Bakery. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Tall Grass Bakery hominy bread crumbs added a lovely crunch to that One Leaf mustard greens salad.

Brent Charnley, winemaker at Lopez Island Vineyards, hold the new release of his Wave Crest White table wine. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

We also enjoyed fine wines, ciders and brews from LIV, a.k.a., Lopez Island Vineyards, and these other great Ballard Farmers Market vendors: CommuniTea Kombucha, Eaglemount Wine & Cider, Kitzke Cellars, Propolis Brewing and Wilridge Winery.

Mother’s Day display at Nash’s Organic Produce. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D., Lyons.

Nash’s Organic Produce may have had these fresh flours for mom last Sunday at your Ballard Farmers Market, but they also provided leeks and green garlic for our fundraising dinner, too!

Ron & Florence from Whidbey Island Ice Cream. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

And the good folks at Whidbey Island Ice Cream set up one lucky bidder with one gallon of ice cream per month for an entire year!

Spring flowers from Choice Bulb Farms. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D, Lyons.

Finally for today’s epistle, we thank Choice Bulb Farms for donating gorgeous fresh flowers for the event. Of course, many more people and businesses contributed to making this event a great success. Please check out our event webpage for lots more info!

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.

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.

Sunday, March 9th: Spring Forward One Hour! (Gee, Thanks, Ben!)

Did you set your clocks forward an hour for Daylight Savings Time? Image courtesy LeeHansen.com.

Hey kids! Yes, it is that time of year when a whole lot of us ask the simple question, “What was Ben Franklin thinking, and why are we still following his advice over 200 years later?!?” That rights, folks. This is the week we set our clocks forward one hour at 2 a.m., Sunday night, in the name of productivity, all the while dooming ourselves to a week second to only the week between Christmas and New Year’s for it’s lack of productivity, because our body clocks are suffering through the most confusing kind of jet lag, and our brains are telling us it’s one time whilst our clocks tell us it’s another. For those who think Daylight Savings Time helps farmers… um… it’s not like dairy cows will get up an hour earlier tomorrow expecting to be milked. And with the advent of, well, electricity, we can easily light our factories and schools whenever we want. But my whinging aside, set our clocks forward one hour we must. And THAT means if you show up at 3:30 p.m. today wondering why your Ballard Farmers Market is already closed, we will likely snicker at you. And if you show up at 11 a.m., thinking you’ll be the first in line for eggs, blame no one but yourself. Consider yourself warned! (And on behalf of our firefighters, change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Oh, and my locksmith tells me we should WD40 our locks today, too.)

Braising mix from Colinwood Farm. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Green things. We need green things to lift our spirits and help us overcome the constant desire to nap this week. Lucky for us, green things is what Colinwood Farm does best this time of year! They are cranking out gorgeous braising mix, spinach, salad mix and more from their greenhouses right now. And rumor has it, they might even have some baby squash soon, too!

Sweet potatoes from Lyall Farms. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Lyall Farms is still rocking the Beauregard sweet potatoes, friends. You ever just cut them up with some parsnips and toss them with oil, salt and pepper, and roast them in a hot oven for about 25-30 minutes? I love that! Simple, sweet deliciousness. Or try cubing them, steaming them, and then mashing them with some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a little maple syrup. Boy, howdy!

Fuji apples from Martin Family Orchards. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

You’ll still find lots of apples and pears from the 2013 fall harvest at Martin Family Orchards. And while you’re at it, why not grab a cup of cider on the go, and a jug of it to take home with you? So many ways to keep the doctor away!

Saffron tagliatelle from Pasteria Lucchese. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? (Okay, I grant you, you probably aren’t, and that’s just as well…) This is great pasta weather! Steam up the kitchen with pastaliciousness. The handmade, artisan pastas from Ballard’s own Pasteria Lucchese are about as good as pasta gets in this town, and they will either hook you up with an appropriate sauce for your choice of pasta, or they’ll give you a great idea for dressing it. This saffron tagliatelle is made with local saffron from our own Phocas Farms, and it is quite seafood friendly.

Artisan breads from Tall Grass Bakery. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Of course, you’ll need some amazing artisan bread from Tall Grass Bakery to go with your pasta, or whatever else you’ll dine upon. Just look at this selection! From left to right, we’ve got sourdough rye, Baker Street sourdough, pain au levain, Avery’s pumpernickel, wheat & honey, and compagnon, and that’s just for starters!

Red Lasoda potatoes from Olsen Farms. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

You know, St. Paddy’s Day is just over a week from now. Last week, your mission was to get brisket to brine for 10 days in preparation for it. This week, why not get one step ahead of the herd and stock up on red potatoes from Olsen Farms, like these red lasoda potatoes, or perhaps some nice desiree potatoes.

Camelina oil from Ole World Oils. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Two weeks ago, Seattle Chefs Collaborative held is 8th annual Farmer-Fisher-Chef Connection which brings together chefs and food producers from all over the region to do business with each other, strengthening our local food system. And among those products creating a buzz this year was this camelina oil from Ole World Oils in Ritzville. It was used in half of the 10 entrees on the event’s epic lunch buffet, resulting in chefs playing, “What is that unique flavor we’re noticing running through so many dishes today?” This is your local cooking oil, suited well to being produced in Eastern Washington. It is fresh, healthy, versatile and full of character and flavor. I, personally, have found that I have begun using it instead of other oils, like olive and canola, in at least half of my cooking over just the past two months. It is priced right, too, so give it a try today!

Jersey cow yogurt from Samish Bay Cheese. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Finally, how about some live-cultured yogurt to help make your mouth and your tummy very happy right now? This jersey cow’s milk plain yogurt and Greek yogurt from Samish Bay Cheese is full of body and flavor, and considering you are getting it straight from the farm, you will be amazed at how its price compares to lesser yogurts considered “high end” at the Big Box store.

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.

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.

Sunday, January 19th: Cooking Oil, Cranberries, Leeks, Chickweed & Refillable Wine Bottles!

Camelina oil from Ole World Oils. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Happy Sunday! This is the first Sunday since December that your Ballard Farmers Market has had to share with the Seahawks, but fortunately, kickoff in the NFC Championship Game does not happen until 3:30 p.m., half an hour after we close. So you’ve got plenty of time to get down here, get your localiciousness on for the coming week, zip home to drop it off, and get back down here again to watch the Game with us and the gang in one of Ballard Ave’s 13,478 watering holes. And for the 13% of you who still don’t care about the Seahawks, we’re here for you, too!

Oh, hey. Ole World Oils returns today with their camelina oil. This cooking and finishing oil is made from cold-pressed camelina seeds (a mustard cousin) that are grown and processed by Ole World Oils on their farm just outside of Ritzville in Eastern Washington. This oil is fresh, delicious, high in beneficial omega-fatty acids, is great drizzled over salads and as a finishing oil, and has a very high 475 degree smoke point, making it perfect for any cooking application. And it is priced to easily replace all of your imported oils, be they from Italy, Canada or California.

Fresh Washington true cod from Wilson Fish. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Wilson Fish may be best known for its fresh, frozen and smoked Washington salmon and its halibut, but this time of year, if you want fresh fish from them, this true cod and ling cod are what you are likely to find. I love pan-frying their true cod. I make a breading of grits, whole grain flour, rice flour, corn starch, salt, pepper, chile powder, garlic granules and some dried oregano, mixing it altogether in a bowl with a fork, to ensure everything is carefully blended. Then, I like to cut the fish into “nugget” sized pieces, which I give a quick dip in egg, then roll in the breading until fully coated. Then, I toss it in a hot BluSkillet iron pan that I’ve put a healthy amount of camelina oil into, and I fry it on each side until crispy. It doesn’t take long, and you can make up the breading in advance and save any leftover breading in the freezer. This breading works great with Hama Hama Oyster Company shucked oysters, too!

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

Hmm. Maybe a nice side of chickweed salad would be good with that pan-fried true cod. Stoney Plains Organic Farm has chickweed already, just for this purpose. Farms like Stoney Plains grow chickweed over the winter as a nitrogen-fixing crop that helps build nutrients back into their soil naturally. Smart farms like Stoney Plains choose varieties of chickweed at are good for human consumption, so they get an addition crop out of it, and we get an additional winter and early spring green. Make a simple chickweed salad by tossing it with some salt, pepper, some sheep feta from Glendale Shepherd, some sunflower seeds or pine nuts, a little lemon juice or local verjus, if you’ve got some, and some camelina oil.

Frozen organic cranberries from Starvation Alley Farms. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Look, kids! Starvation Alley Farms has frozen organic cranberries for you! Woohoo!!! Make pies, jams, sauces, muffins, cookies, whatever you love to do with cranberries. Make a nice dressing with them for that chickweed salad. Cranberries: they’re not just for Thanksgiving anymore!

Refillable bottles (left) from Wilridge Winery. Photo copyright 2013 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Those big bottles on the left above? They are refillable! Seriously. Wilridge Winery, based in Madrona, worked it out with the Liquor Control Board so that they can reuse these magnum-size (1.5 liter) bottles. Why, you ask? Lots of reasons. First off, whether a new bottle is made from virgin or recycled glass, it still requires a lot of energy to make them. Not these. Next, when they reuse bottles, they do not have to buy new bottles for each new bottling, a cost they would normally pass onto you. And because the bottles are larger, you get twice the wine for the price of one bottle, not to mention that it cuts the cost of labor to fill that bottle in half, too! The result is that for $20 plus an $8 bottle deposit, you get an excellent, everyday, local table wine. Wilridge will be sampling their  wines today at your Ballard Farmers Market. Give them a try, and then grab one of these refillables for your Hawks party, or for the party you having not watching the Game.

Wool from Glendale Shepherd. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Glendale Shepherd makes great sheep’s milk cheeses. But something else their sheep produce is wool! This wool, in fact. Mind you, the wool usually isn’t this color of green whilst on the sheep, unless the sheep is acting out against its parents.

Leeks from Alm Hill Gardens. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Mmm. Leekliciousness. Think sauces, soups, sautés, tortes… tarts for that matter. Winter leeks are wonderfully sweet for whatever application you have, and Alm Hill Gardens has these lovely young leeks for you now.

Many butter flavors from Golden Glen Creamery. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.

A little butter with them thar leeks sounds pretty good, too. Or for cooking your eggs… which come to think of it, might make for a nice scramble with some leeks, eh? Or buttered toast with one of Golden Glen Creamery’s many sweet or savory flavored butters. Golden Glen’s farmstead butters are made up on their farm in Bow, and if you haven’t tried them, you likely don’t really know what truly fresh butter tastes like. Trust me.

Certified organic beef chuck roasts from Skagit River Ranch. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

When it is cold, dark and damp this time of year, it is the perfect time to warm up your whole home with a nice roast, don’t you think? Skagit River Ranch has these gorgeous, delicious, grass-fed and finished, certifed organic beef chuck roasts from their farm up in Sedro-Woolley, in the Skagit River Valley. Grab yourself some roots, and get roasting!

Curly leaf kale from Children’s Garden. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

It is also serious kale season, and Children’s Garden has lots of this green curly leaf kale right now for you. They’ve also got some nice collard greens now, too, as well as fresh herbs, and, of course, their beautiful flower bouquets, even this time of year.

Organic Pink Lady apples from ACMA Mission Orchards. Photo copyright 2012 by Zachary D. Lyons.

ACMA Mission Orchards still has plenty of their certified-organic apples and pears from their fall harvest for you. Like these Pink Lady apples — sweet, crunchy and satisfying, they will help you keep the doctor away all winter long.

Whole grains, flour and dried legumes from Nash’s Organic Produce. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Nashs’ Organic Produce produces lots of grains and legumes in addition to the produce for which they are both named and loved. Right now, you can get lots of dried beans from them, from fava beans to kidney beans to black beans to field peas, as well as several types of grains, from hulless oats to triticale to rye to wheat. They even have several kinds of flours milled right on the farm and delivered fresh to you at your Ballard Farmers Market!

Sunflower sprouts from Jarvis Family Garlic Farm. Photo copyright 2014 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Finally, let’s get our sunflower sprouts on for winter, eh? Packed with nutrients and flavor, they make a great addition to salads and sandwiches, and a great garnish, too. Jarvis Family Garlic Farm has these fresh sprouts now, as well as wheatgrass, great for juicing.

Go Hawks!

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.

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.