August 17: What’s Fresh at Your Vashon Farmers Market

August 17, 2012  

Here’s food for thought from Rebecca, our Market Manager. 

Heirloom is one of those words that used to be reserved for things like your Great-Great-Great Grandmother’s silverware that came across on the Mayflower, or a piece of ill fitting furniture you could never get rid of because it was all that remained of your family’s once-great fortune. Lately, however, the word Heirloom has been taken hostage by the marketing suits, made to suffer the same indignity as the words Natural and Old Fashioned, to give a patina of legitimacy to things that are thoroughly inauthentic.

In small farming, though, the word Heirloom finds a rightful place, denoting agricultural DNA from a time when nobody had to check labels to see whether the food they were about to eat sprang from real dirt. Heirloom tomatoes are a prime example, those thrillingly delicious harlequin fruits of vines sprung from seeds preserved through generations of thoughtful seed stewardship.

There is a second side to the agricultural Heirloom equation, one that doesn’t get printed on the seed packet but that merits just as much reverence. In addition to the propagating wisdom, there is the passing down of food prep wisdom, the lore of “what to do with the food” after you take it home from the market or into the kitchen from the garden. (After all, who plants food just to leave it in the dirt?) I depend on my local farmers to provide the Heirloom fruits and vegetables, but I am blessed to have a family that has cared enough to preserve our Heirloom food wisdom, reinforcing that canon at every opportunity to pass it along.

My Idaho parents have been visiting this week, and I feel like my sister and I have been immersed in an Heirloom Food Wisdom master class. The twenty-five pound cabbage I purchased from the Farm Coop became, in a marathon of chopping, a huge crock of sauerkraut – into which recipe (which was basically cabbage and salt) also went the seasoning of dad’s reminiscences of sauerkraut-making with his own dad. The hopeless romantic in me was transported to that sweet scene, my dad as a young boy working with a beloved father (a grandfather I never met) – chopping and salting and tamping and repeating. I look forward to tasting our sauerkraut as though it were scooped out of the crock by my grandfather himself.

My mom and I made blackberry jelly from the gallons of berries she and dad plucked from the thorny canes around our yard. The sweet soundtrack to that exercise was a partita: my mother’s childhood voice gleefully retelling days of picking berries for her mom when their family lived in Silverdale, and then the very accomplished jam-maker’s voice telling me EXACTLY how to make that jelly come out clear (the secret: let the berry juice drain without pressure… which itself might be a great metaphor for achieving all kinds of clarity in life.) Thirty jars of perfectly clear, utterly delicious blackberry jelly were testament to the fact that this wisdom is best imparted in 3D. Seeing the rhythm and ritual were as important as reading the recipe she transcribed in her graceful handwritten script.

The same was true of the sauerkraut. What I got from watching dad cut that cabbage JUST SO far outweighed even the most verbose instructions from the internet (looked up before he arrived) and certainly flavored the kraut in ways I could never have gotten from mere ingredients.

I look forward to handing these rituals and recipes down to my own son, and perhaps one day even to his children. And because we live with the luxury of technology, perhaps I will even be able to show them the priceless Heirloom Food Wisdom of their great-grandparents in action.

When you come to the market this week, ask the farmers which of their offerings comes from Heirloom seeds. Those are a taste of farming history. Apply your own family’s Heirloom Food Wisdom to its preparation, even if it’s just a simple family recipe. Or take whatever you’ve got springing up in your garden and create a new Heirloom for your family (ask Celina Yarkin about her pickled zucchini!) and let the soundtrack of your preparations be “Teach Your Children Well.” The net result will be a gift to all who partake in that ritual, and might even become a treasured custom recounted one hot summer day by YOUR ninety-one-year-old kid.

Here’s what on offer this week at YOUR priceless Vashon Farmers Market:

• Hogsback (shown at right) comes bearing Cherry Tomatoes, Red Slicing Tomatoes, and various Heirlooms as well.  Multiple types of string beans, onions, early wonder beets with stellar greens, carrots, two types of heirloom radishes, red and green cabbage, and a few peppers.
• Pacific Crest Farm will be there with more tomatoes! Heirlooms, hyrbrid slicers and pints of cherries. They will also have more basil, zucchini and summer squash, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers (with dill flowers for pickling), carrots, beets (Red, Golden and Chioggia), a variety of kales, chard, salad mix, onions (sweet Walla Wallas and Italian Tropea), fava beans and potatoes (Red Thumb fingerling and Mountain Rose).
• Calypso Garden Garlic and Shallot Braids, Broccoli, Kale, Potatoes – Desiree and Yellow Finn – Orient Express Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Salad Mix, Chard, Red Cabbage, Fresh Onions, and Fresh Sprout Mixture. Holding court over all that will be Zilla’s Mini and Large Summer Bouquets and those exquisite Pine Needle Baskets, with some new additions!
• Greenman Farmwill have farm fresh eggs (get there early – they go fast!), heirloom tomatoes, tri-color mixed snap beans, broccoli, rainbow carrots, Asian cucumbers, chartreuse green cauliflower, heirloom cabbage, mixed salad greens, summer squash, zucchini, new potatoes, mixed kale, rainbow chard, beets, spring onions, and plenty of recipes to go with them all. For farm crafts, we’ll have upcycled “feed” tote bags, adorable organic cotton produce bags, and beautiful veggie watercolour greeting cards. For those who want to enliven their walls with gorgeous art, we’ll have Will’s gorgeous veggie watercolour portraits.
• Langley Fine Gardens (shown at right) will feature produce from the farm, including four varieties of eggplant,  sweet peppers, new potatoes, new garlic and even some tomatoes, in addition to Fall veggie starts.
• Fieldstone Flowers is a riot of color, with beautiful summer flowers of many textures and varieties. Sunflowers and dahlias, and the market manager’s personal favorites, Rudbeckia, for a resplendent summer bouquet.
• Hilltop Garden will come to the market this week with carrots and beets, onions, green beans, snap peas, kale, chard, and beautiful potatoes.
• East West Produce will have Freestone yellow & white Peaches, Nectarines, Blueberries, Apples, Bartlett pears and Shiro plums. Plus the last of this season’s Apricots!
• Plum Forest Farm will have luscious Blueberries, Mirabelle Plums, Basil, Green and Yellow Beans, Cilantro, Carrots, New Potatoes, Purslane, Swiss Chard, Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Eggplant, Broccoli, Piracicaba, Beets, Tomatoes, and Kale.
• Sun Island Farm will be coming with elegant Shiro plums, Strawberries, cherry tomatoes, Regular tomatoes, lots of basil, Cilantro and some sweet and hot peppers. Of course they’ll also have zucchini (ask Celina about pickling those!) and lots more.
• Island Meadow Farm arrives with Bush Beans — Mixed Colors; Cabbage — Sweet little Heads; Chard; Cucumbers — Lemon, Slicing and Picklers; Garlic; Kale; Mixed Flower Bouquets; New Potatoes; Pickling Cucumbers; Sunflower Stems; Summer Squash — Green Zucchini and Costada Romanesca; Sweet Onions — Walla Walla, Ailsa Craig and Reds; and Tomatoes!
• Midlife Crisis Farm will be bringing USDA lamb, grass fed ground beef, lean and healthful bison plus Swedish potato sausages for the grill, more of that delectable ginger pear pork sausage as well as brats and German sausages.
• The Farm Coop Booth (Shown at right) is always a place to find lots of surprises.  This week, get your fix of rhubarb and green beans along with many other delicious items of Vashon Grown produce, and maybe even a few flowers.
• Quality Seafood will be there with tasty Columbia River salmon, Spot Prawns from nearby waters, Red Snapper and Alaska halibut, and delicious Smoked King Salmon for the best imaginable hors d’oeuvre.
• Vashon Winery (which for all intents and purposes is also a FARMER, growing their own apples for cider and harvesting several acres of grapes for their wine) is sampling their 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 Merlot, Tramp Harbor Red, and also our popular hard apple cider: Irvine’s Vintage Cider is classic European-style cider, not too sweet, lightly carbonated, complex and refreshing. And a HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS to Ron Irvine, named by Seattle Weekly as the best Winemaker of 2012 in their Best of Seattle awards!
• Anu Rana’s Healthy Kitchen is a big hit with their gluten free, and guilt free, cookies, health bars and mini cakes – including Almond Apricot cookies, Quinoa Date Nutty Bars and Almond Blueberry Cakes. Try a sample! You’ll want a week’s supply!
• Cliff’s Beer is the coolest brew in town. Delicious handmade beers that always sell out early. Choose from equally popular Alder Smoked Porter and Bitter Ale. And Cliff has launched his American Pale Ale – think American Bitter, but hoppier. Hop off with a bottle of that!
• Tease Chocolates is bringing three fabulous Chocolate Bars: 3 bars: Salty Mermaid, Spicy Mayan, Geishas Pleasure; Lots of Pistachio Buttercrunch and Ginger Lips; Honey Goat Truffles, Lavender Butterflies, Summer Mint, Purple Sea Stars, Carol’s Little Black Dress, Hazelnut Praline, Blueberry Cordials, Giant Peach, Cardamom, Coffe and Dulce de Leche, The Mandarin, Champagne Truffles, and Hand-dipped S’mores. World class chocolates, and made on Vashon Island.
• LaBiondo Wood Fired Pizza returns to the market this week, gracing the Village Green with the Taj Mahal of mosaic-tiled pizza ovens, and featuring Pizza Fresca, made with freshly harvested tomatoes and basil from island farms, and sausage pizza made with locally grown Italian sausage.
• The Luna Lavender Lemonade and Coffee Stand is your “rejuvenation station” after all that VIGArous market shopping.
• King Caramels (Shown at right)  redefines the candymaker’s art with Hedy’s latest connoisseur caramels. Choose from Sea Salt, Licorice, Ginger, Classic, Brown Rice and Agave. All amazing, all made on Vashon!
• Rosie Bones will have many scrumptious treats for man’s best friend, including grass fed beef liver, organic sweet potato, and chicken feet, along with their regular bags of Rosie’s Choice and Chicken Livers and Gizzards.
• Annika Fae returns to bring her elegant Henna designs to adorn our cheeks, arms, fingers, ankles, toes and…?
• Rogue Poultry will be blowing bubbles in the sunshine, and featuring all things bubbly bubbly bubbly, in full celebration of Summer.
• Mik Kulman – aka The Ball Girl – joins us this week to work her magic on the knots in our bodies.

• Julie King brings her Willow Street Woodworks (shown at right)  to the Market this week, with enchanting signs, birdhouses and much more made from found objects, repurposed wood and souvenirs from the sea.
• Made in Paradise captures artistically one of our most enduring island symbols: The Rock! Stones collected from seven states are used to make rustic stone vases and lamps with a Zen quality. The obsidian (volcanic glass) in their winsome wind chime is sourced from their very own mine in Southern Oregon. The chimes are not only beautiful to look at but have great tonal quality, from a delicate soprano tinkle to a deep vibrato. Their jewelry is made from collectible old trade beads and fossilized ivory thousands of years old, and beautiful leather work is all hand cut and braided, for key rings, necklaces and rattles.
• David Earle brings the most amazing turned bowls you’ll ever lay eyes on. Ask him how he gets them to change shape after he makes them. And have you ever spun one of his colorful little tops? Bring the kid in you to the market and play with David’s darling tops.
• Eileen Mackinson aka The Bird Lady joins us, bringing her beautiful collection of plumage from all kinds of feathered friends.
• Cosmic Cove conjures up the Age of Aquarius with their kaleidoscope of tie-dyed fashions. Rainbows aplenty, and something for every age in this colorful array.
• Tahlequah Woodworks brings a bevy of marvelous new cutting boards and other woodworking magic Ralph conjures in his shop. This week Ralph will feature cutting boards with one of his favorite tropical hardwoods, African bloodwood, which has a lovely red color.
• KB and Paula offer beautifully crafted gifts, including KB’s elegant stained glass feathers, Paula’s balancing wine bottle holders and rare wood letter openers, and those beautiful little vases that would be the perfect receptacle for a petite summer bouquet. Paula has a new array of colorful french rolling pins all made of food safe natural woods, including one exceptionally gorgeous redwood rolling pin that is from a redwood burl milled in the 60′s. This style of rolling pin is great for rolling out that flakey, melt in your mouth pie crust and is often preferred by bakers who want their hands closer to the dough or who want to drape dough over the length of the barrel.
• Blake Clark will be bringing her signature jewelry pieces, always handmade with love.
• Bliss Organix brings, in addition to many elegant products for body and skin care, a new Bliss Spritz called Summer of Love with patchouli, orange and lavender. Earthy, spicy and sweet! Spray on body, bedsheets or use as a healthy, fragrant air-freshener. Carol is also featuring her Orange Hemp Mint Lip Balm for $9.
• Falcorations Odyssey returns to the market with a some new awesome upcycled bags made from album covers, vinyl clocks and jewelry made from the LP’s, along with a few of Patty’s new Medieval critters!
• Reap-It Products is bringing more of their wildly popular 2-beer totes, specially designed for Cliff’s beer! This adds to the 4-beer totes already for sale. Both will be sold at Cliff’s stand. They are both practical and make great gifts! Jill will also have aprons, bibs, wallets, car trash bags and lunch bags – including one designed for people on the anti-inflammatory diet, with room for multiple containers.
• Mariposa Gardens (shown at right) has a variety of journals upcycled  from used books. Come by and turn the cranks on the paper automata. Be the first on your block to make your own automata with a Breaching Orca kit! and NEW: Lacy knit scarves.
• Julie Anderson is a new and very clever vendor. She transforms discarded spray paint cans into ever-colorful flowers for those corners of your garden that need a little year-round jazzing up! She’ll have single stem flowers, small garden fences with 3 flowers, 10-15 tea lights, 4 fences, a lantern and a wreath of flowers.
• And our Non-Profit guest this week is the 85 year old Vashon Chapter of the Seattle Children’s Hospital Guild, selling beautiful mugs commissioned by island artists, to raise money for Children’s Hospital – a place that has helped heal many island.

This week, Mostly Water brings their lively music across the sound. Mostly Water includes four good friends from Seattle who love making vibrant music in a roots-Americana style (or call it alt-country with a pinch of folk and a twist of bluegrass). Their music combines well-crafted originals with gems gleaned from some of America’s greatest standards. Their strong vocals are backed up with tasty acoustic playing on the mandolin, dobro, guitar and upright bass.

Coming Up:

August 25th – John Browne

Sept 1st – Watermark