Thursday, September 9th: Chef Craig Hetherington of TASTE Helps Wrap Up Our Inaugural Season!

The sun sets over Puget Sound and the Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

As the sun sets on the inaugural season of your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market, let’s take time to celebrate and reflect upon an exciting first year of Belltown’s new, weekly grocery store. We enjoyed access to an incredible array of fresh, local food direct from the producers that would be the envy of people in most other parts of our country. We were entertained by music, dancing and cooking demonstrations by some of Seattle’s best chefs. We sampled Washington wines and enjoyed Market-inspired seasonal cocktails. And we did it all in one of the most beautiful places on earth — the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park — surrounded by world-class art, the skyline of Seattle, Elliott Bay and Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains and Mount Rainier. Honestly, I could not think of a more pleasant way to spend a Thursday afternoon in summer in Seattle.

Chef Craig Hetherington of TASTE Restaurant. Photo courtesy TASTE Restaurant & Events.

Our final cooking demonstration of the 2010 season features Chef Craig Hetherington of TASTE Restaurant at 5:30 p.m. today. I have had the pleasure of working with Craig for many years, and I can attest that there are few chefs as committed to using local ingredients on their menus in Seattle today as he has been to it for the nine years I’ve known him. Add to that his tremendous talent in the kitchen, and you have consistently delicious, guilt-free food. Stop by today for some great ideas for cooking local yourself, and if you haven’t treated yourself to TASTE Restaurant in the Seattle Art Museum on 1st Avenue, do it soon. You’ll thank me later!

New Moon cheese from Mt. Townsend Creamery. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Celebrate your access this summer to award-winning, local food. Like this New Moon cheese from Mt. Townsend Creamery in Port Townsend. It won First In Class in the Jack category two weeks ago at the 2010 American Cheese Society Convention & Competition held right here in Seattle.

Sausages from Skagit River Ranch. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Reflect on all the recalls of contaminated factory-farmed meat and eggs lately, and that you are lucky enough to be among the few Americans who has access to meat, seafood, poultry and eggs from local family farmers and fishers — people who care deeply about the animals they work with and the people who eat them. Like Skagit River Ranch, which produces healthy, pastured beef, pork, lamb, chicken and eggs in Sedro-Woolley.

Rainbow chard from Oxbow Farm. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Tired of produce that is shipped an average of 1,500 miles to get to your local Big Box grocery store? Fed up with it turning to mush in your fridge in just a few days, because it was harvested so long ago? We’ve answered that problem, too, with the freshest local produce direct from the farmers who grew it, usually within 24 hours of harvest. Good luck finding rainbow chard, like this from Oxbow Farm, any fresher anywhere else. Just look at the cuts on those stems. They cannot be more than a few hours old, and they have not even begun to brown.

Cherry tomatoes from Summer Run. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Ain’t it great to have access to tomatoes that taste like, well, tomatoes? In heirloom varieties developed over centuries to serve many functions in your kitchen? Of course it is! Just check out these beautiful cherry tomatoes from Summer Run Farm. A-friggin-men!!!

Dinosaur Egg pluots from Tiny's. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

And fruit. Fresh, juicy, delicious, tree-ripened and brought to us by local family farmers at its peak. Washington enjoys almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to tree fruit, which begs the question, why the heck would we be eating stuff imported by ship from Chile and New Zealand — taking weeks to get here and traveling thousands of miles — when you can enjoy this amazing array of fruit from right here? Like these locally-developed Dinosaur Egg pluots from Tiny’s. I mean, seriously, think about it. You never even heard of a pluot in a Big Box store until recently, because they finally realized what we’ve been enjoying for years at farmers markets. Farmers markets are where the innovation happens, and where the heirloom crops are preserved!

Gluten-free breads from Platypus Breads. Photo courtesy Platypus Breads.

And where else are you going to find this incredible gluten-free artisan bread from Platypus Breads? Maybe at another one of our farmers markets, but nowhere else. This stuff is moist and full of flavor, terms rarely associated with gluten-free bread. And don’t forget Grateful Bread Bakery, which offers artisan bread, cookies, croissants, bagels and more!

Saffron from Phocas Farms. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

How about local saffron? Seriously. This saffron is grown in Port Angeles by Phocas Farms. It is fresh and brilliantly flavored, and it is only traveling a few miles to get to you, not thousands of miles from Iran, from where over 70% of the world’s saffron comes.

Dante's Inferno Dogs. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Looking for a quick snack? We have that covered, too. Grab a dog or a local, Cascioppo Brothers sausage from Dante’s Inferno Dogs. They’ll dress it the way you like it to stave off that hunger until you can get home with your Market goodies to make a fabulous dinner for yourself.

Keith from Finnriver. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Hard cider and local grain. We’ve got that, too! Finnriver Farm from Chimacum brings it to us every week. And they’ve got freshly milled flours, too. Did you know that flour is really only good for about two months after milling before it begins to break down nutritionally and eventually go rancid? I recommend you toss that old flour in your cupboard, and come down to your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market today to get some fresh, local flour.

Our own (well, not really) Farmers blimp. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

So come celebrate and reflect upon your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market today, and stock up while you can. And if we’re lucky, we’ll get another visit from our very own (well, not really) Farmers blimp that flew over us last week. (I guess they got the dates wrong.)

Remember, this blog is your source for all things Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. You will learn about what’s in season; the people and businesses that produce it; what chefs will be performing cooking demonstrations from week-to-week; recipes from those demos and our vendors; and so much more. Each week during the Market season, one or more articles will be posted here, and each week the What’s Fresh Now!pages in the upper right-hand margin will be updated to let you know what all you can expect to find this week at the Market. So check back often, subscribe to the RSS feed, and then come visit us at your new Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market.

Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market: Feeding the Body & the Soul!

Thursday, August 26th: Chef Brandon Kirksey of Tavolata, Cippolini Onions, San Marzano Tomatoes, Gluten-Free Scones & Safe Local Eggs!

Chef Brandon Kirksey of Tavolata, well, doing something other than cooking at another cool Seattle park. Photo courtesy Ethan Stowell Restaruants.

Chef Brandon Kirksey is the man at the kitchen helm of Ethan Stowell’s North Belltown eatery, Tavolata. And today at 5:30 p.m., he will perform a cooking demonstration right here at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market.

Also today at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market:

• SAM Performs: Dancing til Dusk with Tumbao and salsa dancing, 6 – 9 p.m. in the OSP Amphitheatre.
• TASTE’s Wine Tasting: Adelsheim Auxerrior (very limited) 2008; DiStefano Sauvignon Blanc 2009; Elk Cove Rose; &Ash Hollow Nine Mile 2005.
• TASTE’s Liquid Lounge: Tiffany’s Farm-to-Glass Cocktail – Gingered Berries.

San Marzano tomatoes from Pipitone Farms. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

San Marzano tomatoes are prized for their dense flesh and deep, rich flavor. If you’ve ever been to a Neapolitan-style pizzeria, odds are the sauce on your pizza was made from these tomatoes. They originate from the rich, volcanic earth near Naples, Italy. These San Marzano tomatoes are grown by Pipitone Farms in the rich volcanic soil of the Wenatchee River Valley.

Farm fresh eggs from Skagit River Ranch. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Tired of hearing about the recall of 500,000,000 eggs produced by tw0 (yes, just two) industrial egg factory farms in Iowa? Wondering where you can get safe, healthful eggs from happy, healthy chickens? How about getting your eggs directly from the farmers at Skagit River Ranch, right here at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. They are certified organic, from pastured chickens that get to spend much of their days outdoors, scratching in the dirt, eating a natural diet, and hanging out with roosters. I’ve been to the farm. I know.

Sunburst squash from Alvarez Organic Farms. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Gotta love how beautiful sunburst summer squash in the evening summer sun is, eh? And it tastes wonderful, too. I like grilling them. How do you like them? Well, however you like your summer squash, Alvarez Organic Farms has the perfect squash for you. They grow about 20 varieties of it!

Blueberries from Jessie's Berries. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Blueberries are rocking right now, like these beauties from Jessie’s Berries. I love blueberries simply in a bowl with some fresh heavy cream over them. On the other hand, they freeze really well, and really easily. Just wash them and spread them out in a baking dish and put them in your freezer. Once frozen, pour them into a zipper-lock freezer bag and enjoy them with your steaming hot oatmeal or pancakes all winter long!

Cippolini onions from Oxbow Farm. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Another prized crop of Italy are these cippolini onions from Oxbow Farm. These onions caramelize like no others. Think of all your recipes that call for caramelized onions, and apply these onions to them. Yeah, baby.

Gluten-free peach scones from Platypus Breads. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

On a gluten-free diet? Well, there’s no reason you should suffer without scones, right? Platypus Breads has you covered with gluten-free peach scones. And they’ve got a great selection of gluten-free breads, too. Moist and flavorful. Really. Enjoy bread again!

Rainbow chard from Summer Run. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Summer Run always has incredibly gorgeous produce. This image of their rainbow chard is particularly spectacular. All that fabulous color means a whole lot of awesome flavor. And chard doesn’t get any fresher than this! Just look at the cuts on those stems. They haven’t even begun to brown. Fresh.

Remember, this blog is your source for all things Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. You will learn about what’s in season; the people and businesses that produce it; what chefs will be performing cooking demonstrations from week-to-week; recipes from those demos and our vendors; and so much more. Each week during the Market season, one or more articles will be posted here, and each week the What’s Fresh Now! pages in the upper right-hand margin will be updated to let you know what all you can expect to find this week at the Market. So check back often, subscribe to the RSS feed, and then come visit us at your new Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market.

Thursday, August 12th: Chef Peter Levine from Waterfront Seafood Grill, Wild Salmon, Gluten-Free Bread, Kimchi, Heirloom Tomatoes & Something Called A Cherry Plum!

A spectacular smoky sunset as viewed from the Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market on August 5, 2010. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

As we packed up your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market at the end of the day last week, we were treated to the positive side of the smoky haze drifting down from British Columbia: a spectacular red sunset! I know, photos rarely do sunsets justice, but even so, this image serves as a reminder of just how amazing a location the Olympic Sculpture Park is for a farmers market. We have world class art, like The Eagle, we have Elliott Bay and Puget Sound, and we have the Olympic Mountains and the summer sun. Awesome!

Chef Peter Levine from Waterfront Seafood Grill on Pier 70. Photo courtesy Mackay Restaurants.

And this week, we have Chef Peter Levine from Waterfront Seafood Grill on Pier 70 performing a cooking demonstration at 5:30 p.m. under the red tent, next to The Eagle. Waterfront Seafood Grill calls the Olympic Sculpture Park its front yard, with Elliott Bay its back 40. It is the single closest restaurant to the Market, and Chef Levine serves up some great food there in a dining atmosphere that is as classy as it gets around these parts, right down to the lounge pianist who plays everything from Gershwin to Led Zeppelin.

Amy from Loki Fish holds wild Keta salmon. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Being a seafood kinda guy, I expect Chef Levine will be cooking up some fine wild Alaskan salmon from Loki Fish today. Loki Fish is based at Ballard’s Fishermen’s Terminal, and they fish in both Alaskan and Puget Sound waters during the summer. They handle their fish very carefully, which means you get some of the finest salmon you’ve ever tasted. And they’ve got great smoked salmon, salmon patties, salmon sausage, salmon roe, canned salmon and more!

Gluten-free breads from Platypus Breads. Photo courtesy Platypus Breads.

Are you looking for gluten-free bread? Well, we’ve got Playtpus Breads right here at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market, and I will use two words to describe them that most folks wouldn’t dare use to describe any other gluten-free bread: moist and flavorful! I kid you not. So there’s no need go without great bread for dinner, just because you can’t deal with the gluten.

Fremented kimchi from Firefly Kitchens. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Today, we welcome Firefly Kitchens to your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. These folks absolutely rock the fermented local vegetables. They’ve got kimchi, classic sauerkraut, red sauerkraut and a little thing they call ying-yan made from carrots and ginger. This stuff is amazing, and it’s alive, too, so it’ll cure what ails you while pleasing your palate.

Heirloom tomatoes from Summer Run. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Summer Run always has the most beautiful organic vegetables, and these heirloom tomatoes are no exception. And, of course, what’s better than the brilliant colors these heirloom tomatoes have to offer is their spectacular flavor. Few things make people long more for summer than fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes. Well, it’s time, people!

A local bee visits the lavender at Floating World Lavender. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Floating World Lavender Farm from Sequim has a relatively short fresh lavender harvest each year, and we are enjoying the fruits of that harvest right now. Their lavender is so fragrant that it always attracts all the local honey bees in the neighborhood, like this one burrowing around in it recently. So brighten up your home with some fresh lavender today, and make it smell wonderful in the process.

Cherry plums from Tiny's. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Cherry plums? Yup. Not so much a hybrid, the name is a reflection of this plums tiny size. Some of them, at their peak of ripeness, actually take on a hint of fresh coconut in their flavor. You’ll find them at Tiny’s. And here are some other things you’ll find today:

SAM presents Jovino Santos Neto, performing hot Brazilian Jazz for a summer night, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the OSP Amphitheatre. And in TASTE’s Liquid Lounge, they’ll be tasting out the following wines:

• Mirth Chardonnay 2009
• Terrapin Cellars Pinot Gris 2008
• O ‘Reilly’s Pinot Noir 2007
• TASTE’s own Masterpiece Red.

And don’t miss Tiffany’s Seasonal Cocktail today: Blueberry Cobbler.

And remember, this blog is your source for all things Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. You will learn about what’s in season; the people and businesses that produce it; what chefs will be performing cooking demonstrations from week-to-week; recipes from those demos and our vendors; and so much more. Each week during the Market season, one or more articles will be posted here, and each week the What’s Fresh Now!pages in the upper right-hand margin will be updated to let you know what all you can expect to find this week at the Market. So check back often, subscribe to the RSS feed, and then come visit us at your new Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market!

Thursday, August 5th: Chef Paul Rosquita from TASTE Events, Melons, Bagels, Provolone, Donut Peaches & A Rainbow Of Carrots!

Chef Paul Rosquita from TASTE Events. Photo courtesy TASTE Restaurant & Events.

It’s another deliciousness and fun packed Thursday at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. Check out another great cooking demonstration under the red tent, next to The Eagle, at 5:30 p.m. today — this week featuring Chef Paul Rosquita of TASTE Events, one of our partners in presenting you this Market. Also, enjoy the music of retro-pop band Curtains for You, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the Gates Amphitheatre, presented by SAM. And the wine tasting in TASTE’s Liquid Lounge this week features:

• Mountain Dome Sparkling Rose
• TASTE’s own Masterpiece White
• Cadaretta SBS
• Foris “Fly Over” Red

Fresh cantaloupes from Alvarez Organic Farms. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Melons are in! Alvarez Organic Farms has the first melons of the season, in the form of cantaloupes and watermelons. Woohoo! Just imagine all the juicy, sweet, sloppy goodness in your future. Oh, they have sweet corn, tomatillos, eggplant and fresh shallots, too, and much, much more.

Fresh bagels from Grateful Bread. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Grateful Bread has great bagels. I recommend them eaten with some of fromage blanc from Mt. Townsend, a red onion from Alvarez, some tomatoes from Billy’s and some coho or keta lox from Loki Fish. A little slice of Brooklyn heaven right here in Belltown! Oh, and Playtpus Breads is back this week with gluten-free breads!

A rainbow of carrots from Oxbow Farm. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Oxbow Farm is famous for its carrots. They grow some of the best you will find anywhere. Sweet and crunchy, and in a rainbow of colorful varieties, these are the carrots we live for. And they grow all manner of other spectabulous veggies, too.

Provolone and Jalapeno Buttery from Estrella Family Creamery. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Estrella Family Creamery returns today after their one-week 25th Wedding Anniversary hiatus. They have a lot of great, award-winning cheeses for you to enjoy, like this beautiful provolone, or this tangy, peppy Jalapeno Buttery. Stop by for a taste. Like their shirts say, “It’s all good!”

Haricot Verts from Stoney Plains. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

I love haricot verts green beans (the ultimate in redundantly named vegetables!) this time of year, like these from Stoney Plains. I saute them with bacon from Skagit River Ranch and some pearl onions, if I can find them. Yummers!

Donut peaches from Collins Family Orchards. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Finally this week, it was during the summer of my first year as Executive Director of the Washington State Farmers Market Association back in 1999 that I was on a trip to visit the brand new farmers market in Yakima. I was staying at this lovely bed & breakfast on a farm in Naches, and the farm was one of the first few farms to be licensed to grow this new peach called a donut peach. The farmer, still looking for a market for his peaches, sent me home with a box of them. Boy, howdy! I was in love, and I’ve been in love with them ever since. See, I have always been one of those wusses who doesn’t like to deal with all that juice pouring all over me while eating peaches, and the special nature of donut peaches and their tiny pits meant I could enjoy an amazing peach with only a fraction of the mess. I brought home a bunch of these donut peaches from Collins Family Orchards the other day, and I am in peach heaven right now. Makes me think how that Presidents of the United States of America song is passé now that the peaches come to us in the city. No need to move to the country to eat a lot of them anymore.

And remember, this blog is your source for all things Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. You will learn about what’s in season; the people and businesses that produce it; what chefs will be performing cooking demonstrations from week-to-week; recipes from those demos and our vendors; and so much more. Each week during the Market season, one or more articles will be posted here, and each week the What’s Fresh Now!pages in the upper right-hand margin will be updated to let you know what all you can expect to find this week at the Market. So check back often, subscribe to the RSS feed, and then come visit us at your new Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market!

Thursday, July 15th: Grand Opening Day!

Adam from Oxbow Farm smiling over his beautiful chard. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

We’ve all been talking about this for months, wondering if the day would ever arrive: opening day of your new Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. Well, that day is today! And we are excited. We have a whole lot in store for everyone, from great farmers, food artisans and artists to live music and dancing to TASTE’s Liquid Lounge and wine tastings to an incredible lineup of chefs doing cooking demonstrations every week. But first and foremost, what we have lined up for you is a grocery store, once a week for four hours, featuring the finest local food Washington has to offer. Yes, Belltown, one very densely populated grocery store desert, finally has a grocery store, and Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market is its name.

Anthony Estrella of Estrella Family Creamery. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

By the way, this new, weekly grocery store of yours takes food stamps, just like any other grocery store. You just have to check in at the black tent that says “information” on it and ask to get Market tokens with your Quest card, and you are good to go. Of course, the difference here is that you can get high-quality food with your food stamps instead of the cheap, unhealthy, processed foods you are stuck with at Big Box grocers and corner convenience stores. Most of our farmers also accept WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks (a.k.a., FMNP or “farmers market checks”).

Carrie from Alm Hill Gardens. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

The Market debuts today at 3:30 p.m., with the first cooking demonstration of the season at 5:30 p.m. But I suppose you wanna know what vendors we are going to have today, don’t you? Okay, here is just a sampling:

• Alm Hill Gardens (a.k.a., Growing Washington), from Everson, will bring an incredible variety of vegetables, berries, flowers, shelling beans, and all manner of goodness over the coming weeks.
• Colinwood Farms, out of Port Townsend, has amazing greens, new potatoes, sweet peppers, summer squash, lettuce as big as your head, and so much more. Their soil is the blackest, richest earth I have ever seen.
• Skagit River Ranch, based in Sedro-Woolley produces some of the best, healthiest beef, pork, chicken and eggs from happy animals raised on the kind of farm those folks from California want you to think their dairy cows are raised on. I’ve been to Skagit River Ranch and seen how they care for their animals right to the end. A USDA inspector told me there is no more humane operation that he has ever seen.
• Estrella Family Creamery, in Montesano, is at the forefront of an artisan cheese revolution in Washington. In its short history, it has won multiple awards for its cheeses at national and international competitions.

Saffron from Phocas Farms. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

You will be amazed at the locally produced food products you will find at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market — products you may not have known were being produced around here, and products that might have been difficult for you to find elsewhere. These product include:

• Saffron, grown and cured with care by Phocas Farms in Port Angeles. This saffron is being used in the kitchens of many of the finest restaurants in Seattle, as it is of a quality and freshness hard to find in imported saffron. And given that over 70% of the world’s saffron is produced in Iran, think of the reduction in your carbon footprint you will achieve just by using this local saffron.
• Gluten-free bread from Ballard’s Platypus Breads. Gluten-free bread is hard enough to find locally, but really good gluten-free bread is almost impossible to find, until now.
• Local milk, bottled in returnable glass bottles, direct from Golden Glen Creamery in Bow. This may be the best milk I’ve ever tasted, and once you’ve had milk bottled in glass, you will never go back to plastic bottles again. Plus, Golden Glen bottles incredible heavy cream and half-n-half, and they make the only farmstead butter in Washington you can buy.

The Dante behind Dante's Inferno Dogs. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

You will be able to pick up a snack while you shop at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market, from such local originals as:

• Dante’s Inferno Dogs from Ballard, slinging great dogs and sausages that happily fill any stomach’s void.
• Patty Pan Grill makes delicious vegetarian quesadillas and tamales from local ingredients, many of which are sourced from our Market farmers.
• Whidbey Island Ice Cream offers up a tremendous selection of ice cream flavors by the bar and the pint.
• And TASTE Restaurant & Events, one of the Market’s partners, which has set the standard in Seattle for using local ingredients to make world-class cuisine. TASTE will be creating delectable concoctions using ingredients from Market farmers.

Keith from Finnriver Farm in Chimacum, which produces hard ciders and fine grain products. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

And remember, this blog is your source for all things Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. You will learn about what’s in season; the people and businesses that produce it; what chefs will be performing cooking demonstrations from week-to-week; recipes from those demos and our vendors; and so much more. Each week during the Market season, one or more articles will be posted here, and each week the What’s Fresh Now! pages in the upper right-hand margin will be updated to let you know what all you can expect to find that week at the Market. So check back often, subscribe to the RSS feed, and then come visit us at your new Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market!