The MI Farmers Market’s 5th Season Opens with New Vendors and Big Crowds

Posted on 2012/06/11 by Joel Wachs

Customers at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 10, 2012. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

After months of anticipation, the Mercer Island Farmers Market re-opened for its fifth season with dozens of favorite returning vendors, over a dozen new vendors, large crowds, and beautiful blue skies.

Islanders of all ages turned out in force to support Washington State farmers and artisan food producers. One of our state representatives, Marcie Maxwell (D-41st), arrived bright and early for the market’s opening. Our mayor, Bruce Bassett, was there. So was city councilmember, Jane Meyer Brahm, and executive director of the MI Chamber of Commerce, Terry Moreman. So many of our community were there that one patron was overheard to say, “I could come here all day and say ‘hello’ to people.”

Nick from Collin Family Orchards putting out freshly picked cherries at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 10, 2012. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Nick from Collins Family Orchards putting out freshly picked cherries at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 10, 2012. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

The MI Farmers Market welcomed back returning favorite vendors, such as Collins Family Orchards, Selah, WA (with freshly picked cherries), Crown S Ranch, Winthrop, WA (with their much sought-after meat and eggs), Got Soup? Seattle, WA (with Jerry’s made-from-fresh-local-ingredient soups), Island Apiaries, Freeland, WA (who, as always, brought one of their kid-magnet hives), Kittitas Valley Greenhouse, Ellensburg, WA (with their dozens of varieties of heirloom tomatoes), Patty Pan Grill, Seattle, WA (with their healthy and tasty tamales and quesadillas), and Snohomish Bakery, Snohomish, WA (with their artisanal pastries and over one dozen different breads).

Some long-time vendors arrived with new products. Tonnemaker Farms, Royal City, WA, brought apple cider, dried peppers, and fruit leathers. Others arrived with a new name. Farmers Market Preserves, Seattle, WA is now Camp Robber Jams. (Be sure to stop by their booth to ask Rome about the name change.)

Eddie Alvarez of Alvarez Organic Farms helping a customer at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 10, 2012. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

The market also welcomed new vendors, such as Alvarez Organic Farms, Mabton, WA (overflowing tables of organic vegetables, plus roasted peanuts), Grand Central Bakery, Seattle, WA (delicious fresh baked breads and sweets plus take-and-bake doughs), and Jeb’s Wild Salmon (Bristol-Bay-Alaska-caught salmon).

In addition, several of these new vendors have added products offered for the first time at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. Middlefork Coffee Roasters, Seattle, WA, is offering locally roasted, fair-trade coffee. Olsen Farms, Colville, WA, is bringing new cuts of meat, including lamb, as well as their organic potatoes. And Piccola Cellars Winery, Woodinville, WA, is offering wine made from Washington-grown grapes in easy to carry, environmentally friendly totes.

Kira Doley of Olsen Farms talking with customers at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 10, 2012. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

The MI Farmers Market would like to offer a big thank you to our farmer/vendors, our community, and our many volunteers. We couldn’t have started this season so successfully without you.

The Mercer Island Farmers Market is open from 10 am to 3 pm every Sunday from now until October 14, 2012. (The MIFM will be closed on Sunday, July 15th for Mercer Island’s Summer Celebration and August 5th for SeaFair.) We hope to see you at the market!

Build Your Own Holiday Gift Basket at the Mercer Island Farmers Market’s Pre-Thanksgiving Harvest Market

Posted on 2011/11/14 by mifarmersmarket

Holiday gift baskets for the Mercer Island Farmers Market's pre-Thanksgiving Harvest Market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

As part of the Mercer Island Farmers Market’s pre-Thanksgiving Harvest Market on Sunday, November 20th, our community will have the opportunity to build their own holiday gift baskets of local produce and artisan food products.

To encourage this, the MIFM will be offering complimentary baskets and wrapping plus a market tote bag. The supplies of baskets are limited. So be sure to come early to the Harvest Market. We open at 10 a.m.

The Harvest Market will feature many familiar farmers and vendors that will have the perfect fruits and other products for gift baskets.

Booth Canyon Orchard, Carlton, WA will be returning to the MIFM with their organic heirloom apples and pears
Collins Family Orchard, Selah, WA will have their delicious local apples
Farmers Market Preserves, Seattle, WA will have their wide variety of jams and jellies that feature fresh local fruit
Fishing Vessel St. Jude, Seattle, WA will have their cans of Albacore tuna and packages of Albacore jerky
Island Apiaries, Freeland, WA will have their jars of local honey
Rockridge Orchards, Enumclaw, WA will have their bottles of fresh apple cider as well as hard ciders and berry wines
Tonnemaker Family Orchards, Royal City, WA will have their wide selection of apples and pears
Trevani Truffles, Seattle, WA, will have their artisan chocolates

In addition, the MIFM will have several new vendors at the special Harvest Market, including Theo Dorres Aromatics, Renton, WA, which will be offering their artisan tea blends.

September 25th Mercer Island Farmers Market Vendor Highlights

Posted on 2011/09/24 by mifarmersmarket

Winter squash from Hand-Farmed Organics at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 18, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Well, the calendar and the produce appearing at the farmers markets are saying that it is fall. But the weather is saying that it is summer; high of 80°F and sunny. Today might be unseasonably warm, but it is supposed to change dramatically on Saturday night with a high of only 65°F on Sunday. Fall seems to be finally coming.

We have updates from two of the MIFM’s vendors. In addition, as the Events Team volunteers are planning to sample apples at Sunday’s market, we thought that some photos of many of the varieties that have appeared in recent weeks would be fun.

Farmers Market Preserves, Seattle, WA

Rome Doherty, owner of Farmers Market Preserves, speaking with customers at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 21, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Rome Doherty, owner of Farmers Market Preserves, started his weekly message to customers with, as he terms it, “some high-falutin poetry”:

Order the last fruits to become ripe
Give them two more sunny days
Push them to fulfillment
And force the last sweetness into the heavy wine.

—Rainier Maria Rilke

Rome with be coming to the MIFM this Sunday with a new batch of Strawberry with Basil and Balsamic Jam and some terrific Nectarine Jam with fruit from Collins Orchards.

The magic word this week is “high-falutin” in honor of Rilke’s poem. So for a dollar off of your first jar of jam this week be sure to work the word-of-the-week into your conversation with Rome.

Got Soup?, Seattle, WA

Got Soup? owner Jerry Baxter handing a sample to a customer at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on July 24, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Jerry Baxter, owner of Got Soup?, writes, “So last week I gave a dissertation on Kohlrabi, this week I am going to keep it simple. It is soup season. Here are some soups that will make your life easier. Most will go well with a nice salad or some good bread. Hope you like. Next week I will have a couple of new soups for you.”

This week’s soups are:

Gumbo: chicken stock (chicken, onion, celery ,carrot, tomato, parsley), onion, celery, carrot, red and green peppers, tomato, chicken, sausage, garlic, flour, butter, file powder, parsley, thyme, basil, oregano, paprika, cayenne
Orange and Cumin Sweet Potato (vegan): vegetable stock (water, onion, carrot, celery, tomato, parsley), sweet potato, onion, celery, oranges, cumin, cilantro, jalapeño
Northwest Chowder: Fish/clam stock (fish, clams, onion, celery, carrot, parsley), onion, potatoes, celery, leeks, red pepper, salmon, clams, milk, butter, flour, parsley, chervil, chive, thyme, peppercorns
Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho (cold, vegan, and raw): tomato, cucumber, onion, fennel, yellow pepper, zucchini, tarragon, parsley, sherry wine vinegar, cayenne, paprika, olive oil
Wild Mushroom (vegan): mushroom/vegetable stock (mushroom, onion, celery, carrot, tomato, parsley), portabello, button, crimini, leeks, fennel, onions, tomato, rice flour, tamari, Madeira wine, thyme, parsley, rosemary

As he always does, Jerry sourced many of his ingredients from the MIFM’s farmers, including:

Full Circle Farm, Carnation, WA (onions, fennel, and celery)
Kittitas Valley Greenhouse, Ellensburg, WA (tomatoes)
Tonnemaker Family Orchards, Royal City, WA (dried chilies, peppers, and zucchini)

Photo Essay on Apples at the Mercer Island Farmers Market

For the past month, the farmers at the Mercer Island Farmers Market have been bringing dozens of varieties of tree fruit. As the photo essay that we did on the variety of cucumbers at the MIFM generated a number of responses, we thought that another photo essay, this one showing the abundance of apples, would help to demonstrate the bounty of the region and the enormous range of produce available at at the MIFM.

Akane apples from Tonnemaker Family Orchards at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 18, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Early Cortland apples from Jones Creek Farm at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Early Gold apples from Tonnemaker Family Orchards at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 4, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Gala apples from Martin Family Orchards at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Ginger Gold apples from Collins Family Orchards at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 4, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Golden Supreme apples from Tonnemaker Family Orchards at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 18, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Golden Sweet apples from Jones Creek Farm at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 4, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Gravenstein apples from Jones Creek Farm at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Honey Crisp apples from Collins Family Orchards at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Jonamac apples from Jones Creek Farm at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 18, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

McIntosh apples from Tonnemaker Family Orchards at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 18, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Mollie's Delicious apples from Jones Creek Farm at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 18, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

NYB 298 (sic) apples from Jones Creek Farm at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Prima apples from Jones Creek Farm at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 18, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

St. Edmund's Pippin apple from Jones Creek Farm at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Sugar Crisp apples from Collins Family Orchards at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

August 28th Mercer Island Farmers Market Event Highlights: Music, Dancing, and Sampling

Posted on 2011/08/31 by mifarmersmarket

We had great weather for the August 28th Mercer Island Farmers Market—blue skies, 80°F temperatures… And our customers came out in droves not only to purchase fresh, local fruits and vegetables, but also to be part of the fun.

Music and Dancing

Matt Lome performing and inspiring children to dance at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Matt Lome, Mercer Island musician and teacher, returned for an encore performance on Sunday. The last time he played at the MIFM was June when the weather was unseasonably cool and he had to wear a heavy coat. He still did a wonderful job entertaining farmers, volunteers and shoppers.

This past Sunday with the great weather Matt was able to be much more relaxed and to wear shorts and a t-shirt. While the weather and his clothing might have been different, his music was as entertaining as ever. It even inspired some of our youngest shoppers to dance.

Sophie Feldman singing and playing the guitar at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Heather Feldman)

Sophie Feldman, a student of Matt’s, was a big hit when she played at the MI Farmers Market in June. We are very happy that she agreed to return for an encore performance at the Mercer Island Farmers Market.

Children dancing to music played by Sophie Feldman at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Heather Feldman)

We know that our customers were quite happy as well as she too inspired dancing among our youngest shoppers.

Thank you, Matt and Sophie, for coming back the MI Farmers Market and doing such a great job entertaining everyone. We hope that you will come back to play next market season.

Sampling Table: Peaches and Nectarines

Susie Rosenstein (on left) and Mindy Landsman (in middle in brown top) preparing peaches and nectarines, which customers are sampling, at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011.

Susie Rosenstein (on left) and Mindy Landsman (in middle background in the brown top) preparing peaches and nectarines, which customers are eagerly sampling, at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Susie Rosenstein and Mindy Landsman, who are tireless Mercer Island Farmers Market volunteers as well as MIFM board members, put together a sampling table to help educate our shoppers about the different varieties of peaches and nectarines available.

Susie reports our customers had an overwhelmingly positive response to the sweet stone fruit. “The only other times I have experienced such interest in the sampling was when we were sampling ice cream and baked goods from the market. Tanya [Bednarski, Susie's partner in organizing the sampling events] and I used to say that nothing attracts the crowds like sugar and butter. Well, I guess we need to add peaches and nectarines to our list.”

Mindy related that one customer said that the peaches were so sweet that “they tasted like candy” to which Susie replied, “healthy candy.” Well, I guess we know why the sampling of peaches and nectarines was so popular.

Thank you, Susie and Mindy, for organizing such a successful event. And thank you Billy’s Organic Garden, Tonasket, WA, Collins Family Orchard, Selah, WA, Martin Family Orchard, Orondo, WA, and Tonnemaker Family Orchard, Royal City, WA for donating peaches and nectarines for the sampling table. Billy’s donated Red Haven peaches; Collins donated Sun Crest peaches and Honey Blaze nectarines; Martin donated Rosa Hale peaches and Red Gold nectarines; and Tonnemaker donated Delps peaches and Yellow Flesh nectarines.

Zaw Pizza Now Accepting Credit Cards at the Mercer Island Farmers Market

Posted on 2011/07/20 by mifarmersmarket

Sign at the Zaw Pizza booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on July 17, 2011.

Sign listing Zaw's specialty pizzas and that they now accept credit cards at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on July 17, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

The number of vendors at the Mercer Island Farmers Market that accept credit cards keeps increasing. This past Sunday, July 17th, was the first market day that Zaw Pizza accepted credit cards at the MIFM. Zaw’s Anthony Styll told us that there was an immediately positive response from customers to using credit cards, which ended up accounting for around one-third of all of his sales.

With Zaw Pizza’s addition to the list, nearly 20% of the vendors at the MI Farmers Market are now accepting credit cards, making shopping more convenient for our customers. So please remember the next time that you are at the farmers market, cash is not the only way to pay for the delicious products from many of the vendors.

Below is an updated list of vendors at the Mercer Island Farmers Market that are accepting credit cards:

Collins Family Orchards, Selah, WA
Crown S Ranch, Winthrop, WA
Farmers Market Preserves, Seattle, WA
Island Apiaries, Whidbey Island, WA
Molly Moon Ice Cream, Seattle, WA
Rockridge Orchards, Enumclaw, WA
Zaw Pizza, Seattle, WA

Mercer Island Farmers Market

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Tag Archives: Collins Family Orchards

The MI Farmers Market’s 5th Season Opens with New Vendors and Big Crowds

Build Your Own Holiday Gift Basket at the Mercer Island Farmers Market’s Pre-Thanksgiving Harvest Market