Oregon City Farmers Market

Shop for local foods AND see Oregon City’s fabulous new art sculputure….unveiled at 10am!!Info. below…

The same question comes up whenever I mention the Winter Market “but what will you possibly have to sell?”!!…it’s as if all food production stops in the NW at the end of October and is trucked up from CA for the winter!! Nothing could be further from the truth…and it’s a myth we have set out to bust this season!
The OC Winter Market has 8 farms this Winter bringing fresh produce, meats, cheese, eggs! This week from Flying Onion Farms…. lovely baby spinach , salad mix, fennel and more, Family Table Farm will have a good variety of root crops, Food Forest Farm has quince, nuts, apples, garlic (as well as their Kurobuta Pork and Welsh Duck), Rick Stefen Farm has carrots, chard, Brussels Sprouts (nice and sweet as we have had a frost!) plus many more products including peppers and tomatoes ..still! Sweet Home Farms have a good selection of their beautifully and ethically raised meats, pork, beef, goat and lamb…and just in time for the holidays you can order Turkeys from them!! Hansen Family Farms will have their beef, pork, winter squash…apples and quince. Kiyokawa Orchards will have an amazing selection of apples, including heirlooms and pears too. We’ll have plenty of hens and duck eggs, but they will go early so don’t dally.
The Goat Meister is coming to market bringing chervre in many flavors!!! Alsea Acre Farm gets goat questions every week. Everyone loves goats. Alsea Acre goats are exceptionally happy due to the excellent care of David, the Goat Meister.Say hello to him and bring your goat questions.
Other farmers in the market are Daisy Fed, with goat’s milk-based body products and Spindles and Fiber with Judy’s sheep and goat’s wool products…her fingerless gloves are a must-have!

The good mix of vendors includes Dukers Dills, back with their pickles and new…hot relish! Wild Oregon will have fresh fish, The Hummus stop has many flavors of hummus, pita and chips. Olympic Provisions will have their wonderful salami and sausage, La Provence Bakery, Big Foot Bread and Kasey Creations will have breads, pastries, cakes and pies for you…ask about special holiday orders. Diana’s Delights will have all the usual preservers (great gifts!) plus the seasonal Quince Charming preserve and (new) Jalepeno Jam! Gran Mary’s Herbs will have a terrific selection of dried herbs in 2 ounce containers (thyme, rosemary, basil, sage, tarragon, oregano) Dried cayenne peppers, poultry seasoning, culinary lavender, stevia and mullein and sage tea (great for colds and flu). Bath salts and bath tea for colds and flu (eucalyptus rosemary blend). Dried catnip.Lavender “moth chaser,” and mulling spice sachets.Plus paper whites (both planted and bulbs available), African Blue Basil, Aloe Vera, Holy Basil, Cuban Oregano, Cat Grass, Lemon Grass, Bay Plants..phew!.
…More vendors coming next week and in December too, including honey and honey products, vinegars, ceramics, local fresh-cut Christmas Trees and handmade wreaths.
King’s Raven will have a good selection of local (OC) wines…..some of which will be added by Savory et Sweet to their extra large pot of Chicken Soup tomorrow that uses David’s Pinot Gris wine and market veggies!They’ll have crepes too and hot chocolate with whipped cream…yum! That will keep you warm!

This Saturday at 10am is the unveiling of the Rotary Club’s gift to the citizens of Oregon City, commemorating their 75th anniversary in this town! The large stainless steel sculpture, mounted on the wall of Railroad Ave. at 8th St (market site) has been designed and made by local (and internationally known) artist Lee Kelly. Come and see for yourself…don’t let a little rain put you off!
As a reward…Stone-Bhur Mills are giving away 2lb. bags of their NW flour…just to get you in the mood for holiday baking! (10am-12pm)

The kids POP Club continues, with $2 for every child (5-12)!… plus we still have the OR Trail Card $5 Matching fund …music by Robert Richter, a market fave (10am -1pm)….help us to spread the word about the Winter Market, tell your friends and neighbors!
See you down there:)

King Elementary School invited the Market to their Farm to Table activities on Wednesday October 26^th. Teacher and Green Team Coach Jamie Semrad and her volunteer’s set up a wonderful replica of a Farmers Market in the gym with a shopping area, an apple tasting table and a fun activity. We set up the Kid’s POP Club table with pictures and information, and spoke about the Power of Produce Club offered at the Oregon City Farmers Market to each class as they rotated through the gym.

Each class stopped first at the POP Club table to learn about the club including the great news that it will be continuing through the Winter Market starting November 5^th. (Thanks to Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District!) Each student received a bookmark with all the OC Farmers Winter Market info in their shopping bags.

Next the students rotated over to the activity table where they could write down their guesses for the weight of a giant head of cabbage. Rumor has it the cabbage weighted 13 pounds!!! Then the kids went over to shop at the “market”.

Third grade teacher Jamie Semrad and her team of volunteers had arranged fresh local produce from the Oregon City Farmers Market and the school garden in attractive displays. The tables were filled with both orange and purple carrots, radishes, rhubarb, apples, both red and golden beets, purple peppers, green beans, kohlrabi, brussles sprouts, potatoes and turnips. Another table held fragrant produce; garlic, cilantro and a small herb pot containing thyme, rosemary and sage. Each student was encouraged to choose two pieces of produce, hopefully ones they had not tried before, to put in their bags and take home.  Popular early choices included purple carrots, kohlrabi, and purple peppers!

Students were then encouraged to smell the herbs and garlic as they passed the fragrant table on their way to the tasting station. At tasting station students were able to sample slices of fresh Tsugaru apples and a variety of crisp Asian pear. Big smiles filled their faces as they munched away on the sweet healthy treats.

Congratulations go out to Jamie and her crew of volunteers….great Job!!! And thanks to Oregon City Farmers Market vendors Kiyokawa Orchards, Three Brothers Nursery, Spring Creek Nursery, Gardenripe, Green Acres Farm, Parsons Farms, Hansen Family Farm, Family Table Farm and May’s Produce and Flowers for providing the fresh produce and decorations for the first Farm to Table day at the school.

Also last week Mt Pleasant Elementary School invited the Market to come and let their kids know about the POP Club at their assembly….so we should have a bunch of kids shopping this coming Saturday, at the opening of the Winter Market on 8th St! We kick off at 10am, which will also be the time of the unveiling and dedication of the Rotary Club’s gift to the City ….a 35′x 8′ stainless steel sculpture by renowned artist (and local resident) Lee Kelly. This week it is being installed on the wall of Railroad Ave. at 8th St.

Stay tuned for more Winter Market news……..

Celebrate the Harvest & Halloween all in one market! This is the final market at the County site until next May…we’re off to Downtown Oregon City (8th St) for the Winter Market starting Saturday November 5th…without missing a beet…ouch!

Fun at the Market this week includes great music from Succatash playing great blue-grass and folk, Kid’s POP Club Fun supplied by Extension’s 4H club’s, who will be helping kids make their own goody bags and have rabbits and Guinea pigs for petting! Customers are invited to vote for their favorite vendor costume….vendors will win a free  booth space!

The Market will have plenty of pumpkins, winter squash and corn stalks for decorating and beautiful produce for eating! Gram’s caramels have a good supply of their sauce for apple-dipping, Pro-farm will have apple cider…and for those grown-up treats Diana’s Delights will have a new product….Jalapeno Jam, great with crackers and cheese!

Time to put the garden to bed…or dig in those winter veggies. Spring Creek Nursery will have a selection of winter greens for you to plant , colorful planters and pansies to brighten your front door or entry way. The Underground Worm Connection has bags of fabulous worm castings…added to the garden now (or raised beds) the worms work all winter turning your soil into black gold by spring. Buy two bags and get a bottle of Worm Juice Fertilizer free. Sir Sharp-A-Lot will be out for the last Market attending to a sick family member, Kasey’s Kreations will be back in the Winter Market…but is out this week too….as is Three Brothers Nursery for the year.

The Winter Market starts next week, down on 8th St at 10am (we get an extra hour in bed …yeah) This will be a really special day  as the Oregon City Rotary Club will be unveiling a large art installation to commemorate their 75th anniversary! The stainless steel sculpture commissioned from renowned local artist Lee Kelly, will be mounted on the wall of Railroad Ave at the end of the market site. The official dedication is at 10am…just as the Market opens for the winter season! This is a gift to the citizens of Oregon City from the Club and all are welcome to join the celebration….and shop for local foods right after!!

Savory et Sweet will be taking their cute new trailer down there and setting up to bring you some wonderful hot food! The Market is right across the street from The Caufield Cafe so a warm seat and hot drink is not far away. Parking is easy on the street downtown on Saturdays, or you could park up on the bluff and ride the Elevator down, while taking in the amazing views of the river and falls.

Meanwhile the last market of the summer season is upon us and we look forward to having some fun with you all this week! Thanks for all your support…what a great season!

Cheers:)

Hamburgers, pizzas, french fries, and sugary drinks in today’s fast-paced grab n’ go food culture, are now staples for many. But this unhealthy diet has led to a huge increase in chronic health problems, obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, and high blood pressure, which all plague our community and the increasing the world, as the western highly processed fast food spreads across the globe. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 34 percent of adults and 17 percent of children and adolescents are now obese, staggering numbers that the organizers of Food Day, a nationwide event taking place on October 24, hope to decrease dramatically.

The Oregon City Farmers Market is tackling these statistics with our kid’s POP Club…by introducing kids early to shopping at the farmers market and encouraging them to make smart food choices, we are hoping to make a difference. In celebration of Food Day the Market will be visiting 2 OC elementary schools this coming week, King and Mt. Pleasant…..talking to the kids about the POP Club and encouraging them to eat fresh fruits and veggies…spreading the word about the Power of Produce!!

Quoting Joel Salatin (Twenty-first century pioneer , farmer , author and contrarian thinker) “Favorite meals and favorite dishes form many of a family’s deepest memories”  and ” No health system in the world, public or private, can ultimately work if a culture exits it’s kitchens and essentially subcontracts that important work to others”….so to get us all back in the kitchen , eating local healthy foods and creating those memories we have Amy coming this Saturday to cook up some seasonal market foods , giving us inspiration at the same time as a delicious taste of them!

For further inspiration, just look at all the marvellous fall fruits and veggies on the farmer’s tables!! Leone’s farm will have concord grapes and swan gourds (decorative)  in addition to all the peppers, onions, tomatoes, and the biggest pumpkins! Green Acres Farm has the first Brussel Sprouts,( lovely roasted with bits of bacon!)  Check out the winter squashes…there will be tons of them in the market this Saturday. Roast them and make a hearty soup with beans…the sweet , sweet, Delicatas are great just cut open , with seeds removed and baked to eat along with any roasted meat.

Talking of MEAT… Sweet Home Farms have a great selection of beef, pork, goat (the most eaten meat in the world!) lamb and chicken, plus three kinds of bacon: shoulder (or cottage), back (or Canadian), and belly (regular). Also leaf lard (fab. to bake with for the best pastry!) and various beef & lamb organ meats. Hansen Farms have pork and beef too and Family to Family have whole chickens for sale as well…so plenty of meat options this fall at the Market….Family to Family Farm  want to let everyone know that their “ladies” are laying again and they have plenty of eggs for your breakfast and baking needs!

Cured Meats can be had at Olympic Provisions Booth, with plenty to sample, these handcrafted artisan Salamis shouldn’t be missed! Grab a slice of their wonderful flavor,  each one is seasoned with herbs and spices for a distinct mouth-watering adventure! Use them to brighten up you appetizers, scrambled eggs, pasta dishes too. Paparadelles Pasta is back this week with their great selection of reg. and gluten-free pastas and recipe ideas.

Kyiokawa Orchards has the first Granny Smiths and Jonagolds and still has plenty of the very sweet and juicy Honey Crisps. Find apples, pears, melons and a small amount of Kiwi berries (get there early, Mary only has 20 bags!) in the Market , and Parsons still have a few regular berries too.

Profarm will be selling apples also and their cider…stop by for a taste, $5 for a half gallon , $8 for a gallon. What a great way to taste the changing seasons! Freeze some now to use later:)

For those with a sweet tooth, La Provence Bakery is bringing Pumpkin Croissants  , Gram’s Caramels are giving tastes of their Raspberry Liqueur caramels and Savory et Sweet’s special crepe this Saturday (and through November at the Downtown Winter Market)  is “Caramel apple”…wow!

Flying Onion Farm is out this week (at the Home Orchard Society Fall Fruit show at Clackamas Community College…want your apple identified?), out too is Sunset Woodworking. Sir Sharp-A-Lot will out this week too, but He Sells These Shells is back selling hazelnut shells for your landscaping and slug control needs, plus he will be giving a free pair of gloves with every 10 bags purchase!

POP Club kids will be making leaf bookmarks to take home and are encouraged to bring their favorite leaves to market with them. We still have funds to give each kid (5-12) $2 to shop for fresh fruits, veggies and food plants...and will have all through the Winter Market (on 8th St 10-2 starting Saturday Nov. 5th), thanks to Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District!!

Special this week to benefit the POP Club…we’ll be selling spooky milk-jug aliens , just in time for Halloween….come early and make sure you get yours, donated by a market customer!!

If you have the Or. Trail Card we can match your purchase up to $5…thanks to the Rotary Club Foundation of Oregon City!!!! Help us to spread the word:)

At the Info. Booth this week: Pick up your free copy of the Fall edition of Edible Portland Magazine, collect a Winter Market flyer to put up at your school, church, workplace or local store, buy a market bag  ( get rid of plastic!)…and find all our T.Shts. on sale for $5….great stocking stuffers!

Music this week is market fave Nick Petersen….always a crowd pleaser! See you Saturday at the County site, 2051, Kaen Rd, at Beavercreek, 9am-2pm, rain or shine, easy parking!

Hard to believe but true…the last Wednesday Market of 2011 is this week…time flies when you’re havin’ fun ! A big thanks to all who have shopped at our small downtown market, and we hope it has helped you to “eat local” more often. A big thanks to our hardy vendors who have weathered heat, wind, a deluge (last Wednesday), the Old Bridge and 10th St being closed, the road works and the sidewalk being torn up! (If they can survive all this we’ll be looking good next season:)

A big thanks also goes out the City of Oregon City  staff who have been most concerned about the impact of all this on the Market and have kept us updated continually on the progress of the all the works…we appreciate it! Our OC Downtown will look great next year and hopefully the two-way traffic pattern will bring more folks into this historical core. Meanwhile we’ll be back Downtown starting Saturday November 5th for the Winter Market, 10am-2pm, every other weekend. (The main Saturday Market continues on “the Hill” at the County site through Oct. 29th, 9am-2pm)

This market will have loads of delectable peppers in green, yellow, orange and red from White Star Farm.  Perfect for making a delicious Piperade for topping fajitas or sausage and mashed potatoes.  Simply slice a selections of peppers and saute with an onion in olive oil until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.  They will also have the last few summer cucumbers and tomatoes and some lovely cabbage for crunchy fall coleslaw….yum!

Parsons will also have a good selection of peppers and other produce, as will Family Table Farm. Food Forest Farm will have their delicious pork and other goodies. We’ll have hummus, pitas, baked goods from Big Foot Bread, Diana’s Delights preserves and pastries, Kings Raven winery, (who are having a great sale through October!) Fresh cut flowers and plenty of farm eggs!

So come on down to see us this Wednesday, pick up some good , healthy food, bring the kids to get their $2 to shop for fruits and veggies….you can use your Debit card to buy tokens and the Oregon Trail card too, in fact you can receive up to $5 in Matching funds when you purchase market tokens with your Or. Trail card!

The winner of the Wednesday Raffle will be drawn at 7pm at this market! The lucky shopper will win $100 in market tokens ! Come on by and pop your free raffle ticket in the jar….you don’t have to be present to win, we’ll call you. The winner can pick up the tokens at the Saturday Market.

See ya at the Market!(8th St at Main…3-7pm)

Just love the change of seasons when we start to get different products in the Market! For any of you (like me) who have been waiting for Family Table Farms first parsnips this Saturday Larry will have them! Mary Johnson will be selling her kiwi-berries (the most nutritious food ever!) in gallon bags, get there early , they go fast! Apples will be everywhere this Saturday which has prompted OSU Extension to host an apple-pressing using Home Orchard Society’s wonderful donated apples (find them at Flying Onion’s booth) and also apples from other market vendors. This is a kid friendly event and tasting it afterwards is the prize! Kelly Streit from  Extension will be manning the press and heating the cider for you to taste!

Pumpkins, winter squash, peppers, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, grapes, greens, lettuce, beets, summer squash, onions….and much more will be on the farmers tables. In addition the Market will take on a fall loook with gorgeous Fall Patio Baskets loaded with lots of color from Spring Creek Nursery. Tom will also have ” Kick The Salt ” Herb Baskets filled with evergreen herbs that can be used as salt substitutes and can be used year round! And of course lots of beautiful Fall Pansies, Violas, and Blooming Fragrant Perennial Dianthus and Fall and winter veggie starts !

Alsea Acre Goats Cheese will be having a big STOCK UP SALE!   All small chevre and small feta will be Buy One, Second at HALF PRICE!  Also two dollars off all Party In A Jar and two dollars off all large chevre and large feta!

Family to Family will have plenty of eggs this week…the ladies are back in full production after their molt, so if the cool weather is making you think about baking you’ll be in luck. .

And talking about baking, Kasey’s Kreations will be bringing Pecan Pies this week, along with other fruit pies and gluten-free and regular cup-cakes. For all those with a sweet tooth, Gram’s Caramels will be offering samples of their velvety smooth chocolate caramels . Many other flavors are available in the 4 oz size, not to mention Gram’s Jarbucks: Pumpkin Pie, Cherry and Original flavor all for just $1.00!  A great way to sample fully the rich taste of farm-fresh dairy cooked into mouth-watering morsels.

Daisy Fed’s goat’s milk soap and lotions will have the full selection of body butters, including a new one, Rose Essence, and the popular Lavender soap is back …..treat yourself or start stocking up on those gifts !

Available too this Saturday: Pork, beef, chicken.. all local and humanely-raised.Delicious Salamis, fresh fish, pickles, preserves, hummus & pita bread, local wines, breads, pastries….Pasta is back next week, as is Kombucha.

Thanks to the Rotary Club Foundation of Oregon City we once more can offer Oregon Trail Card shoppers up to $5 in matching funds every market…through till next April!!!! Please help us to spread the word………

Thanks to Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District we now have funds again for the kid’s POP Club (Power Of Produce!) Kids, ages 5-12 receive $2 to shop for fresh healthy veggies and fruit and food plants…check out the POP Club page for more info.

And always we accept debit cards…….great hot food, live music (10am-1pm)…plenty of close parking…see you