Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Day!

Once a month, customers gather at our Information Booth and take a tour of the Market, and this is THE Saturday! Get to know how and where your food is grown, why the farmers grow that variety, how to store it, how to prepare it. Yes, get to know the farmers that feed you and the food they grow! OSU Extension dietician Kelly Streit leads the tour which culminates in a Chef’s Demo ( Corn Pancakes and Peach Salsa, pick up a recipe!) and food tasting. This all kicks off at 9.30am..and happens rain or shine. Customers with the SNAP card can benefit from the $6 Double Up Food Bucks program every week, but on this day, they can take the tour, watch the demo and then receive an additional $5 in market tokens. Know someone on SNAP? Please tell them!

The NW Ferments gals gave a great Kraut workshop last week, they are back in the market this week!

Did you take part in the sauerkraut workshop last month? The NW ferments gals are back this week, you can tell them how your kraut is doing  They will have kits to help you start all kinds of food fermentations, kits you can now get at New Seasons too!

The first winter squash will be at the market. Sun Love Farm’s has Candystick Delicata, which has flavors reminiscent of dates, Sweet Reba acorn squash, one of the sweetest acorn squash variety out there, and spaghetti squash, which many people enjoy as a pasta substitute. That’s just as well as the Market Pasta is now on a twice a month schedule and is out this week.

All the gorgeous peppers are now in, tomatoes are still around too. Peaches, grapes, melons..this is the BEST time for the farmers market!

If you like a good crisp apple, Kiyokawa Orchards is sending the first Honeycrisp along with Elstar, Gravenstein, Gingergold, Macintosh, Tokyo Rose and many other varieties. Kody will also have Pluots, Nectarines and Pears.

Maggy’s Farm back with all kinds of plants this Saturday.

Maggy’s Farm is back this week with 4′ pots of fall and winter veggies, fig, chestnut and plum trees, grape plants, hardy and fuzzy kiwi plants, milkweed, gallon perennial herbs and fruiting hot and sweet peppers in 2 gallon pots. This coming weekend will be a great one for cleaning up the garden and popping in some plants. Don’t forget to have those garden tools sharpened at the Market before you start that pruning and clean up, knives to slice those tomatoes too.

The Summer Market runs every Saturday through October but we are are gearing up for the winter season already…it’s only 8 short weeks away! During the winter season we run every other Saturday and start one hour later at 10am. Pick up a bookmark with all the dates at the Information Booth on Saturday . If you are new to the Winter Market we run from November through the end of April outside in all weathers, (unless it’s dangerous!) with 35-40 vendors, fresh produce, meats, seafood, baked goods, artisan foods, wines, distilled spirits, hard cider, crafts…. and in the spring, fresh flowers and pants.

Albacore Tuna is in short supply so far this year, so if you want some to can for the winter get to Wild Oregon early this week. Robin will also be bringing Coho, Chinook and Steelhead Salmon, Black Cod and Halibut too. Crab and clams are also expected.

Julie bought a ticket for a $1 and won $215 last month!!! Try your luck next Saturday with our Split The Bucks Raffle!

Split The Bucks Market Raffle is happening again next week….don’t miss it! Last month Julie won $215 in Market tokens to spend!   If you enjoyed the new bagels (Chain Bridge Bagels) last week, don’t worry..they’ll be back next week! Grano Bakery is also out (having a well-earned vacation), back next week as is the  Spice Pilgrim.

Bring your shopping bags, coolers and make a morning of it! BBQ, Tamales, coffee and pastries….and good music by the Big Yellow Taxi make for a fun market! And don’t forget you can download and use the Market’s new App. to pre-order!