Join Us Sunday November 18th for the HARVEST MARKET! NEW -> HAND CRAFTED, LOCALLY PRODUCED, SELECTED ARTS & CRAFTS

Posted on 2012/11/13 by juliesark

Join us Sunday, 10-3, for the last Mercer Island Farmers Market of the year. Warm up with cocoa and cider in the hospitality tent. Many of your favorite vendors are coming this Sunday to help you with your Thanksgiving Dinner and autumn meals.

Collins Family Orchard: apples, pears & plums
Crown S Ranch: Beef, Lamb, Pork & Poultry (sorry no turkeys left)
Little Brown Farm : Assorted artisan goat cheeses
Olsen Farms: 15+ variety of potatoes, featuring smoked ham and rack of lamb for those special holiday meals in addition to their other meats
Middlefork Coffee Roasters will be offering: Free coffee samples, All 7 of the regular blends, decaf, and a NEW HOLIDAY BLEND and Travel Mugs. Pre-order 5# bulk bags of coffee for the holiday season, $50 each. To order call 206.375.1368,Orders will need to be in by Thursday for pick up on Sunday.
Pinckney Cookies & Jonboy Caramels bringing their amazing sweet treats.
Theo Dorres Teas offering a special HOLIDAY BLEND in addition to her unusual hand mixed teas and tisanes.
Tonnemaker Family Orchard CIDER!, apples, pears and squash and FROZEN: sweet cherries, peaches, nectarines dried peppers & tomatoes
Not a complete list, more vendors coming

GIFT CERTIFICATES – Stop by the Information Booth to purchase gift certificates for next year’s Mercer Island Farmers Market. Sold in $10 denominations & good for purchases from any vendor.

ARTS & CRAFTS - We can’t have berries now… so how about some holiday fun?

Artists from MIVAL will be bringing an assortment of beautiful items for gift giving (or keeping!).
Artist Leslie West with a love for recycled wares and great style brings containers, bags and other surprises.
Artist Joni Johnson is bringing an assortment of her wonderful glass art.
There will be more beautifully made objects to discover such such as outdoor garden art & wooden bowls.

LUNCH OF COURSE!

Veraci Pizza is shaking it up with a NEW CREATION IN HONOR OF VERACI FANS ON MI! The “Mercer Islander”: Grilled Yukon Gold Potatoes, Panchetta, Parmesan-Chive Ricotta on a Roasted Garlic Base with Three Cheese Blend
Other favorites returning are Buns On Wheels, Got Soup & Patty Pan Grill

NEW -> A Gluten Free Prepared Food Vendor - I Love My GFF – with mouthwatering quinoa bowls. Check out the Fiesta Bowl! Quinoa layered pepitas, cilantro, fresh squeezed lime, cumin, black beans, spice rubbed free-range chicken, fresh cut red bell peppers and green onions, topped with avocado, topped with sharp cheddar cheese and toasted pepita.

Sunday September 9th at the Mercer Island Farmers Market, Caspar Baby Pants & Yammba Conga Drums

Posted on 2012/09/06 by mifarmersmarket

At 11:00 AM bring the small kids to sing and dance with Caspar Baby Pants. Caspar Babypants has another identify, Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America. He is a charming and imaginative performer who engages children with simple, almost melodies and clever lyrics. His influences range from Beethoven to The Beatles, to traditional children’s tunes. THANKS TO THE MERCER ISLAND COMMUNITY FUND FOR SUPPORTING HIS APPEARANCE! Listen here for a sample:

On the Music Stage lively rhythms continue with Yaamba Marimba Group playing Zimbabwean dance music Read more about Yaamba !

Visit the Children’s Booth to make Flower Prints & Collages

Enjoy great produce from Alvarez Organic Farms, Collins Family Orchard, Hedlin Family Farm, Kittitas Valley Greenhouse, Martins Family Orchard and Tonnemaker Family Orchard. Meet your friends for lunch and celebrate the summer.

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)

September 11th Mercer Island Farmers Market Events Highlights: Music, Sampling Table, Children’s Table

Posted on 2011/09/14 by mifarmersmarket

In addition to the commemoration for the 10th anniversary of 9/11 that the Mercer Island Farmers Market held this past Sunday and the chef demo by Kurt Daimmeier of Bennett’s Pure Food Bistro, there were several other events and activities.

Music

Patrick Daugherty (left with electric guitar), Bert Bertram (center with trombone), and Joe Ross (right with acoustic guitar) playing at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Musician Joe Ross returned to the MIFM. Joe last played at the market over July 4th weekend. This Sunday, he was joined for a few sets by another popular Mercer Island musician, Patrick Daugherty, who has been a musical mainstay of the MI Farmers Market, playing consistently throughout the market season, as well as in previous seasons volunteering as music coordinator.

In the afternoon, Joe was joined for a set not only by Patrick, but also by Bert Bertram, who played the trombone. We aren’t sure, but this might be the first time that a trombone was played at the MI Farmers Market. Over the years, there has been an extensive array of instruments played at the MIFM: guitar; banjo; bass; clarinet; harmonica, accordion; saxophone; steel drum; marimba…We love how the list and diversity continues to grow.

Thank you, Joe, Patrick, and Bert, for the great music.

Sampling Table

Kari Fisher (left in red top) talking with a family about the different varieties, tastes, and textures of the peaches at the sampling table at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

In the morning, MI Farmers Market board members and volunteers, Tanya Bednarski and Kari Fisher, organized a sampling table featuring fresh peaches grown by our farmers.

There were Angelo’s peaches from Collins Family Orchard, Selah, WA, J.H. Hale peaches from Martin Family Orchard, Orondo, WA, organic donut peaches from Billy’s Organic Garden, Tonasket, WA, and Diamond Princess peaches from Tonnemaker Family Orchard, Royal City, WA.

We want to thank Tanya and Kari for taking the time on such a beautiful day to put together this educational activity as well as Billy’s Organic Garden, Collins Family Orchard, Martin Family Orchard, and Tonnemaker Family Orchard for supporting it.

Children’s Table

Judy Witmer talking with a parent and her children about snails and slugs at the children's table at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Volunteer Judy Witmer developed another educational, hands-on activity for kids at the children’s table.

This past Sunday’s activity was “snail hunts and slug traps.” While some might have thought that kids might be put off by such “slimy” and off-putting creatures, there was, in fact, a great deal of enthusiasm for them.

Each week, Judy is a wonder coming up with a different fun activity that teaches our community’s children about gardening and food. Thank you, Judy.

September 11th Mercer Island Farmers Market Event Highlights: Chef Demo by Kurt Daimmeier

Posted on 2011/09/13 by mifarmersmarket

Kurt Daimmeier demonstrating the proper technique for cutting corn kernels from the cob at a chef demo at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

This past Sunday, Kurt Daimmeier, chef, owner of Bennett’s Pure Food Bistro, and Mercer Islander, came to the Mercer Island Farmers Market to do a chef demo. Last year, his chef demo was one of our most popular. This year was no different with such a large crowd gathering that there was standing room only.

Kurt chose a recipe that features sweet corn and peppers, which are both now showing up in abundance at the MI Farmers Market.

On Sunday, Crown S Ranch, Winthrop, WA featured boxes and boxes of freshly harvested organic sweet corn.

And Billy’s Organic Garden, Tonasket, WA, Hedlin Family Farms, La Conner, WA, and Tonnemaker Family Orchards, Royal City, WA all featured an enormous variety of fresh peppers ranging from mild bell peppers to hot jalapeño peppers.

In addition to sweet corn and peppers, the dish, Aztec Trinity Salad (the recipe is below at the end of the post), features two other key ingredients: yams and black beans. Another ingredient in the salad’s dressing, honey, can be purchased at the Mercer Island Farmers Market from Island Apiaries, Freeland, WA.

Kurt Daimmeier discussing how to roast peppers and remove their skins at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Kurt is a natural teacher and so the crowd learned a wide range of things from him, from basic cooking techniques—the importance of chopping vegetables into similar-sized pieces to ensure even roasting and how to roast a pepper and remove the skin easily—to more complicated cooking questions—the substituting of ingredients and what kinds of oils to use in different dishes—to basic botany—the differences between the varieties of peppers: bell, poblano, jalapeño, Fresno…

The chef demo was a big success with our community excited to try a new recipe armed with new knowledge and cooking techniques.

An appreciative audience gathers to try samples of Kurt Daimmeier's Aztec Trinity Salad at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

We want to give Kurt our thanks for coming out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon (perhaps the last one this year) to do the chef demo. We hope that Kurt enjoyed himself as much as we all did and will come back to the MI Farmers Market next season for another one.

Kurt Daimmeier displaying the finished Aztec Trinity salad at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on September 11, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Aztec Trinity

1 ½ lbs. approx. of yams, peeled, cut in 3/4″ dice
1 T of lime juice
1 T of neutral-flavored cooking oil
1 T of chili powder
1 t of cumin
2 t of Kosher salt

Combine the lime juice, canola oil, chili powder, cumin, and kosher salt in a large bowl. Mix well to coat the yams. Spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer and roast at 400°F with the fan on high. Check after 12 minutes. Rotate the pans and continue to cook for a couple more minutes, until the yams are easily pierced with a knife. Do not overcook. Cool in the refrigerator.

1 green bell pepper (2 poblano if you desire more heat), roasted, skinned, seeded, cut in ¾” dice
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 ears of fresh corn, cut kernels from cob

Dressing

¼ cup of lime juice
1/3 cup of canola oil
1 t of Kosher salt
1 T of honey
1 Fresno peppers (red jalapeño, can be omitted), sliced 1/8″ strips
1 T of chopped cilantro

Add salt and black pepper to taste after mixing salad

Salad assembly: combine roasted yams, dressing, peppers, black beans, corn, cilantro, and salt. Mix well. Taste for seasoning.

Source: Kurt Dammeier

September 11th Mercer Island Farmers Market Vendor News

Posted on 2011/09/09 by mifarmersmarket

We have some news from our vendors for this Sunday’s Mercer Island Farmers Market.

Crown S Ranch, Winthrop, WA

Jennifer Argraves and her daughter, Icel, laughing at a customers joke at the Crown S Ranch booth at the Mercer Island Farmers Market on August 14, 2011. (Photo by Joel Wachs)

Most of the MI Farmers Market customers are familiar Jennifer Argraves, her wonderful family, and their pastured eggs and sustainably raised beef, chicken, and pork.

During the past few weeks, Jennifer has started to bring vegetables that they have been grown on the ranch. Some of our customers might have briefly caught sight of the ears of sweet corn before they disappeared before noon after selling out in an hour. The lucky few who got to purchase a few ears tried not to rub it into to neighbors and friends who missed out.

Well, this week, Jennifer tells us that she will be bringing corn in larger quantities so more of us will get to purchase this always-looked-for late summer favorite.