Opening day at your Interbay Farmers Market last week. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.
Here’s your Interbay Farmers Market on opening day last week. In case you were simply driving by, riding your bike, or on the bus, heading to Ballard or Downtown on 15th Avenue W, and you saw all these flags and tents out front of Interbay Whole Foods Market, it was your Interbay Farmers Market you were seein’. We’ll be back again today, 3-7 p.m., and we’ll plan on bringing more sunshine with us this week, too!
Chef Dan Osser of Interbay Whole Foods Market Meat Dept. Photo courtesy Dan Osser.
Speaking of sunshine, Chef Dan Osser, from Interbay Whole Foods Market’s Meat Department, will be performing a cooking demonstration for us today at 4 p.m. Dan will give us great tips on working with local deliciousness from the Market. And Dan has a lot of experience with local deliciousness, too, having worked in the kitchens of such local favorite restaurants as Stumbling Goat, Joule and Spring Hill. In fact, he even appeared on Iron Chef during his stint at Joule!
Edible flowers from Colinwood Farms. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.
Sometimes, you just have to stop and eat the roses. Am I right, people?!? Lucky for us, when it comes to edible flowers, Colinwood Farms has these lovely bouquets, ready for your salads or garnishes. Hey, if you’ve never eaten a nasturtium, you must try one. They are sweet, and a little spicy, and I love ‘em!
Fermented goodness from Firefly Kitchens. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.
Are you eating your fermented vegetables? You should be. They are loaded with probiotic goodness that will make your body and your palate happy. Firefly Kitchens makes award-winning krauts and kimchi. Stop by for a sample or three, and then grab a couple of jars to hold you over until, well, next Thursday!
Dogs of all sizes at Interbay Farmers Market on opening day. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.
Dogs of all sizes love farmers markets, and Seattle Farmers Market Association, which operates your Interbay Farmers Market, welcomes your four-legged friends at all of our markets. But please, keep them on a short leash, for their safety, yours, and everyone else’s.
Asparagus from Alvarez Organic Farms. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.
Asparagus is a true spring treat, and Washington produces some of the best asparagus in the world! With our late spring this year, we are benefiting from an asparagus season that is running later into the year than normal, and producing sweeter than normal asparagus. However, it is beginning to heat up over in the Yakima Valley, where Alvarez Organic Farms grows its asparagus, and that means we won’t have it for long. So enjoy it while you can!
Bagels, baguettes & challah from Grateful Bread. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.
Grateful Bread Bakery, based in Wedgewood, makes great artisan breads, toothsome bagels, challah for great French toast or a proper sabbath, delicious cookies, muffins and pastries, and much more. But perhaps the single most addictive thing on their tables is their chocolate croissants. You just must try one. And when you realize you have just finished your hundredth one, drop me a line, and I will let you know where we hold the meetings.
Semi-Freddo to die for from Pasteria Lucchese. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.
Pasteria Lucchese’s semi-freddo is quite simply the dessert of the gods. Trust me on this one! You can thank me later. Nuff said.
Escarole from One Leaf Farm. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.
Escarole is one of those wonderful, slightly bitter summer greens that just makes you feel good all over as you eat it. And One Leaf Farm is one of those farms at Interbay Farmers Market that also just makes you feel good all over, too. Everything they grow is spectacular… including this escarole.
Fresh grilled hamburger from Skagit River Ranch. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.
Need a snack while you’re at your Interbay Farmers Market today? Try a freshly grilled hamburger from Skagit River Ranch, made from the beef of their own cattle that they raise on beautiful pastureland in Skagit County, and served on a roll made by Ballard’s own Tall Grass Bakery. The lettuce is from One Leaf Farm, and the tomatoes are from Kittitas Valley Greenhouses. Local deliciousness, indeed!
Barbecue Chicken pizza from Zaw. Photo copyright 2011 by Zachary D. Lyons.
Or maybe you just want to go home and have a quick dinner. In that case, stop by Zaw Pizza when you first arrive at your Interbay Farmers Market today, and order one of their awesome take-n-bake pizzas made with lots of local goodness. They’ll assemble it for you while you get the rest of your shopping done at the Market, and then, when you get home, just pop it in the oven, or on the grill, and by the time you put all the rest of your groceries for the weekend into the fridge and the pantry, your dinner will be ready!
Of course, this is just a highlighting of what you will find today. There is still plenty of other stuff just waiting for you at your Interbay Farmers Market this week. For a full accounting of what you will find, click on “What’s Fresh Now!” in the upper right-hand corner.
Tags: artisan bread, asparagus, bagels, challah, Chef, Chef Dan Osser, Cooking Demonstration, edible flowers, escarole, farmers market, food, hamburgers, Interbay Farmers Market, kimchi, sauerkraut, Seattle, semi-freddo
