A Crisp Fall Day at the Tigard Farmers Market

The Market

This fall day called for an extra Columbia Sportswear layer in order to stay warm at the Tigard Farmers Market. It was dry though, and the market was open for business. We really notice the change in a market's atmosphere based on the season and weather. How different would the Tigard farmer's market be in early July when everyone is just getting excited about the warm weather and fresh strawberries. Pulling out the shorts for the first time that you really need them and pulling on the fleece for the first time just put you in two completely different frames of mind. And as you have read, hopefully, in our earlier posts, the atmosphere and attitude of the people, both buyers and sellers, have a huge impact on any market's feel. Regardless of the colder weather, the Tigard Farmers Market was full of hardy souls determined to find the perfect Pumpkin and, still to be had, fresh fall produce. Even this late in the season, there were still fresh strawberries available. I tried one and was disappointed. The Hoods are long gone and we can only dream about them until next year. Even the berries I froze don't quite cut it. The Tigard Farmers Market has a unique layout based in a couple of parking lots right on 99e. It seemed centrally located and easy for people to get to. We enjoyed the assortment of vendors and noticed that some regulars were probably already finished for the season. Notable, was a rock polisher/jewelry maker who was drawing a lot of attention. He had some very nice pieces. So, what did we buy this time. Keeping with my fall cooking theme, we bought some parsnips and yukon gold potatoes for....Smashed Parsnips and Potatoes with Thyme to go along with a modified Cabernet braised short ribs recipe I planned to make that evening. We also bought some pears to be baked into a dessert with roasted hazelnuts. Fall food for sure. I like to cook with roasted hazelnuts. It is really convenient to buy a bag, roasted, at a farmers market, stick them in the freezer where they are ready for use. Roasting and skinning hazelnuts is a tedious and messy job.

The Table

Smashed Parsnips and Potatoes with Thyme (Martha Stewart)
1 part parsnips to 3 parts potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces keep separate
1 Tablespoon thyme
Olive oil

1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the parsnips with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, a little more salt; just cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 12 to 14 minutes.
2. Drain parsnips and potatoes. Return the empty suacepan to high heat and let the remaining water evaporate. Add another tablespoon or so of oil and the thyme. Cook about 1 minute. Add back the parsnips and potatoes and smash. Season with salt and pepper. Optionally drizzle with more olive oil.

Note the following recipe is a modified braised short beef rib recipe. Sometimes the short ribs are a little fatty for us. I substituted a pot roast like cut of beef and cut the roast into 2 1/2 to 3 inch pieces. You may use short ribs if you prefer.

Cabernet-Braised Beef

2 - 3  pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 2 1/2- to 3-inch pieces

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

About 1 tablespoon salt

About 1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion (about 10 oz.), chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

2 1/2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1. Rinse beef and pat dry. In a paper bag, combine flour with 1 tablespoon each salt and pepper. Drop beef into bag and shake to coat. Lift beef out, shaking off excess flour mixture.

2. In a heavy 6-quart pan over medium-high heat, melt butter with olive oil. Working in batches, add beef in a single layer and turn to brown on all sides, about 5 minutes total per batch. With tongs, transfer beef to a bowl. Discard all but about 2 tablespoons fat in pan.

3. Reduce heat to medium and add onions and garlic to pan; stir often until onions are limp, about 6 minutes. Stir in wine, mustard, then return short ribs to pan. Cover and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to maintain a low simmer and cook, turning beef once or twice to submerge meat, until very tender when pierced, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.



Cabernet-Braised Beef served over Smashed Parsnip and Potatoes with Thyme



4. With tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer beef to individual wide, shallow bowls. Skim off and discard any fat from pan juices. Boil juices over high heat until reduced to about 3 cups. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Pour juices over beef.

Baked Pear and Hazelnut dessert

Pear dessert was a simple: 2 sliced pears, 1 tablespoon flour, sugar to taste, a pinch of cinnimon, 2 tablespoons butter and roasted hazelnuts coarsley chopped. Mix all but the butter and nuts in a bowl. Pour pear mixture into individual tart ramekins and cut the butter into small cubes and distribute evenly into ramekins. Distribute the hazelnuts the same way.

Place ramekins in the oven on a cookiesheet. Bake bake at 350 until soft. Note this recipe has no pie crust. You acan optionally add a crust top or bottom.

See ya,

ST. John's Farmers Market



Click on pictures for a larger view.



The Market

The farmers markets in general are starting to look a little bit like my garden. Some of them have shut down for the season. A few hardy ones are determined to squeeze out one or two more rounds of fruit. St. John's Farmers Market was alive and well on our visit. Located a few blocks east of the beautiful St. John's bridge in St. John's square. I thought parking was a bit difficult, but that may have been me being unfamiliar with the area. St. John's square is a very cool and welcoming meeting place feeling kinda small community even though the surrounding area is substantially populated and bustling. Another plus for this market is the proximity to Sauvie's Island with easy access to the bountiful crops grown there. The market itself was well attended and well represented by a rounded vendor set. The square where the market lives is very inviting and a lot of people were just hanging out. There was a lot of fresh produce still to be had and fresh food for purchase. The local coffee roasters and the very locally grown produce made you feel that this was truly the neighborhood's marketplace. We ended up buying some fresh spinach and and a fresh baguette. The other products at the bakery were really intriguing, but we were able to avoid temptation.

The Table

Lori did the cooking with the spinach. She made a wonderful fall dish called Cheesy Shells & Greens.

12 oz. medium shell pasta shells (I used whole wheat pasta)*

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Pinch Cayenne

6 oz. extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (1 1/2 cups)

Kosher salt and pepper

1 bunch spinach, thick stems discarded, leaves roughly chopped

*I cooked a 13.5 oz. box of pasta shells and had more pasta than needed. I felt that the casserole was somewhat dry so I added additional milk prior to broiling. Afterthought, maybe recipe should have read 12 oz. of cooked pasta. Hmm......

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes; whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.

Whisk the mustard, nutmeg, cayenne, 1 cup Cheddar, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Add the pasta and spinach and toss to combine.

Heat broiler. Transfer the mixture to a 1 1/2 qt. broiler-proof baking dish or 4 12oz. ramekins. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar and broil until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes.

Hillsdale Farmer's Market

Things I learned this week:
You can run a 10k event (6.2 miles) with only 3 weeks of training and a little encouragement from your wife. 
Those German Heirloom tomatoes from the garden make great gazpacho.
I love summer, but am ready to cook some fall food.
Spending time with friends should not be underestimated.
Celebrating your 26th wedding anniversary is a once in a lifetime event and should be treated as such.
Just how much I love that woman and the simple life we share together.

Note the nice sunhat basket in the right of the picture.

The Market

The Hillsdale Farmers Market is rated number 4 in Sunset magazines top 10 Farmers Markets across the West. Sunset notes the markets small size, smaller crowd and ample parking as reasons they rated it so high. All accurate descriptions of the market. The location is practical in that it rests in a parking strip between Wilson High school and Mary Reike school and backs up to the Hillsdale shopping center. What the location gains in practicality, it loses in not leveraging the neighborhood's west hills' feel. We actually parked in the neighborhood and walked the extra distance. This is a neighborhood that shares the hillside with OHSU and Council Crest. Many homes have vistas of the river and the city. Signs were posted to keep you on the right walking path to Marquam Nature Park and Council Crest Park. Once you enter the school parking lot the feel of the neighborhood is no longer evident.

But the market creates it's own small town meeting square feel and the neighborhood's culture is reflected in the voices and camaraderie of the patrons and vendors enjoying an afternoon of warm weather. I cannot remember hearing heartfelt greetings in Hebrew being exchanged at any other farmers market.

We bought triple sweet corn on the cob for dinner and some poblano chilies to go into the salsa we canned using tomatoes and some green, yellow, red and purple peppers from our own garden.

The Table

The triple sweet corn was served with BBQ'd chicken. Simple and sweet eaten on the patio. AS I mentioned earlier we canned some salsa with the peppers and vegetables from our own garden

Milwaukie Farmers Market, Home Sweet Home

The Market

It is said that most of us do not appreciate the things we are most familiar with. Our good health, faithful friends and loving, if somewhat quirky, family blend into a comfortable backdrop to our daily lives. The glamour of a shiny new object too often distracts us from the stable foundation we take for granted. This, I must admit, is the case with our own neighborhood farmers market. I guess the journey we have been on this summer experiencing other local farmers markets with a critical journalistic eye may have changed the way we looked at the Milwaukie Farmers Market on this visit. We both agreed that the vibe of the Hollywood market and the cosmopolitan feel of the PSU market still stand out. But we absolutely have a gem in our own backyard. I have often bounced into the car or onto my bike to make a last minute Sunday dinner run down the hill into downtown Milwaukie to the market. In and out, no smelling the roses, people to see, things to do..I'll take that box of berries thank you very much...totally unappreciating the market, it's convenience and all it has to offer. Lori and I were both taken by the breadth and quality of vendors, the comfortable layout, and overall friendly nature of the markets patrons and vendors. The Milwaukie Farmers Market is located on Main Street in downtown Milwaukie in the parking lots across from City Hall. Parking lots you say? The layout is quite amenable to a market. The small lots partition nicely into vendor display areas and patron traffic lanes. The established trees offer a cool canopied park like setting on the warmest of afternoons. We bought some blueberries for little blueberry / peach pies. And green onions to go into the pork tenderloin teriyaki marinade.

The Table
Dinner was grilled veggies and pork tenderloin. We tend to grill and eat out on the patio every chance we get during the nice weather. I also made little blueberry / peach pies. This is a very simple recipe that takes advantage of fresh in season fruits.
Blueberry peach mini pies
1 pint blueberries (washed and sorted)
1-2 peaches (sliced)
1/4 cup sugar (+ or -) to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter (cut into small squares)
1 frozen ready to use pie crust (thawed)
1 egg beaten with a splash of water in a separate bowl

In a large bowl, combine sliced peaches, blueberries, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Pour into 3 or 4 small greased ramekins or other small shallow dish. Dot with butter. cover with pie crust and use a knife to cut a few slits for venting. Wash with the egg water mixture. Optionally sprinkle sugar over the prepared pies. Place prepared pies on a cookie sheet. Cook in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until the crusts are golden brown. Be sure to use a cookie sheet. These pies notoriously bubble over. Serve warm with ice cream.

Remember to hug your loving, if quirky, family members.

King Neighborhood Farmers Market

The Market

Sorry for the long delay between posts, but Lori and I had to get in some vacation time. We did not find any farmers markets in the Rogue River Wilderness area. Black bears, yes every day, river otters, yes, deer, 37 lb salmon, yes and yes, a lot of fun people enjoying good food and wine and the river, yes. But no farmers markets up there.

So, well rested, we are back on the Portland Farmer's Market beat. King Neighborhood Farmers Market is located in the inner NE part of Portland and seemed to be a great fit for the community it serves. Not too big, not too small, but just right for the neighborhood. This is a very friendly, laid back farmers market that has all of the products needed to do some local shopping and enjoy one's self. Parking can be a bit of a challenge, but it is in the middle of a neighborhood. Nicely, the locals didn't seem to mind the extra traffic. Since it was Right next to the school, we saw some families set up blankets and settle in for a lazy afternoon on the grass under the shade of some trees on the school grounds as an extension of the market's social attraction. This was no rush in, grab your food and rush out kind of crowd. We saw great products, heard some great music and took home some great stuff to eat. Note the golden beets in the picture to the right. They are really great in a roasted beet salad and are not very commonly available. Try them if you get a chance. We bought a Butterscotch melon. Much like a small cantaloupe, very sweet and tasty. I may try to grow some next year. We also purchased some multi-color beans. Something really new to try.

The Table

The beans, as you can see from the picture, were shell beans. Like a fava bean you shell them before cooking, only these were much easier to prepare than a fava. These were simply shelled and steamed for about 10 minutes until tender but not mushy. Season to taste, I have been experimenting with some different sea salts lately. Something I highly recommend that will add some variety to your seasoning. You can find a variety of sea salts at Penzey's spice stores and now most of the large grocery stores.

A Sunny Visit to the Sunnyside Farmers Market

The Market

Sunnyside Farmers Market is a small community minded market. I like the fact that it is an Oregon Food Bank drop off point and everyone is encouraged to contribute. OFB is one of our favorite charities. The organization that manages the market is very particular that merchants are organic minded and sell only what they grow or make themselves. The location is at 132nd and Sunnyside Road in the parking lot of the grange hall. We were actually a bit taken back by the small number of vendors in what we would think would be a huge draw area in Clackamas County. Despite our initial impression, we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the goods offered and our ability to easily find product that was a bit unique and fun to take home. A plus for us was the small, personal, nature of the market that allowed us to talk to the vendors a bit longer without disrupting business. As a patron visiting a market for say 30 minutes, it is not easily evident that all of these markets have all of the friendships, politics, characters and community we all find in our workplace, our church, or our neighborhood. These people see each other and work with each other in an intricate dance of simultaneously supporting and competing with each other every weekend and sometimes during the week at other farmers markets. Rain or shine. Crowds or emptiness. Profit or none. How often we have heard, "Can you watch my booth while I get some lunch or call my daughter? She is in the finals of a tournament. Wish I could be there" It is not all glory being a FM merchant. We have met some wonderful people, all proud of their products and optimistically giving it a go. This is Sunnyside Farmers Market.

What we bought.

I had to have some of the lemon blueberry bread from one booth. The owner quickly said that it contained the blueberries from the vendor across the aisle. We also bought some great looking broccoli mostly because the owner of that booth had brought in some purple carrots and I had to have the purple carrots. The deal was, I buy something, and I could have a carrot for free. A literal use of using the carrot to entice someone's positive actions. I bit. We bought some very fresh broccoli for the salad recipe below. Note that I added the purple carrot and it was great. This is a nice summer salad.

The Table

The Lemon Blueberry Bread has been slowly disappearing every evening. It's wonderful. See ya.

Chopped Broccoli Salad

2-3 cups - cut broccoli Florette's
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped cooked bacon
Dressing
1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt
1 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 tsp sugar

The PSU Downtown Portland Farmers Market

The Market

There are a number of reasons why I love Portland. There are a number of reasons I dislike Portland. But today's writing will stay on the positive "love" Portland side of the equation. Despite the questionable weather, Lori and I decided to break out the bikes and ride to the downtown PSU Farmers Market Saturday morning. One of the things I love about Portland is the Springwater corridor bike path which makes up about 3/4s of our 9.5 mile bike ride into downtown Portland. The rest of the the ride is relatively benign winding through the sleepy Sellwood neighborhood and the Milwaukie city center that has a stop sign at every block. Though misting and cloudy, it was still a beautiful ride along the river watching for eagles, osprey and an occasional deer. I do need to point out that the 1/2 mile trek over the Hawthorne bridge terrifies Lori to the point of considering the "no car traffic" option of the Steele bridge every trip. But not today. Today was a conquer your fears day for Lori complete with a short stop after the return crossing to let your heart stop racing and wonder why the Steele bridge was left unused that day.

Ah, but back to the reason for the ride in the first place. The PSU Market is one of the best I've ever visited. It takes up almost three full blocks in the park blocks in the middle of the PSU campus. The setting is wonderful under a canopy of trees and I gotta say this is a huge market. Every conceivable vendor is available. Bearded mushrooms, chanterelles, or truffles? Check, Every kind of locally available produce? Check. Fresh seafood? Check. Beef, lamb, chicken, yak? Check. Wine makers and many artisan cheese makers? Check. Flowers and bakers and pastry makers....Check, check, check. Bring a large bag when you visit this market. They also offer cooking classes for the little ones and live music. And what is downtown Portland without the random musician playing something that sounded like Jamaican drums or a duet singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" in harmony backed by a soft banjo. The patronage is typical downtown Portland. From struggling young creatives who don't mind spending their last 10 bucks on a Latte and a Pine State Biscuit breakfast sandwich, to the sophisticates who have pretty much made their money and now live downtown and enjoy the arts and restaurants of the area. Then there is us, somewhere in the middle of that spectrum enjoying the clamor and commerce surrounding us as we chase material for our next blog and more importantly, our next meal made up of local procured products. Yep. Many of the reasons I love Portland.

So what did we buy today? We found "Unbound Pickling Beatnik Beets" and artisan feta cheese for a fun Quinoa salad recipe I saw in MIX magazine. You have to try these pickled beets. They have pomegranate and chai spices in the brine. A helpful tip from the guy selling the beets was to reuse the brine. It can be reused once within 6 months of being opened. We are going to use roasted beets out of our garden to take advantage of this great brine mixture. Not just a local product but part of it is recyclable. When I saw the first local peaches out of the Maryhill orchards on display, I had to buy one. Wait till you see what I did with the peach. Only thing better that would be better would be to taste it. Finally, Lori bought some wheat pastry flour for a breakfast bar project she has been planning. We will talk about how those come out in a later post.

The Table

Dinner was slow cooked barbecued chicken. I like to cook the lightly seasoned chicken on the high rack using low heat with a drip pan full of water on the lower rack to keep the chicken moist. About two hours and slap on your favorite barbecue sauce for 10 minutes before removing from the grill. I always use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is done when cooking with low heat. The chicken was paired with the quinoa pickled beet salad. You can find the recipe on the MIX magazine website or email me. We added some watermelon to the plate that needed to be eaten.

Lastly, the peach. One peach is enough for two people using this recipe. The local peaches are pretty large. I don't think it is my original idea, but I have been doing this for a few years and never used anyone else's recipe. Hear goes.Make sure the peach is ripe and ready to eat. Cut the peach in half and take out the pit. Melt some butter in a dish and add Cinnamon and sugar to taste. Brush the cut face of the peach with the butter solution. Make sure to reserve more of the butter solution for later of make up another batch later. Place the peach face down on the grill. Now timing and heat usually vary with what else you may be grilling. So in this case, since I was low and slow cooking chicken, I put it right over the burner that was going on low for about 45 minutes. You want the face to get grill marks and the lower half of the peach to cook to soft but not mushy, Flip the peach halves over and baste again with the butter, sugar, and Cinnamon mixture filling up the pit indentation. grill another 20 to 30 minutes depending on the heat of the grill. Again, you are trying to get the peaches soft and warm but not mushy. I serve with vanilla bean ice cream