December 8: Fresh Sheet for Farmers Market Indoors

December 7, 2012  

Food For Thought from Market Manager, Rebecca Wittman

We mourn the passing this week of an American legend, Dave Brubeck. Aside from his awe-inspiring talent and legacy of musical innovation, I’ve always adored the fact that this musical genius was a cattleman’s kid, and that he and my own cattleman father were the same age. My dad, who is still going strong at 91, was not so much a Brubeck fan as a Gene Autry lover (which I imagine would put him more in league with Dave Brubeck’s cowboy dad.) Vive la différence!

One particular Dave Brubeck tune – with lyrics co-written with his music partner/wife Iola – has long been near the top of my list of all time favorite Brubeck compositions. It’s a little ditty that didn’t have the benefit of the airplay that “Take 5″ enjoyed, but for those who know it, there’s a hint of the fondness he carried throughout his life for his agrarian roots. “How Does Your Garden Grow?” was written, he said, after a walk through his Connecticut garden, where he discovered – arriving home after a long tour – that things had gotten completely out of control. It is a beautiful poem, both musically and lyrically. His line, “When winter winds do blow, and we must go, and we must go…” seems eerily prescient to his winter season passing.

I share the lyrics here as inspiration for all of you “gardeners,” in tribute to a great man who sowed many nurturing seeds of musical inspiration throughout his extraordinary life.

How does your garden grow? Are things all in a row?

Or are there weeds and tangles, plots with angles all askew?

And did you mend the fence, where undergrowth so dense

obscures the quite contraries, oh so scaries from our view?

We planned our garden so that everything would grow all in a row, all in a row.

The seasons come, the seasons go, all in a row, from Summer’s glow, to winter’s snow.

Each Spring new flowers bloom, dispelling fear and gloom,

foretelling silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row.

The planting moon is coming soon, so we must sow.

How does your garden grow? Are things all in a row?

Are they in proper places propped with braces straight and true?

And did you trim the vine so that the light can shine

upon the tender Mary’s, flower fairies peeping through?

How does your garden grow? When winter winds do blow, and we must go, and we must go,

the raindrops fall to earth below on leaves and snow, all in a row.

The gardener knows:

The seeds he sows will bloom, if each has growing room

to reach for rainbow bells and wishing wells and magic spells all in a row.

The planting moon is coming soon, so we must sow.

Come find us at McMurray Middle School for our second week of Holiday Markets!

• VIGA’s Fabulous Annual Bake Sale is featured this week including, among many wonderful  offerings, the manager’s Swedish Apple Cake  (the recipe for which was shared in a November fresh sheet) chocolate cherry brownies, pumpkin cake with orange ginger glaze, lemon pound cake, Chocolate mint dreams, chocolate dipped macaroon, egg nog cookies and more….plus Minglement coffee.  Enjoy while you shop or buy to give as gifts!
• Sun Island Farm brings armloads of Fall carrots and beets. Sweet winter squash . Brussels sprouts. Japanese turnips. Some greens and more! Also, check out their free range pork soap (the little piggy and sunflower shapes are adorable – shown at right.) It’s incredible and makes you want to pile up with your friends in a frothy group wallow! Great for gifts!
• Greenman Farm will have Rome Beauty apples, French Fingerling potatoes, mixed kale, rainbow chard, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, and pretty braids of Italian Cippolini onions. For hearty soups, roasts, and pies, they’ll have beautiful winter squashes and pumpkins, including big beautiful wedges of Musque de Provence (the pumpkin that won Jasper the Best Pumpkin Pie Award 2009). For farm crafts, they’ll have Jasper’s delightfully soft & warm handknit hats and scarves, upcycled “feed” tote bags, and organic cotton produce bags. For those who want to enliven their walls with gorgeous art, come check out Will’s gorgeous original veggie watercolour portraits as well as gorgeous little framed prints of the same. And lastly, in this season of heartfelt greetings, they’ll have Will’s beautiful veggie greeting cards – shown at right (with Jasper’s recipes on the back), and their NEW holiday winter scene greeting cards.
• 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 holiday hors d’oeuvre.
• Midlife Crisis Farm is featuring their awesome smoked bacon for holiday entertaining, and will also be bringing USDA lamb, grass fed ground beef, lean and healthful bison and more of their delectable ginger pear pork sausage, brats and German sausages.
• King Caramels 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! Hedy also brings her colorful handbags, original designs from a very talented islander.
• Tease Chocolates is featuring 3 signature bars: Salty Mermaid, Geishas Pleasure, Spicy Mayan. Pistachio Buttercrunch, Yucatecan Drinking Chocolate, Torino Brewing Chocolate, Ginger Lips, Mermaid Dollars and Mayan Gold, Fresh Water Shells. 5-piece Fall Truffle Box includes: Bee’s Knees, Ghost Chile, Cinnamon Girl, Carol’s Little Black Dress, Creme de Marrons.
• Anu Rana’s Healthy Kitchen is a big hit with their delicious healthful treats, and will have Pumpkin Pie with Cashew Cream, Pecan Pie with Flax & Pecan Crust, Brownies, Spiced Cashews with Hempseed, Almond Fig, Ginger Molasses Cookies, Pistachio Bars and maybe some other surprises.
• Rosie Bones will have many delectable 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.

• Tayo Jamison was such a hit at the first holiday market, all of his beautiful handmade boxes sold out. So, he’s been busy in his workshop and comes this week with a whole new selection – lovely treasure boxes glistening with varnish and lined with velvet. Amazing craftsmanship from this 11-year-old artisan.
• Rainy Day Garden will have lots of soap with several holiday scents such as Cranberry Fig,  Cinnamon Hazelnut, Frankincense & Myrrh as well as the Gingerbread Men soap. Sherri will also have guest bars, cupcakes, cake slices, specialty soaps, and soap ornaments in several scents. And last but not least, candles, room sprays and shea butter. Whew!
• KB & Paula join us with their gorgeous woodworks and glass artistry. Have someone who is difficult to buy for or you just don’t know what to get for that secret Santa gift? KB and Paula have some great gift items! Paula has selected some of her most beautiful wood pieces and worked them into earrings as a new item for the holiday season. The monkey puzzle tree has heartwood that is orange/ red and is transparent when worked into a thin layer. It glows in the light! And the ribboned pink ivory earrings are stunning! She also brings a sweet batch of letter openers made from exotic woods for that very special person. (shown at right) And if you’re out on the studio tour this Saturday and Sunday 10-4pm, stop by Paula’s studio (#6 on Bank Rd.) and see where all these cool woodworks are made! Her guest woodworkers include Ralph Moore, David Earle, John Moore, and Curt Minier.
• Fiddle Home Beeswax (shown at right) brings 100% beeswax candles (hand-dipped tapers, votives and tealights). Gift candles decorated with pressed flowers from their garden, and etched glass candle holders, lanterns and pendants, sand-etched in their solar and wind powered studio here on Vashon Island.
• Graceful Beads are coming from Mary Ann Beardsley and they are exactly that: beautiful, graceful beads in all shapes and materials! Handcrafted crystal and glass jewelry and accessories,  including holiday themed jewelry and ornaments, as well as sterling silver and gold filled earrings, necklaces and bracelets made with Swarovski Crystal, pearls and Czech glass beads, crystal rings, earrings, eyeglass straps, bookmarks and bracelet sets.
• Laughing Magpie brings glass works of art, and hand dyed textiles – a veritable cornucopia of delights. Their retro suitcases will be full of brilliantly dyed Devore silk scarves (shown at right) in a variety of sizes to suit a variety of needs and price points. They will also be extending their big sale on glass art, which was a big hit last week! Fused and slumped glass dishes, wall art and possibly some other little surprises.
• Bliss Organix (shown at right) brings delicious new Thai Coconut Body Polish, and Aphrodesia Massage Oil ~ a treat for yourself or a gift for someone special! Also, Bliss Organix and Bliss Bodywork Gift Certificates are available for purchase.
• Val Columbia brings her cozy, whimsical handmade winter wear. Knit, crocheted and sewn using re purposed materials, Val’s hats, scarves and handwarmers are whimsical, colorful and oh-so beautiful.
• Rex Morris will be happy to put a razor sharp edge on your knives – and those clippers you want to tuck away for the winter and have ready for spring pruning. He also has amazing kitchen implements for sale, as well as his inimitable “Face On Fire” hot sauce.
• Art by Lotus rejoins us with beautiful photo cards and photographs that capture the magic of all things Vashon. Be sure to check out her darling “Freeze Drying” picture. (Shown below)  It’s priceless – as are all of her inspired images!
• Tahlequah Woodworks brings a bevy of marvelous new cutting boards and other woodworking magic Ralph conjures in his shop, including cutting boards made with one of his favorite tropical hardwoods, African bloodwood, which has a lovely red color. Plus, his wood pendants, shown at right.  And Ralph says to remind you that he is winding down his fabled career as a Farmers Market vendor with these final two markets…. sniff sniff. He’s still making cutting boards so he’ll have a good selection for your commemorative shopping these last two Saturdays!
• Mariposa Gardens Drop by the Mariposa table to pick from an assortment of gifts: Upcycled journals of all sizes made from hardback books, including many made from children’s books; tiny beaded, knitted purses to hang on your tree, or to hide that very special little gift; do-it-yourself paper automata kits to make your own animated breaching orca; and Ultra-soft and lacy silk/mohair knitted scarves and wrist warmers. Cathy is also carrying lovely yarn made from the Suri Alpaca herd at Vashon’s Winterbrook Farm – you must feel this yarn to believe how luxurious it is!
• Reap-It Products Jill is bringing her new “Market Bags”, inspired by the flared shape of French paniers, as well as car bags for use with kids stuff, pet toys, magazines, trash, you name it! Dog owners, bring your dog’s measurements (around the neck, collar to tailbone and around the widest part of the middle) for a custom-made doggie raincoat. Jill will mail the finished product to you. Bibs, aprons, 2-growler totes, sandwich wraps, placemats, wallets, lunch bags. she’s got ‘em all!
• Fabric Focus (shown at right) will be coming with new products for the Holiday Market which include: tree napkins, trivets, pillowcases, gift bags, table runners, bookmarks and the usual lavender sachets and dryer bags. And don’t miss Jeanne’s potato baking bags!
• Recycled Birdbaths (Shown at right) Nancy Connelly is back with three-dimensional beauty for your garden – mosaic tiled birdbaths as well as fanciful garden stakes!
• 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 & 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.
• 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. Rod returns after nursing a broken leg for several weeks, with a “fresh round of dyes”.

In addition to our VIGA Bake Sale, we have three wonderful nonprofit guests this week:

• ALTO – The Alliance for Tompotika Conservation – recently the subject of a Beachcomber article featuring our own Will Forrester – is an international partnership between a Vashon Island-based group and a registered Yayasan in Indonesia. ALTO works with local communities to preserve endangered species, coral reefs and tropical forests in the world’s biodiversity epicenter in Sulawesi, Indonesia. ALTO’s U.S. Activities are spearheaded by volunteers on Vashon, who, by donating their time and talents, have successfully reversed the decline of the endangered maleo bird and made many other notable strides in protecting our planet. At the holiday market this week and next, ALTO will be selling notecards created by volunteers, printed on 100% recycled paper, to help support their important programs.
• Vashon Senior Center will join us with cookbooks for sale, comprised of treasured recipes from the senior members of our community – a generation of great cooks! Sales help support programs at the Senior Center.
• IFCH – the Interfaith Council for the Prevention of Homelessness brings information to our market this week about their very important mission, and they will be selling raffle tickets for a handmade quilt, as a fundraiser for their programs.