Local Strawberries Are Finally In at Farmers Markets

It's Strawberry Time!  (Finally!)

Strawberry Salad by Naomi Kakiuchi
ph credit - Kakiuchi

Eat Fresh! 

http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org/ripe-n-ready

A beautiful salad recipe from Naomi Kakiuchi, Northwest Chef and editor of NuCulinary newsletter.
Naomi is a frequent chef in residence at Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets and many other places.  It can be made with all local ingredients, most available at local farmers markets.
www.nuculinary.com also on Facebook and Twitter.


facebook.com/nuculinary and twitter.com/wasabisister

I am sharing this weeks' favorite recipe. I made this for the City of Renton Wellness Lunch and Learn session this week. These associates are getting fit and growing their own veggies--a great corporate initiative and my role is to give them a little inspiration and answer their cooking and nutrition questions. It is a great staff and we had over 30 people learning and most importantly eating! All of the ingredients for my live cooking demo came from their Farmers Market just down the street from City Hall. A salute to them and their hard work! Happy Sunday to those sacrificing and giving Father's out there including my own wonderful father Sam! All that you do and sacrifice is noticed and appreciated. Happy Fathers' Day!  Building Community through Cuisine, Naomi Naomi Kakiuchi, RD, CD, CCP
Strawberries!
Farmers Market Delight! With the cool weather it's been a little touch and go at the farmers markets, wondering which week will bring us the berries. But they're here now! After you get your fill of eating berries straight from the box, here's a sweet and tangy vinaigrette you can use them for. Homemade salad dressings cost less per ounce than store bought, are healthier for you, and taste much better and fresher too! Mixed Greens with Nuts, Cheese and Berry Vinaigrette  For Five Minute Vinaigrette: 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 6-8 large strawberries 1 clove garlic 1 teaspoon honey 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard  2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or canola oil Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste Salad: Local organic spring mixed greens 1 pint strawberries, quartered Goat or Feta Cheese, crumbled Hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds, shelled and chopped 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, mint, cilantro, etc       In a blender, mix first five ingredients well. With blender running, remove feed cap and pour in oil in a slow, steady stream.         Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Store extra in the refrigerator. Thin with water if it gets too thick.       In a large bowl, combine greens and herbs leaving a few springs for the garnish.         Toss lightly with dressing, 1/2 the strawberries, cheese and nuts.         For top, garnish with remaining berries, nuts, cheese and herbs. Perfect with a grilled steak or salmon fillet.  Chef note: Interchange your ingredients as the season ebbs and flows. At the farmers markets, check out Holmquist Hazelnuts, for busy cooks, they have roasted nuts and you don't need to peel the skin. (Of Parmount Importance Editor's note: Try Appel Farms Fetas) or  Port Madison goat cheese for you goat cheese lovers. I am savoring the strawberries but just think of when the raspberries come in. Another fancy idea is to use candied nuts, yummy!

Farmers Market Season - Get Ready for Fresh!

Seattle Area Farmers Market Season begins! 
(Actually, there are at least three "All-year Markets" now. UW, Ballard, and of course Pike Place)
It's an exciting time to see fresh produce and other local farm and locally made products popping up like beautiful mushrooms all over town. 

University Heights Farmers Market, Open All Year
Saturdays, 9-2

But, shoppers and foodies are undaunted by the profusion of choice and desire for farmers markets is strong. And it is easy to see why with the array beautiful products and options out there. 

Fresh Greens Available Now!

All kinds of farm products and local goods are available

NOW -

• Greens • Leeks, Green Onions • Flowers • Farmstead Cheeses • Potatoes • Meat • Fish • Soup • Jams and Jellies • Baked Goods • Plant Starts • And SO much more! 

Markets Now Open :

UW Heights - Sat, 9-2 - The University District Farmers Market is Seattle's oldest and largest "farmers-only" neighborhood market. Directions - Here

Colombia City -  Wed, 3-7 - Founded in 1998, the Columbia City farmers market brings over 40 Washington State farmers and small food vendors to this historic neighborhood in Seattle’s Rainier Valley. Market days are full of the colors and sounds of shoppers from around the world who live and work in this community. Directions - Here -

West Seattle Farmers Market - Sunday, 10 - 2 

Operating since 1999, the West Seattle Farmers Market features over 35 Washington State farmers and small food processors.  This popular market is “home” to countless enthusiastic shoppers who revel in the freshness, variety, and value available from local farms.

Directions - Here

Broadway Farmers Market - Sunday, 10 - 2 (New Location this year! Next to Seattle Central

Community College) 

This popular Sunday destination has moved to a fabulous new spot, right in front of Seattle Central Community College on Capitol Hill, at Broadway and Pine.  More central, visible and open, with space to sit on the grass or steps around the Performance Hall. 

Directions - Here -

Lake Forest Park/Third Place Commons Farmers Market - Sundays, 11-4 

The Market is officially open for the 2011 season! Stop by the information table at the front of the Market and pick up a handy 2011 Harvest Schedule postcard for your fridge. Times are approximate and subject to the whims of Mother Nature and the Jet Stream. Directions - Here -

Ballard Sunday Farmers Market - Sunday, 10-3

Ballard Farmers Market is located on historic Ballard Avenue NW, between Vernon Place NW and 22nd Avenue NW. It is open every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., year round, rain, snow, sun and/or wind. It is more reliable than the Post Office.

Directions - Here -

The markets are OPEN RAIN OR SHINE! Come see us and eat fresh, eat local!

Colombia City Opening Day!

We were there!

So many choices about in the Seattle Area for Farmers Market shopping. As of last summer, Seattle hosted 19 Farmers Markets. But can there be too much of a good thing? An article in last Aug PI asked that question. 

Does Seattle have too many farmers markets?

By VANESSA HO, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Updated 10:00 p.m., Sunday, August 22, 2010

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Does-Seattle-have-too-many-farmers-markets-885222.php#ixzz1MGSLP47X

"............... The recent explosion in farmers markets - including new ones in Belltown and Georgetown this year, and in downtown and South Lake Union last year - have prompted many to ask: In culinary-conscious, urban-ag-loving Seattle, is it possible to have too many farmers markets?

"They have reached and exceeded saturation," said Wade Bennett, who runs Rockridge Orchards in Enumclaw with his wife, Judy.

"Every little enclave in Seattle - they all want a farmers market. How can you tell them no -- that you can't have fresh food in your neighborhood?" he said.

"But it's becoming a burden. What has happened for most farmers is we're killing ourselves and we're actually making less money."

Bennett sells his farm's famous cider and Asian pears in nine local farmers markets. But he predicts he'll drop to five or six next year.

'It didn't work for Starbucks either'

Once a novel way of connecting consumers with growers, farmers markets have become a hot commodity for reasons beyond the eating-local movement. There's a social justice piece, in which access to fresh, healthy food is important for underserved neighborhoods.

And there's a neighborhood improvement angle, in which communities want a farmers markets to help draw shoppers and spruce up a business district.

"I suppose Starbucks put a store on every corner," said Chris Curtis, the longtime director of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, which operates seven markets in Seattle.

"But it didn't work for Starbucks either," she said. Curtis noted the coffee company closed hundreds of stores that were cannibalizing profits from each other, after an aggressive expansion.

She said her phone rings constantly from neighborhoods wanting a market, but after hearing from farmers struggling with revenue, she's been holding off. The last market she launched, in Phinney Ridge, was in 2007.

Curtis understands the benefit of a neighborhood market for residents, but thinks it's a bad idea to open one in an area that lacks the density or interest to sustain it.

"The only reason we would open one is if it truly would be good for the farmers," she said, adding that sales dropped last year with the recession and have been holding steady since.

"We wouldn't rush into a neighborhood if it would only (benefit) the chamber of commerce."

There are now 19 farmers markets in Seattle. There are markets in Phinney, Wallingford, Ballard and the U-District all vying for shoppers in North Seattle.

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Does-Seattle-have-too-many-farmers-markets-885222.php#ixzz1MGSiYwEx