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During by last couple of visits to the South Anchorage Farmers Market I found myself looking a little more closely at the numbers. I’ve always been willing to pay more for local (chorus: it’s healthier, tastes better, uses less energy, preserves farmland) but the prices weren’t that different, and in some cases were better, than those at my local box store.
Here’s a comparison for some of my recent purchases:
Artichokes: $2.50 at the market vs. $3 at Palmer Fred Meyer
Onions (yellow): $.75/ea (market) and .99/lb, or about $.50/ea (FM).
Broccoli: $1 a crown (market), $.79/lb at FM, or about $1/crown (FM)
Corn: $1/ear (end of season price), $.79/ear (FM).
Cauliflower: $2/ea (market), $2.29/ea (organic, FM)
I’m curious: do you see similar pricing Outside?
Best find at this week’s farmers markets is the $2 cantaloupe from Tonnemaker Orchards, of Royal City, Wash. You can tell from the sweet scent and heft of these babies that they won’t disappoint. A smallish one that we chilled, sliced, and ate unadorned was rapture-inducing. You can find Tonnemaker at a variety of the Seattle farmers markets including Columbia City, University, and Broadway.
Palmer, Alaska farmer Arthur Keyes has been experimenting with a pair of California strawberry varieties this summer. The California-in-Alaska story seems improbable, but Keyes sees a huge upside to growing the berries in Alaska. The fruit can ripen on the plant, increasing sweetness, and Alaska’s harsh winters and isolation mean that there are very few crop-threatening pests.
An artisan farmer has a tough job with very narrow margins, but if a creative thinker can find niche market….
Keyes says the strawberries have been very popular with his customers at the South Anchorage Farmers Market and I’m interested to see what happens next year if he expands his operation as planned.
Thanks to an unusually hot summer, we’re already in the thick of things at the farmers markets, and that means meals are just about making themselves these days. This weekend’s table features pancakes gussied up with mouth-watering seasonal fruit — raspberries scored from Willie Green’s, peaches from Tonnemaker, and blackberries from down the street. The hardest part is getting the peaches home without their lush, sweet juices bursting through their jackets. Which is another way of saying that life is pretty darn good right now.
It’s so easy adjusting to the good life — defined, for our purposes, as a farmers market with four kinds of nectarines and three types of peaches. With raw flavors this bold, the eating couldn’t be better. Sweet peaches cut into a simple bowl of yogurt made for a perfect breakfast. Sweet-sour nectarines sliced and layered with tangy cooked apricots and vanilla-infused cream made for a delicious dessert.
And don’t forget savory — we marked nectarines quarters on the grill and tossed with a basil and jalapeno vinaigrette. Sounds strange, but I find that smoky heat enriches the the fruit flesh, making them perfect alongside marinated flank steak and chilled soba noodles. Good living, indeed.
Grilled Nectarines
5 nectarines or peaches, about 2 pounds / juice of 1 lime / 1 tsp sugar / 1 tsp ginger, minced /chili paste to taste / 1 tsp fresh basil, sliced thinly
Halve nectarines and remove pits. Stir together remaining ingredients and marinate nectarines 30 minutes, then grill over medium heat until flesh is marked and soft, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together dressing ingredients: 3 tbls rice vinegar / 3 tbls olive oil / 1 tsp jalapeno, minced / 2 tsp fresh basil, chopped / 1 tsp lime juice / 1 tsp sugar / salt & pepper to taste / chili paste to taste
Toss with grilled nectarines and serve in a salad with arugula and watercress, or alongside grilled meat if you like. Adapted from Jerry Traunfeld.
It took many an unsuccessful attempt to get a handle on cooking aubergines, those ubiquitous Barney-shaped eggplants. Not so with their Japanese kin. These slender beauties were at the farmers market this weekend in northern California, and I couldn’t have been happier. I like cutting Japanese eggplants into beef stir fries but even easier is grilling them a la Jerry Traunfeld, who dips the halves in a soy marinade, then grills over a moderate flame until silky. Finished, they’re a rich, delicious accompaniment to many Asian foods.
Grilled Eggplant with Rosemary
4 medium-sized eggplants, halved lengthwise / 3 tbls soy sauce / 3 tbls olive oil / 1 tsp rosemary, minced / 1 clove garlic, minced
Stir together soy sauce, olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. Coat eggplant flesh with marinade and let rest 10 minutes. Grill eggplant halves over medium heat (about 300 degrees), flesh side down, turning after 5 minutes or so. Continue grilling until the flesh is silky, another 5-10 minutes depending on heat. Serve immediately. Feeds 4 as a side. Adapted from Jerry Traunfeld.
How much do I love that the neighborhood farmers markets are back? Columbia City opened yesterday to brilliant sunshine and the Broadway market starts up again on Sunday, May 10, among others. Check the Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Market site for further details.
Also, Seattle Tilth hosts their yearly edible plant sale at Meridian Park in Wallingford this weekend. It’s a great chance to get your summer vegetable starts if you’re like me and chronically behind in life, or if you’re on the hunt for unusual herbs.
It’s low tide for local, seasonal produce, but this cabbage slaw keeps things pretty interesting for us, no fooling. We’ve enjoyed the slaw folded into fish tacos, wrapped in a tortilla with pork and beans, and eaten on a soft sesame seed bun with chopped barbequed chicken. It’s creamy, tangy, and flavorful, and subs in nicely for your usual green salad.
I especially like the Savoy and purple cabbages from Nash’s.
Recipe: Simple Cabbage Slaw
¼ purple cabbage, sliced very thin / ¼ Savoy cabbage, sliced very thin / 3 leaves dinosaur kale, stemmed and sliced very thin / 1 carrot, grated / 2 tbls mayo / 1 tbls vegetable oil / 2 tsps dijon mustard / 2 tsps cider vinegar / pinch cayenne / salt & pepper
Toss sliced cabbages, kale, and grated carrots. Mix mayo, oil, mustard, vinegar, and cayenne until emulsified. Toss oil and vinegar mixture with greens. Correct salt and pepper as desired. Serves 2-4, depending on use.
Weeks of travel, long work days, and things were starting to slip around here — we’re talking reheated frozen sauces over pasta, a pork tenderloin from Costco, the sort of passable cooking you get by on. That was not going to work for dinner on New Year’s. Time to get my game back on, and this ravioli fit the bill perfectly. It’s made from mostly local ingredients, including lots of herbs from the garden, and pasta that’s handmade from local eggs and Northwest flour.
Like anything with fresh pasta, of course, this recipe requires something of a time commitment, or speed things up using sheets of purchased fresh pasta dough. Once the raviolis are sealed and floured, the cooking goes quickly. And the eating goes fast too if you don’t pace yourself.
We savored ours with a glass of champagne. If you can’t do ravioli this time, consider making a risotto using these sturdy winter flavors.
Recipe: Butternut Squash Ravioli with Herb Butter Sauce
Fresh pasta dough made of 2 eggs & 1 cup flour, or purchased / 1 cup pureed butternut squash / 2 tbls goat cheese / ¼ cup breadcrumbs / 2 tsp fresh thyme, finely minced / 4 tbls butter / 1 tbls fresh parsley, finely minced / 1 tbls fresh sage, finely minced / salt & pepper / ¼ cup toasted hazelnuts, minced, optional / Parmesan cheese, optional
Prepare the pasta dough by mixing together then kneading the eggs and flour for 8 minutes. Roll out on to your pasta machine’s thinnest setting, sprinkle with flour, then set aside. Mix together squash, goat cheese, breadcrumbs, and 1 tsp thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Assemble raviolis, using a generous teaspoonful of squash filling per ravioli. Bring water to a boil and cook raviolis 4-5 minutes, until al dente, then drain.
Meanwhile, melt butter with sage, parsley, and remaining thyme in a pan over medium heat and cook until butter is bubbling and starting to brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Toss cooked ravioli with butter sauce, plate, and sprinkle with more pepper plus hazelnuts and Parmesan cheese if you like. Makes about 40 ravioli. Adapted from Deborah Madison (goddess).
Sourcing: Eggs and winter squash from multiple local producers. Hazelnuts from Holmquist Farms in Lynden, Wash. Goat cheese from Port Madison and others. Fresh pasta from La Pasta, available at the University (Saturday) farmers market. Parsley, sage, and thyme keep their foliage through Seattle winters — and ours weather the recent storms without too much trouble. And repurpose that day-old bread for fresh breadcrumbs.
There’s so much to be thankful for this year, like that my only assignment for tonight’s dinner was to bring the pumpkin pie. Nobody’s surprised that I quickly reassigned pie-making duties to Charlie, who’s a much better baker than me, and gave myself the even easier task of prettying up the table.
Seriously, though, I feel thankful for so many things. I’m especially thankful for all of the local farmers and chefs who work so hard to make sure that we eat well all year round, and who brighten our lives in other ways too, like the lovely Hmong lady at the Pike Place Market who hand tied the kale flowers, above, for me yesterday. What a privilege it is to live in this little corner of the world.
Hope your turkey day is a wonderful one.
