Sunday night is fish night at our house, usually salmon from Loki Fish. We buy a piece at the Farmers Market, take it home and cook it right away.
This is a family owned and run business. Take a look at owner Pete Knutson’s profile on the PCC website; he’s an experienced fisherman/environmentalist and more. While father Pete and brother Jonah are out fishing, Dylan handles the retail side at local markets. As with Billy’s, Whistling Train, Stoney Plains, Sea Breeze, Alm Hill and other vendors, the weekly exchange with our fishermen and women brings us to connection with the uniqueness of our region and its indigenous whole food.
All of Loki’s fish comes from Puget Sound or Alaska, they deal with no processors, no middlemen whatsoever, but sell directly to consumers at Seattle Markets. This video, Jonah’s Boat, shows how twenty-six year old Jonah is experiencing the fishing season on his own boat, following in his father’s footsteps at least in this regard. The brief video provides a glimpse of the people connected with putting fresh fish on our tables, in this case by fishermen who are environmentally and sustainably conscientious. We see that a beautiful setting is some compensation, but fishing for a living has its ups and downs. Read the rest of this entry »
Stoney Plains Organic Farm is another vendor who’s become a familiar part of the Pacific Northwest Farmer’s Market scene.
One of the reliable, upbeat purveyors of local organic food, they bring their seasonal array to our neighborhood markets, including Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Patrick Meyer is the amiable farmer who makes it even more worthwhile. I overheard his brother say to a shopper recently, “Ask Patrick, he’s the farmer.” He’s knowledgeable and passionate about his produce and about making sure everyone gets their questions answered. Maybe it’s in his genes. His family began small scale organic farming in the 70’s and have been selling at farmers markets in Olympia, Washington since 1978.
Each August I make dill pickles the way my grandmother taught me, or at least I try. Every year she would remind me to get the freshest pickles possible, ‘picked that morning’, she would say. Some years I succeed in that regard, some years not so much. Last year for the first time we pre-ordered (one week in advance) fifteen pounds of pickling cucumbers from Stoney Plains. Delivered as promised, they were the best so far - and I’ve been doing this a while. With their assistance we hope to pull it off again this year. Maybe I shouldn’t divulge my secret source, there are only so many pristine pickling cukes to go around. Never mind, in a few weeks I’ll even share the recipe.
In May we scored some of our favorite tomato plants at Stoney Plains, now literally bearing the fruits of our collective labor.
Whistling Train, Billy’s, Plum Forest Farm, Stoney Plains Organic Farm - we’ll feature more local farmers in the next few weeks - we appreciate the seasonal food they bring to us, each crop another reminder that the PNW has a particular culinary character of its own that is unique in the world. Buying food at the Farmers Market for one or more meals each week ensures local flavor on our table and is a powerful sustainable practice. Stoney Plains Organic Farm, thanks for your help.
Shopping at Farmers Markets pretty regularly for several years now, I feel this camaraderie with the farmers that I admit is a bit of a stretch since we don’t actually know each other. I like to think that we have a symbiotic and friendly relationship anyway. I want to high-five, say thanks. And Billy’s Organic Produce is one of the best.
My own roots might have influenced this reverence. My grandfather and father were farmers and ranchers in eastern Washington. I observed their hard work, but little did I understand the intellectual conviction, and that faith and imagination were also required, along with hardcore agricultural, scientific and climatological expertise . . . political and marketing savvy . . . and what else?
Billy’s an organic farmer from Tonasket in northeastern Washington’s Okanogan County. Each week he delivers an assortment of succulent vine-ripened tomatoes to Farmers Markets in the University District and West Seattle, plus some other great stuff, but the tomatoes take the cake. Get there early if you want cherry tomatoes. I missed mine this week, though he kindly gave me the last few, a handful. Piles of basil, the tomatoes, all kinds of peppers, these items seem to characterize his particular niche; there are strawberries in late spring, some rhubarb, eggplant, tomato plantings. Awesome salsa available in the summertime. He used to roast his peppers right at the market.
Billy and his crew have come to feel like neighbors to some of us, which is true in the sense that Seattle is his home every weekend for much of the year now. Sometimes he has a minute to chat about, what else, tomatoes, his and ours. Different climates on the east and west sides of the mountain, still we have a lot in common when it comes to growing tomatoes and he’s shared his wisdom repeatedly through the years. Read the rest of this entry »
One reason that shopping at the Farmers Market is so satisfying, aside from the amazing variety of food available, is the familiarity that develops among farmers, vendors, and customers. Friends and acquaintances inevitably and unexpectedly appear. There’s time given for catching up, poking around, comparing notes.
We might not recognize it as the exotic ambiance we drool over in foreign flicks where local markets brim with colorful people, a vast array of produce and all kinds of drama. We want to travel there and have that experience. Doesn’t seem so exotic when it’s in our own backyard, but we are that movie. OK, I admit, that seems like a stretch, but you get my point.
Meet Shelley Verdi from Whistling Train Farm (Kent, WA.). As usual, I saw her Sunday morning, surrounded by customers perusing her piles of green: baby bok choy, pea shoots, mint, carrots, exotic lettuces, broccoli, onions and more. We don’t actually know each other, but she’s become a familiar part of my weekly marketing ritual. Always friendly and knowledgeable about her food, I look forward to seeing what pops up on her table each week. We consume lots of Whistling Train squash each fall and winter. She and her husband Mike Verdi grow organic food and sell some of it at Columbia City and West Seattle Farmers Markets, the University District Market part of the year. They also sell to restaurants and operate a CSA program.
.
A few weeks ago Shelley had cardoons available, unusual fare for local farmers, and I couldn’t help but notice how excited the customer in front of me was at having scored an armful. She and I chatted about ways to fix cardoons, something you don’t cook that often. Part of their stated mission at Whistling Train Farm is to grow things that we might not find at the grocery store, in addition to produce we’re familiar with.
A camaradrie is felt with those we do a little business with week after week. They grow and then bring to us the seasonal products we need. Take a closer look at Whistling Train Farm whenever you visit the Columbia City or West Seattle Markets. Visit their website and read We, the Farmers which tells their story. It’s pretty cool. They have two kids, they’re practically neighbors, they grow our food.
GOOD FOOD, a film that premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival a couple of weeks ago, is about farmers and ranchers with a commitment to safe, thoughtful food production in our region. Film festival friends say it’s wonderful. Plus, I hear Billy’s in it. It’s about time our celeb-conscious culture gave farmers and ranchers their standing ovation.
The following video preview of GOOD FOOD will whet your appetite. There’s a free public screening of the film at Seattle City Council at noon on July 9th, and Rover’s Restaurant is presenting a dinner on June 17th with a menu designed around farmers and products in the film - check out the incredible menu via their website. For those of us interested in the unique character of Pacific Northwest food production, this is a movie to see.
From Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet, and Hope’s Edge: “Couldn’t be more timely! A film made to awaken our taste buds and our courage to create a food system aligned with what the earth needs and what our bodies yearn for. GOOD FOOD shows us it’s possible. It’s happening!”
Melissa Young, producer of GOOD FOOD, emailed this comment: “Yesterday we heard on the news about another problem with salmonella in food, this time tomatoes. With the industrial food system, one batch of tomatoes that are processed in one location and then distributed all over the country can affect people everywhere.
The good news is that the local Pacific Northwest food system is growing and family farmers and ranchers are bringing us local, healthier food. GOOD FOOD celebrates the unsung heroes who are growing more sustainable food, and the stores, restaurants and consumers who prioritize buying these healthier products.”
A grove of plum trees bordering the northern edge of the property inspired the naming of Plum Forest Farm on Vashon Island, owned and operated by Rob Peterson and Joanne Jewell.
Vashon Island, isolated and yet near massive mainland urbanization, is amazingly pastoral. Depart from the ferry and it is felt immediately. To drive the two-lane highway into town is to inhale/exhale deeply and relax.
Not sure that Vashon would identify itself as a farming community, but that definitely characterizes the place. Amorning stroll around Plum Forest Farm with Rob was an affirmation for those of us who are interested and supportive of small farming. We would happily have put on our gloves and gone to work.
Warmish spring sunshine bestowed its energy upon all of us, plants, animals and people.
Each and all are thriving there.
Locals purchase eggs and produce in season from Plum Farm’s roadside stand. Eggs and chickens have been a mainstay from the beginning in 1999.
A hand full of Scarlet Nantes are appreciated for their sweet flavor, especially during winterwhen fewer fresh vegetable are available (or, we’ve been trained to believe so and thus expect produce from all over the world to tide us over during that time).Read the rest of this entry »
One of the reliable, upbeat purveyors of local organic food, they bring their seasonal array to our neighborhood markets, including Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Patrick Meyer is the amiable farmer who makes it even more worthwhile. I overheard his brother say to a shopper recently, “Ask Patrick, he’s the farmer.” He’s knowledgeable and passionate about his produce and about making sure everyone gets their questions answered. Maybe it’s in his genes. His family began small scale organic farming in the 70’s and have been selling at farmers markets in Olympia, Washington since 1978.
now literally bearing the fruits of our collective labor.
Shopping at 
Friends and acquaintances inevitably and unexpectedly appear. There’s time given for catching up, poking around, comparing notes.
are appreciated for their sweet flavor, especially during winter