August 28th Mercer Island Farmers Market Vendor Highlights: Cucumbers

Posted on 2011/08/29 by mifarmersmarket

Most of us might notice the huge variety of peaches or other tree fruit at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. But did you notice the surprisingly large variety of cucumbers at the MIFM’s farmers’ tables yesterday?

Armenian cucumbers from Tonnemaker Family Orchard at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Cucumbers (unlabeled variety) from Hand-Farmed Organics at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Cucumbers (unlabeled variety) from River Farm Organic Produce at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Cucumbers (unlabeled variety) from Tonnemaker Family Orchard at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

English cucumbers from Hedlin Family Farms at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Japanese cucumbers from River Farm Organic Produce at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Lemon cucumbers from River Farm Organic Produce at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Lemon Yellow cucumbers from Tonnemaker Family at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011.

Lemon Yellow cucumbers from Tonnemaker Family Orchard at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Salad cucumbers from Hedlin Family Farms at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 28, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

On top of all of these cucumber varieties from our farmers, Jerry Baxter from Got Soup? had a cold Cucumber and Melon soup at yesterday’s MI Farmers Market.

July 24th Mercer Island Farmers Market Vendor News

Posted on 2011/07/22 by mifarmersmarket

Update: July 23, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.:

This afternoon we heard some good news and some bad from two of our vendors. First the good news.

Firefly Kitchens, Seattle, WA

Jars of all of the different products from Firefly Kitchens stacked in a pyramid at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 26, 2011. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

Julie O’Brien from Firefly Kitchens will be at the Mercer Island Farmers Market tomorrow. Julie makes all of Firefly’s products, so this is a great opportunity to meet the producer and talk with her. You’ll discover what inspires her, how she sources her ingredients from local farms, and why she feels so strongly about the health benefits of fermented food.

In case you have tried their delicious products yet, Firefly Kitchens produces a variety of fermented vegetable products such as sauerkraut (three kinds: Classic; Ruby Red made with beets; and Cordido with onions and jalapenos), kimchi, salsa, and Yin Yang Carrots (sweet carrots with spicy ginger).

They have samples of all of these available at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. So Sunday will be a great chance to try all of their fermented products and to talk with the person beyond their deliciousness.

And now for the bad news…

Whidbey Island Ice Cream, Langley, WA

The Whidbey Island Ice Cream cart at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 26, 2011. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

Ron Hecker, owner of Whidbey Island Ice Cream, contacted us with the unfortunate news that they are having trouble with their carts. So they will not be able to be at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on Sunday.

Ron is working hard to get the cart fixed and plans to return next weekend. So no fear fans of their rich, chocolate-dipped, 18%-butterfat ice cream bars in a huge variety of flavors—banana, blackberry, blackberry-lavender, black cherry, butterscotch, cardamom, cherry chocolate chip, chocolate, chocolate chardonnay, chocolate-fudge, chocolate-mint, coconut, mint, mocha mousse, orange chocolate, peanut butter, pistachio, raspberry, vanilla, vanilla lavender…, you will be able to buy your favorites and try new ones next Sunday, July 31st.

This means that…

Parfait Artisan Organic Ice Cream, Seattle, WA

Parfait Artisan Organic Ice Cream truck at the Mercer Island Farmers Market in June, 2011. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

With Molly Moon and Whidbey Island Ice Cream unable to attend the Mercer Island Farmers Market on Sunday, Parfait Artisan Organic Ice Cream will be our market’s the only ice cream vendor at our July 24th market.

This will be a great opportunity for our customers who haven’t yet tried their wonderful products yet to try what the editors of Sunset Magazine featured in their July food issue as one of their favorite ice cream vendors on the West Coast.

Update: July 23, 2011 at 12:55 p.m.:

This morning we received updates with market specials from two more of our vendors, Island Apiaries and Zaw Pizza.

Island Apiaries, Freeland, WA

Bear-shaped jars of honey at the Island Apiaries booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 26, 2011. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

Many of you are aware that David Neel, the owner of Island Apiaries has a “secret” question each week. He offers a free eight-ounce jar of honey to the first customer to answer this question in person at his booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. He posts the question on Saturday mornings on Island Apiaries’ Facebook page. (Please remember not to post the answers on Facebook, which will only invalidate the question and force David to come up with a new question. The answer must be given in person at the MI Farmer Market.)

This week’s secret question is: “What famous inventor also set a water speed record at age 72?”

If you want to win the free eight-ounce jar of honey, plan to get to the MIFM early, i.e. before 11 a.m. In previous weeks, David has received the correct answers during the first hour of the market.

Zaw Pizza, Seattle, WA

Two freshly made pizzas from Zaw Pizza at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on July 3, 2011. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

Anthony Styll, Zaw’s pizza chef at the MI Farmers Market, sent us an enthusiastic email early this morning. “This week showed quite a bit of new produce at the farmers markets, and we’ll be making the most of it!”

We were particularly excited to read about three of the specials:

The B.L.T. “A summer favorite, with shaved Leeks (from One Leaf Farm), Market Tomatoes (beautiful ones from Billy’s Organic Garden [one of the Mercer Island Farmers Market's farmers]), and Zoe’s Applewood Smoked Dry Cured Nitrate Free Bacon, on a red-sauced pizza with mozzarella and parmesan.”
Roasted Beet Pizza. “Roasted golden beets from Full Circle Farm [another of the Mercer Island Farmers Market's farmers], with fresh basil (we get this from a variety of local farms), roasted red peppers, and fresh goat chevre.”
The Cowardly Apricot. “We’ve got this seasons fresh shipment of Pipitone Farm’s Apricot Yum spread, and will be saucing pizzas with that, to top with roasted Washington free-range chicken, maple caramelized onions, basil, gorgonzola, and fresh slices of apricots from Collins Family Orchard [yet another of the Mercer Island Farmers Market's farmers].”

Remember to order your fresh, take-and-bake pizza pie from Zaw when you arrive at the market and then return to pick it up after you have finished your shopping. It will be waiting for you.

Original Post:

Our farmers and vendors are getting set for another exciting market day at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. Below are some updates and specials from a few of them.

Fishing Vessel St. Jude, Seattle, WA

Stacks of canned tuna from Fishing Vessel St. Jude at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 12, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Fishing Vessel St Jude is making their monthly visit to the MI Farmers Market on Sunday. So this weekend is an especially great time to come to the market so you can stock up on locally caught tuna.

We can’t decide which is our favorite flavor of their canned tuna. Original? Dill? Garlic? Jalapeño? Mediterranean? Natural? Smoked? We suggest that you try them all and decide for yourself.

Molly Moon Ice Cream, Seattle, WA

Customers at the Mercer Island Farmers Market getting ice cream at Molly Moon's ice cream truck. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Unfortunately, due to a scheduling conflict, Molly Moon’s ice cream truck will not be at the MI Farmers Market this Sunday. There is no need to fear. They will be back at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on Sunday, July 31st and will return for the rest of the market season.

For those Islanders needing an ice-cream fix, Parfait Artisan Organic Ice Cream, Seattle, WA will be at the MIFM with their ice cream truck and Whidbey Island Ice Cream, Langley, WA will be at the market with their ice cream cart.

Crown S Ranch, Winthrop, WA

Geza's Organic Eggs from Crown S Ranch at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 12, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

A great reason to get to the MI Farmers Market early are Geza’s Organic Eggs from Crown S Ranch. The eggs are beautiful on the outside featuring different colors and shades. They are also beautiful on the inside with deep almost-orange yolks that change the color of batters and egg dishes from what cooks are used to from store-bought eggs from pale yellows to deep, rich golds. The eggs also improve the flavor of these dishes tremendously, which is why they sell out in the first hour or so of the market.

Crown S Ranch will also be coming with their full line of pasture-raised beef, chicken, and pork. This week’s special is for their freshly harvested, pastured chickens which are on sale for $4.94 per pound.

Farmers Market Preserves, Seattle, WA

Farmers Market Preserve, Seattle, WA booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Rome Doherty emailed us that he will be bringing several new jams this week, including loganberry, apricot, raspberry with Theo Chocolate, and raspberry habanero. Rome continues to produce delicious tradition flavors of jams, jellies, and preserves, but he also never ceases to amaze us with the unique flavor combinations that he develops. We can’t wait to thy the raspberry with Theo Chocolate and raspberry habanero.

This week’s magic word is “Mendelian” because, as Rome writes, he is “…grateful to Fr Mendel, as he is at least partially responsible for those fine loganberries.” Rome is in great company celebrating Mendel; Google also did so by creating a special logo for his 189th birthday this past week.

Got Soup?, Seattle, WA

A customer at the Got Soup? booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 26, 2011. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

During the past week, we received several enthusiastic comments on one particular soup the Jerry Baxter of Got Soup? made last Sunday: his watermelon gazpacho. There might not be any of this cool and refreshing summer soup this week, but Jerry will be bringing four great new soups for the Mercer Island Farmers Market on Sunday:

Corn & Chorizo
Orange & Cumin Sweet Potato (vegan)
Artichoke Paella (vegan)
White Gazpacho (vegan)

As always, Jerry has several vegetarian and vegan options. Furthermore, Jerry loves using the fresh, local produce from our farmers. This week’s soups feature produce from Full Circle Farm, Carnation, WA (onions, leeks, and fennel), Tonnemaker Family Orchards, Royal City, WA (peppers and dried chilies), and Kittitas Valley Greenhouse, Ellensburg, WA (tomatoes) among many others.

Hand-Farmed Organics, Fall City, WA

Romanesco cauliflower from Hand-Farmed Organics at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on July 17, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Last week, Hand-Farmed Organics had tables overflowing with beautiful, local produce. Not only did they have a large variety of different greens (kale, cabbage, red-leaf lettuce…), carrots, turnips (purple top), summer squash, fennel bulbs, romanesco cauliflower, but they also brought kholrabi and potatoes, which they decided to dig up that morning for the market and for a special order from a restaurant. They will be featuring these fingerling potatoes at this week’s market.

So be sure to stop by their booth to check out all of their produce; you might find that they decide to bring something unexpected to the Mercer Island Farmers Market just because it strikes their fancy or they get a special order.

Sunny Valley Wheat-Free, Kent, WA

The Sunny Valley Wheat-Free booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on June 26, 2011. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

In addition to their wonderful wheat-free, gluten-free cookies, bar, and scones, Sunny Valley Wheat-Free plans to bring banana bread (nut free), banana-walnut bread, pumpkin bread (nut free), and pumpkin-walnut bread.

July 17th Vendor News for the Mercer Island Farmers Market

Posted on 2011/07/16 by mifarmersmarket

For our Sunday, July 17th market, the Mercer Island Farmers Market is thrilled that three farmers will be joining the market for the first time this market season: Billy’s Organic Garden, Tonasket, WA; the River Farm Organic Produce, Ellensburg, WA; and Tonnemaker Family Orchard, Royal City, WA. All three farms have been working hard through this difficult growing season to have enough quality produce to supply our farmers market as well as others. As of this week they finally do. Please welcome these three highly anticipated farms to the the MI Farmers Market: stop by their booths; talk with the farmers; and buy some of their fresh, local produce.

Billy’s Organic Garden, Tonasket, WA

Many of our customers have missed Billy’s this season and their wonderful organic produce. At last year’s market, the farm’s tomatoes and tree fruit were particular favorites. Well, after a long absence, they will finally be back. Billy’s is expecting to bring tomatoes tomorrow, but the full list of what they will have isn’t quite certain. So be sure to head over to see their full selection.

The River Farm Organic Produce, Ellensburg, WA

Jerry of the River Farm Organic Produce, Ellensburg, WA talking with a customer at the Bellevue Farmers Market earlier this year. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Tomorrow will be the first time that the River Farm will be at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. They are very popular at other farmers markets in the region, such as the University-District and the Bellevue Farmers Markets. Just as with Billy’s Organic Garden, the farm’s final product mix for our market tomorrow isn’t 100% certain yet, but they definitely plan to bring to the MI Farmers Market zucchini, zucchini blossoms, and cucumbers. Our customers should have a great time meeting Jerry, the owner of the River Farm, and checking out his wonderful organic produce.

Tonnemaker Family Orchard, Royal City, WA

Tonnemaker is also a new farm for the Mercer Island Farmers Market. They grow a large variety of different fruits and vegetables, including over 100 different varieties of tree fruit. The farm expects to bring to the MIFM tomorrow three varieties of cherries: Bing; Sonata; and maybe Sandra Rose. In addition, they will be bringing summer squash, zucchini and maybe some cucumbers. We know that their produce will be a big hit with the Mercer Island Farmers Market customers.

We are no less thrilled about the many farms and other vendors that have been with us since the beginning of this market season. Below are some specials and highlights from many of them, including “Amazing” cauliflower and chocolate-ripe bell peppers.

Crown S Ranch, Winthrop, WA

Jennifer Argraves of Crown S Ranch, Winthrop, WA and her daughter at the Mercer Island Farmers Market earlier this season. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

This week, in addition, to their wonderful eggs and wide selection of organic, pastured beef cuts (T-bone steaks, ribeye steaks, top sirloin steaks, New York steaks, ground beef patties, chuck roasts, round roasts, and short ribs), Crown S Ranch has a special on freshly harvested, pastured chickens, which are $4.95 per pound, as well as a special for their pastured pork chops, which are 10% off at tomorrow’s market.

Farmers Market Preserves, Seattle, WA

Rome Doherty of Farmers Market Preserves has two new jams this week. After “scoring” some Montmorency cherries last week, he make “Pie Cherry” jam. In addition, Rome also will have the first raspberry jam of the season.

The “magic” word this week for a dollar off of your first jar of jam is “peleton.” Rome didn’t explain, but our guess is that this market’s word-of-the-week is in honor of the Tour de France. So, stop by Rome’s booth to buy some of his delicious jams, jellies, and preserves as well as to talk about cycling.

Full Circle Farm, Carnation, WA

Customers at the Full Circle Farm, Carnation, WA booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market in June, 2011. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

Full Circle will be bringing two varieties of cauliflower: Romanesco and “Amazing,” which they swear is really the name of the variety. Check it out yourself to see if it really is as amazing as the name indicates. In addition to the cauliflower, Full Circle will also have both green and red dandelion greens, sugar-snap peas, English-shelling peas, rainbow carrots (orange, while, yellow & purple) and red and white currents.

Got Soup?, Seattle, WA

Jerry Baxter as always has four great new soups for the market tomorrow:

Green Pea with Mint and Tarragon
Curried Lentil with Spinach and Tomato
Italian Broccoli with White Bean and Sausage
Watermelon Gazpacho

This week’s soups include fresh fruit and vegetables from many of our farmers, including Full Circle Farm (onions, fennel, and spinach), Tonnemaker Orchards (peppers and dried chilies), and Kittitas Valley Greenhouse, Ellensburg, WA (tomatoes and cucumbers).

Hand-Farmed Organics, Fall City, WA

Spicy arugula, sweet carrots, and Easter-egg radishes from Hand-Farmed Organics, Fall City, WA at the Mercer Island Farmers Market at the July 3, 2011 market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

New this week from Hand-Farmed Organics will be romanesco cauliflower. They will also be bringing more of their wonderful greens and delicious broccoli and carrots. Last market day, their Flashy Trout lettuce with its large, dark green leaves with purple patches was a particular hit. Stop by the booth and talk with Ryan and Casey to learn more about the farm and its produce.

Hedlin Family Farm, Mount Vernon, WA

Cute sign announcing "Slightly late, but worth the wait" berries at the Hedlin Family Farm booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on July 3, 2011.

Cute sign at the Hedlin Family Farm booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on July 3, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Hedlin Family Farm will be bringing sugar-snap peas, English and salad (aka Persian) cucumbers, and red-ripe, orange-ripe, yellow-ripe, and chocolate-ripe (yes, that is the name of the variety, really) rainbow bell peppers. According to Kai Ottesen, one of the owners of the farm, this will be the last and the best week for the farm’s ‘June’-bearing strawberries. He writes, “So it’s a good week to stock up for the winter.” In addition, the first of Hedlin’s Tulameen raspberries are on. Kai writes, “Tulameens are to raspberries what Shuksans are to strawberries and if you haven’t had either, start asking for them.”

Molly Moon Ice Cream, Seattle, WA

Customers at the Mercer Island Farmers Market getting ice cream at Molly Moon's ice cream truck. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Molly Moon has two new additions to their menu this week: Cherry Chunk Ice Cream and Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet.

Parfait Artisan Organic Ice Cream, Seattle, WA and Molly Moon Ice Cream, Seattle, WA

Parfait Artisan Organic Ice Cream truck at the Mercer Island Farmers Market in June, 2011. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

Congratulations to Parfait and Molly Moon! They are currently featured as the editors’ picks in the July food issue of Sunset Magazine. We love it when our vendors get much deserved recognition like this. We are all certain that the editors didn’t get a chance to try to Whidbey Island Ice Cream, otherwise it would have been a three-way tie. Starting this week, Parfait will be at the market beginning at noon. So remember if you need an ice cream fix on Sunday, the Mercer Island Farmers Market features both of Sunset Magazine’s editors’ picks for the best ice cream in the region.

Overland Enterprises, Seattle, WA

Mark Overholt of Overland Enterprises tending his plants at the Mercer Island Farmers Market in July, 2011. (Photo by Alyssa Hatsukami)

Overland Enterprises plant-of-the-week is Hydrangea Bluebird-A, which is a “stunning blue and white lace-cap variety for part sun to shade that can fit in almost any garden due to its compact nature (four-foot-square size at maturity). The plant is extremely cold hard, requires little pruning, and blooms for months.” Mark and Susan Overholt will be bringing these hydrangeas in full bloom. So stop by their booth to check out these beautiful plants.

Snohomish Bakery, Snohomish, WA

Chocolate babka from Snohomish Bakery, Snohomish, WA. (Photo by Andy Papadatos)

This week Snohomish Bakery is introducing a new product: chocolate babka. We can’t wait to try some as Snohomish has yet to make something that we didn’t love. They will also be bringing their ever-popular, wide selection of artisan breads, croissants, muffins, and cookies.

Highlights from the July 17th Market

Check back here on the Mercer Island Farmers Market blog for photos and highlights from the July 17th market.

See you all tomorrow at the market.

Highlights from the July 3rd Mercer Island Farmers Market

Posted on 2011/07/05 by mifarmersmarket

Happy 4th of July!

For our Independence-Day-Weekend market, we had some great weather to help bring out the crowds.

Blue Skies above the Mercer Island Farmers Market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Below are some highlights from the vendors and events from the market.

Vendors Highlights from the July 3rd Mercer Island Farmers Market

Collins Family Orchard of Selah, WA brought apriums and two kinds of cherries–Titan and Rainier. But Nick explained that the asparagus at the market yesterday was probably the last of this season for them.

Last of the asparagus from Collins Family Orchard for 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Ryan Lichttenegger of Hand Farmed Organics, Fall City, WA had his usual great selection of greens, radishes, turnips, and broccoli. He also brought the first carrots of the season from the farm. They are very sweet; you should definitely get some at our next market on July 17th (remember, no market on July 10th due to Summer Celebration). But what really caught my eye–and according to Ryan several other customers–was the Flashy Trout lettuce, a red-speckled variety with beautiful full leaves.

Ryan Lichttenegger of Hand Farmed Organics, Fall City, WA holding a head of Flashy Trout lettuce at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Moua’s Garden of Woodinville, WA had tables filled with fat sugar snap peas and buckets filled with mint and flowers. For Independence Day, Moua created special “4th of July” bouquets of red, white, and blue flowers, which were very popular. By the time, we were finally able to get a picture of one, Moua was running out of white and was putting in stems of mint to fill out the bouquets.

"Red, White, and Blue" Bouquets from Moua's Garden, Woodinville, WA. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

We were thrilled to welcome back to the MI Farmers Market Martin Family Orchard of Orondo, WA, who due to the bad growing season didn’t have enough fruit to be at our market until now. Martin Family Orchard has been a vendor–and an extremely popular one at that–at our market since our market began in 2008. We know that our customers were excited to see them and their tables filled with Bing cherries.

Shoppers at the Martin Family Orchard booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Event Highlights at the July 3rd Mercer Island Farmers Market

In addition to our wonderful vendors, we had several community members volunteer their time for some special events at the market.

Nutrionist Susan Kleiner lead a group of shoppers on the first-ever “Shop with a Nutritionist” tour. Susan stopped at nearly every vendor to talk about the value of the products that each was selling. Susan is editing a video of the tour and we hope to post it here soon for those who missed the tour. Thank you Susan for volunteering your time for the Mercer Island Farmers Market and educating its shoppers.

Susan Kleiner leading MIFM customers on the first-ever "Shop with a Nutritionist" tour. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

At our tasting table, volunteers and MI Farmers Market board members Susie Rosenstein and Tanya Bednarski featured strawberries and cherries. Susie and Tanya had a great time having customers sample the delicious fruit and discussing the differences between the varieties…some juicier than others, some sweeter… Thank you to Collins Family Orchard, Martin Family Orchard, and Skagit Sun for contributing the strawberries and cherries for the sampling. And a big thank you to Susie and Tanya for organizing the tasting table and creating such a valuable educational opportunity.

A child and her mother enjoying a strawberry from the tasting table. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

At our kids’ table, our dedicated volunteers worked with children on painting. The children produced dozens of paintings that decorated the kid’s table canopy while they dried. You can see some volunteers, two busy painters, and a few drying paintings in the photo below. Thank you to all of the kids’ table volunteers.

Children painting flowers at the kid's table at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Plus Joe Ross of the Haggis Brothers, our market’s musician on Sunday, unexpectedly, but very welcomely, found himself in a duo midafternoon. Musician Patrick Daugherty, after finishing his market shopping, sang a few songs with Joe. A big thank you to Joe and to Patrick for some great music.

Patrick Doherty joined Joe Ross to perform at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

July 3rd Updates and Specials for Mercer Island Farmers Market

Posted on 2011/07/02 by mifarmersmarket

Several of our farmers and vendors have let us know about what products and specials they will have at tomorrow’s market.

Collins Family Orchard, Selah, WA

Brian Collins called yesterday with the news that they will be bringing more of their beautiful apriums, which were a big hit at last week’s market. In addition, they will have two varieties of cherries: Titan and Rainier.

Titan Cherries from Collins Family Orchard, Saleh, WA. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Crown S Ranch, Winthrop, WA

Crown S Ranch is bringing lots of exquisite T-bone steaks perfect for 4th of July grilling. In honor of Independence Day, they’re discounting these 20% at the MI Farmers Market. Did you know that the T-bone steak is both the New York strip and tenderloin steak separated by a “T” shaped bone? Crown S Ranch will also have their great grilling links of Bratwurst and Spicy Chorizo pork sausage made for them by CasCioppo’s Brothers Italian Meat Market in Seattle.

Jennifer Argraves of Crown S Ranch, Winthop, WA talking with customers at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on Opening Day 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Farmers Market Preserves, Seattle, WA

Farmers Market Preserves owner Rome Doherty was inspired last week by the first appearance this season of cherries. He loved the big red Chelans and Titans and turned them into a delicious jam subtly flavored with almond. There isn’t much of this special jam because it is so laborious as Rome pits all of the cherries by hand. Rome reports that “when this jam is gone, it’s gone” for the season. So head out to the market early tomorrow if you would like some.

Farmers Market Preserves’ magic word this week is a bit “tongue-in-check.” Rome writes, “In honor of the Mercer Island ‘clean up’ crew, the magic word is ‘corvid.’” So head over to the Farmers Market Preserve booth, say the magic word to Rome, and get a dollar off your first jar of jam.

Farmers Market Preserve, Seattle, WA booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Got Soup?, Seattle, WA

Got Soup? owner Jerry Baxter writes, “So I got a new soup for you this week. It is called ‘Mediterranean Fish Soup’—simplicity at its best. Rockfish from Wilsons, tomatoes from Kittitas Valley Greenhouse, and vegetables from several local farms. Maybe pour this over some steaming capellini, and you have dinner.”

In addition to the new Mediterranean Fish soup, Jerry will have:

Heirloom tomato gazpacho
Wild mushroom
Coconut curry with chicken and brown rice

Got Soup?, Seattle WA booth at the Ballard Farmers Market in May 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Hand-Farmed Organics, Fall City, WA

HFO co-owner, Ryan Lichttenegger, tells us that after delays due to weather, they will finally have carrots this Sunday. Ryan and partner Casey are bringing more of their broccoli, which made its first appearance at the MI Farmers Market last week. Plus they will have more of their popular—and beautiful—radishes, turnips, kale, greens, and head lettuce.

Turnips from Hand-Farmed Organics, Fall City, WA at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Island Apiaries, Whidbey Island, WA

Island Apiaries owner David Neel writes that this week’s question to win a free 8-ounce jar of honey is “What is the origin of the phrase ‘bury the hatchet’?” Just a few rules: there is only one prize, which is awarded to the first person to answer the question correctly in person at the Island Apiaries booth at the MI Farmers Market. So be sure to get to the market early to be the first one to answer the question.

David Neel, owner of Island Apiaries, Whidbey Island, WA, talking with a customer at the Mercer Island Farmers Market. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Martin Family Orchard, Orondo, WA

Tomorrow, Martin Family Orchard will be joining us for the first time this season. They have been a stalwart of the MI Farmers Market since our opening day in 2008. But due to the poor growing season this year, they haven’t had produce to bring to our market. The weather has finally begun to cooperate and they are bringing cherries. So welcome them back for another season and buy some of their wonderful fruit.

Martin Family Orchard, Orondo, WA booth at the U-District Farmers Market in May 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Snohomish Bakery, Snohomish, WA

In honor of Independence Day, Snohomish Bakery will be bringing festive blueberry pies. Owner Andy Papadatos told us that almost all of the ingredients in the pie are from Washington State. The blueberries, in fact, came from a farm less than five miles away from the bakery.

Blueberry pie from Snohomish Bakery, Snohomish, WA. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Special Holiday Quiz on Barbaque

In honor of all of the grilling out that we know our customers plan to do this holiday weekend, we thought that we’d end this blog post with this quiz on barbeque from Oxford University Press. Enjoy.

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August 28th Mercer Island Farmers Market Vendor Highlights: Cucumbers