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