We Bid You Adieu.

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

It is with heavy hearts that we report that your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market will not be returning for a second season in 2011.  While the market was a great success in many ways in 2010, the current economic climate, and its effects on local governments and institutions, has left our generous hosts, the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), unable to afford to host us again in 2011.  Given that the Olympic Sculpture Park is home to many world-class works of art, SAM was required to provide additional staffing on market days, and that simply is not something it can afford in its budget in 2011.

Another spectacular view of your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

That said, the Seattle Farmers Market Association thanks SAM and its capable and highly professional staff for all the support and generosity they gave us in 2010.  SAM truly is a class act.  Additionally, we would like to thank the crew at TASTE Restaurants & Events for their support and generosity as well, and for their great food made from farmers market ingredients, as well as their unwavering support of local farmers, fishers, ranchers and food artisans.  We would also like to thank the staff of the Olympus Apartments for generously providing off-street parking for many of our vendors during market hours, the Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation for helping us with special activities planning during the market, the chefs from the surrounding neighborhood who performed the best cooking demonstration series at any farmers market in the area, and the market vendors for bringing us the best Washington has to offer every week.

Chef Peter Levine of Waterfront Seafood Grill putting the finishing touches on his Seared Salmon with Panzanella. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Please note that we are investigating other opportunities to serve this part of Seattle in the future, and we will keep this blog, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages, active for the foreseeable future.  Please stay tuned to these pages for information about what we might be able to offer you all in the future, and feel free to avail yourself of the many chef recipes and great photos and information still contained herein.

Thank you,

The Staff of the Seattle Farmers Market Association

 

Grilled Sausages with Tomatoes, Onions & Peppers

Chef Craig Hetherington of TASTE Restaurant. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

As prepared by Chef Craig Hetherington of TASTE Restaurant for his cooking demonstration on September 9, 2010.

I love preparing this in the fall when the weather is still warm during the day and the hints of cool arrive in the evening.

Chef Craig Hetherington shows his audience proper browning. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Makes 10 servings

Ingredients:

• 10 hot Italian sausages (he used Skagit River Ranch’s Sweet Italian)
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3# Walla Walla onions, julienned
• 6# red, yellow, or purple peppers, thick julienned
• 1 bulb garlic, rough chop
• ½ teaspoon chili flake, more if you like it spicy
• ½ cup capers
• 4# tomatoes, large dice
• 1 cup chopped rosemary, thyme, and basil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Hoagie rolls of your liking

Browning Skagit River Ranch sweet Italian sausages. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Preparation:

Pre-heat grill.

In a large, heavy bottom pan over medium heat, add olive oil and onions, and cook until slightly caramelized. Once browned, the onions are the color you want (they will be sweeter the darker they get). Add the bell peppers, garlic, and chili flake. Once the peppers start to get a little tender, add the tomatoes, capers, and herbs. If there isn’t enough liquid from the tomatoes, you can add a little water. Cook until the tomatoes are broken down and the mixture becomes like a stew. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. (This can be made the day ahead.)

Developing sauce for sausages. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Grill your sausages over a lower heat so the casing doesn’t split and they hold in their moisture. If you made the stew the day before, you can heat it up on the grill if there is room or just heat it up on the stove in a large sauté pan. When the sausages are done grilling, set them in the stew to keep them warm.

Sausages finishing cooking in sauce. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Brush your hoagie rolls with olive oil, salt and pepper, and while your grill is still warm, grill them to heat them up.

Drop the sausage on your hoagie roll, top with as many onions and peppers as will fit and enjoy!

Sausages finished and ready for rolls! Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

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, September 2nd: Chefs Brian McCracken & Dana Tough of Spür Gastropub, Finnriver Hard Cider & Flour @ TASTE & A Beautiful, Warm, Sunny Afternoon!

Chefs Dana Tough (left) and Brian McCracken of Spür Gastropub. Photo by Kristin Zwiers, courtesy Spür & The Spellman Group.

The inaugural season of your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market is winding down. After today, we’ve got just one more week. And these two last weeks are going to rock, just like the first seven did. For instance, today, we feature a cooking demonstration at 5:30 p.m. by Belltown’s own Chefs Brian McCracken & Dana Tough from Spür Gastropub. Come watch and learn as these rising stars of the kitchen have some fun with what’s fresh today at the Market.

Sparkling hard cider from Finnriver Farm. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Today, in TASTE Restaurant & Events‘ Liquid Lounge, you will have a chance to taste some of the amazing hard cider produced in the old world way by Finnriver Farm. Finnriver is one of the many great Washington farms who sell each week at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. Also today in the Liquid Lounge:

• Wine Tasting: Terra Blanc Sauvignon Blanc, 2007; Milbrandt Vineyards “Traditions” Chardonnay, 2007; Buried Cane Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007; Tranche Cellars Barbara, 2005.
• Tiffany’s Farm-to-Glass Cocktail: Roasted Heirloom Bloody Mary.

Finnriver whole grains & flours. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Finnriver Farm will also be featured at TASTE Restaurant & Events’ food booth today. Finnriver produces grain, which they mill into fresh flour that TASTE will use in today’s menu:

• Grilled Panini with Summer Run heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil pesto. Served with a potato and corn salad.
• Lucy’s Farm-inspired Doughnut - S’more doughnuts – honey red wheat doughnut filled with chocolate marshmallow, featuring Finnriver flour and Skagit River Ranch eggs.

Seastack from Mt. Townsend Creamery. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Mt Townsend Creamery, from Port Townsend, which sells its cheese right here at your Olympic Sculpture Park, won First in Class for its Seastack cheese in the Soft Ripened category at the 2010 American Cheese Society conference & competition held here in Seattle this past week. Come sample it today, and bring home what the rest of the world is raving about!

Fresh Frasier River sockeye from Loki Fish. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

The boys at the helm of the boats of Loki Fish have returned now to Washington waters after a successful summer of fishing in Alaska. The are currently fishing for Frasier River sockeye just south of the Canadian border, and some of that fish may be available to us fresh today!

Red Zebra & Black Zebra tomatoes from Billy's. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Billy’s has entered into its second big wave of great heirloom tomatoes. Check out these gorgeous Red Zebra & Black Zebra tomatoes, and they have many others, as well. We may even get to taste a few of them during the cooking demonstration today!

Catalina Plums from Collins Family Orchards. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

And how about these beautiful Catalina plums from Collins Family Orchards. Collins has a number of plums, apples, peaches and other orchard goodness now, great for that waning taste of summer!

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 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.

Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

Chef Paul Rosquita of TASTE Events shows crowd how to assemble his vegetable spring rolls. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

As prepared by Chef Paul Rosquita of TASTE Events for his cooking demonstration at the Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market on August 5, 2010.

Chef Paul Rosquita of TASTE Events explains his spring rolls. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Ingredients:

• 2 ea Carrots
• 1 each Cucumber
• 1 each Zucchini
• 1 each Pepper
• ¼ bunches Basil
• 2 bunches Spinach
• ¼ bunch Cilantro
• Spring roll wrappers
• Sweet and sour boysenberry sauce
• 1 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup boysenberries

Paul adds another layer of veggies to the roll. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Preparation:

For sauce:

I usually make a day ahead so it has time to cool and I can accurately check consistency. Reduce vinegar, sugar,  and berries until syrupy. Strain and cool. Adjust consistency if too thick or thin.

Paul rolling rolls. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

For rolls:

Julienne  carrots, cucumbers, zucchinis, and peppers and store in separate containers. Chiffonade spinach, basil, and cilantro and mix together. Soak wrappers in a bowl full of warm tap water until soft. Lay wrapper on a table cloth or apron, careful not to fold it over on itself. Lay a mat of spinach herb mix on the back third of the wrapper, just enough to cover. Lay a thin line of julienne vegetables in the middle of the spinach herb mix. Fold the back of the wrapper towards the middle. While rolling over pull the roll towards you. Continue pulling towards you while your fingers delicately roll forwards. Slice roll and serve with sauce.

The finished product, pre-sauce. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Thursday, August 18th: Chef Ba Culbert from Tilikum Place Cafe & A Look At Our Food Artisans!

Chef Ba Culbert of Tilikum Place Cafe foraging for mushrooms in the Cascades. Photo copyright 2009 by Ashlyn Forshner.

Chef Ba Culbert of Tilikum Place Cafe will be performing a cooking demonstration today at 5:30 p.m. at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. Ba regularly works with lots of local, seasonal ingredients at her restaurant, making her perfectly suited to give us great ideas on how to work with the fresh, local goodness found throughout the Market.

Sunset August 12, 2010 at Olympic Sculpture Park, with a crescent moon and Venus over the Olympic Mountains. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Though most folks have left the park by sundown, we are still packing up each week, and we get to take in all the glory of the park at dusk. Take this view from just last week, with a red sky silhouetting the Olympic Mountains across Puget Sound, a spectacular crescent moon, and you can just make out Venus at the top of the photo straight up and just to the left of the moon.

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

Skagit River Ranch in Sedro-Woolley produces some of the best meat, poultry and eggs you will find anywhere. Find just about any cut you fancy of their pastured pork or grass-finished beef, and get great bacon, ham and an amazing selection of sausages, including my favorite sweet Italian sausage in town.

Fresh, handmade pastas from Pasteria Lucchese. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Pasteria Lucchese makes handmade pastas and amazing desserts and sauces so good, many folks in town, including me, are downright addicted to them. In fact, their Trofie pasta with Norcina sauce, a creamy pork sauce, is on my menu for dinner tonight!

Whoopie Pies from Cupcuke Luv. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Speaking of addictive, have you tried a Whoopie Pie, or anything else for that matter, from Cupcake Luv? Holy flippity-flop, they’re good! And they make their goodies using lots of local ingredients, like the flour that comes from Washington’s own Shepherd’s Grain cooperative.

Seastack from Mt. Townsend Creamery. Photo copyright 2009 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Mt. Townsend Creamery takes rich, fresh, Olympic Peninsula cows milks and turns it into several varieties of cheeses, from fresh to aged, with one to please every palate. I love their Fromage Blanc on a Grateful Bread bagel with some Loki Fish salmon lox, and their Seastack (above) is nothing short of the stuff of legend.

Honey from Sweet As Can Bee. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Sweet As Can Bee works with numerous organic farmers along the fertile western slopes of Washington’s Cascade Mountains to help pollinate their crops. Their bees then create amazing honey from the pollen they collect. Try out their different flavors and see what you like best. It is said that local honey can help alleviate many allergies.

Jerry Baxter from Got Soup? Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Jerry Baxter, owner of Got Soup?, creates delicious fresh soups every week from local ingredients, most of which he finds at local farmers markets. And don’t think that summer is the wrong time of year for soup. During the hot summer months, Baxter makes a wide variety of wonderful and refreshing cold soups to cool you down. Are you a vegan or gluten sensitive? Got Soup? always has something for you, too.

Josephines and Fruit Pocket Pies from Hot Cakes. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Hot Cakes is the brainchild of former Theo Chocolate chocolatier Autumn Martin. She makes these incredible little chocolate cakes in jars you just set in the oven, and a few minutes later, you’ve got molten chocolate deliciousness. She also makes these rich and scrumptious Josephines (above left) and the newly introduced Fruit Pocket Pies. Yummers!

Herbed Chicken Salad Sandwich was last weeks offering by TASTE. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

And, of course, there is always our Market partners, TASTE Restaurant & Events, which rolls out a different Market inspired sandwich each week, filled with tasty ingredients from Market vendors.

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 29th: Chef Daniel Newell from Zoë, Artisan Cheeses from Mt. Townsend, Nectarcots (We'll Explain), Gazpacho, Hard Cider & A Wine Tasting By TASTE!

Mt. Townsend's Matthew Day stands before his cheese. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Mt. Townsend Creamery is just one of the absolute explosion of cheese makers in Washington state over the last decade that has so elevated the craft here that the American Cheese Society is holding its annual meeting and awards in Seattle next month! Based in Port Townsend, Mt. Townsend makes a great selection of extraordinary cheeses, from fresh to aged, and we are lucky enough to have them here at the Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. Stop by and visit Meghan today, sample some of their wonderful cheeses, and bring some home with you.

Bacon from Skagit River Ranch. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Chef Daniel Newell of  Restaurant Zoë will be performing a cooking demonstration today at 5:30 p.m. under the red tent by The Eagle at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. He plans to work with some of this awesome Skagit River Ranch bacon to concoct all manner of vegetable deliciousness. After all, everything is better with bacon, right?

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

I swear, every time I turn around, these wacky orchardists in Eastern Washington come up with some new kind of stone fruit. I’m not complaining, mind you, as they have greatly expanded the world of wonderful fruit while simultaneously extending how much of the year they are available. Case in point: the nectarcot. This 70/30 hybrid of the nectarine and the apricot is not terribly sweet, but instead has a deep, complex flavor. It is brought to us by the guys at Collins Family Orchards.

Artichokes from Summer Run. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Summer Run grows some gorgeous vegetables, but for sheer spectacular beauty, few crops can beat the artichoke. These kings of Roman cuisine come equipped with their own amour, but get past it, and the rewards are many. Grill it, steam it, saute it and toss it will pasta; the mighty artichoke will never let you down.

Herbed Chicken Salad Sandwich was last weeks offering by TASTE. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

TASTE Restaurant & Events is not only one of our partners in presenting you your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market, they are also one of our vendors. And each week, they concoct fresh dishes to offer you that are inspired by the farmers at the Market, and that indeed contain ingredients from those farmers. This week, they offer an Alvarez Farms Roasted Squash & Zucchini Panini with caramelized spring onion, bell pepper relish, & lemon chevre. Served with a side of Alvarez New Potato Salad, as well as Lucy’s Farm-inspired Doughnut – Rock Island Peach Fritters tossed in cinnamon sugar.

Spectacular salad mix from Colinwood Farms. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Colinwood Farms, from Port Townsend, grows some magnificent lettuces, but if you are like me, and you just are too lazy to assemble your own salad from scratch, then try out their incredible salad mix, full of spicy greens, tender lettuces, tasty edible flowers and other goodness. All you need to do is add the dressing!

Sparkling hard cider from Finnriver Farm. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

Finnriver Farm, in Chimacum, bottle ferments their ciders the old-world way, much like is done to make champagne. Thus result is an honest sparkling hard cider that will tickle both your nose and your taste buds. Bring a bottle home tonight and give it a try!

Got Soup? makes fresh, delicious soups from local ingredients. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

This week’s soup flavors from Got Soup? include: Curried Cauliflower and Zucchini (vegan); Northwest Chowder; Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho (vegan/raw); and Chilled Pineapple & Avocado with Chipotle (vegan). They make their soups with fresh, organic, local ingredients (well, except that last one, of course) wherever possible, and they offer great cold soups for summer. I absolutely adore the gazpacho!

Wine tastings at TASTE's Liquid Lounge. Photo copyright 2010 by Zachary D. Lyons.

TASTE Restaurant & Events offers up wine tastings and market-inspired seasonal cocktails in their Liquid Lounge in the PACCAR Pavilion at your Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. Washington wines for the $5 tasting this week are:

• Buried Cane – Sauvignon Blanc
• Masterpiece White – Sauvignon Blanc / Viognier
• Covington Cellars – “Dress White” – Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon
• Chandler Reach – Corella – (Super Tuscan) Sangiovese / Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot

Or enjoy one of Tiffany’s Seasonal Cocktails: today Berry Margaritas featuring the berries of Hayton Berry Farm. You can also enjoy local wine and beer by the glass. Today’s selections are:

• White – J Bookwalter Riesling
• Red – TASTE”s own Masterpiece Red
• Beer by the glass  – Pike’s Naughty Nellie (keg)

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!