A hint of Fall arriving!

RJ Farms first-of-the-season Sweet Potatoes….fries anyone?

Apples, Pears, Huckleberries, Sweet Potatoes, Walnuts, Grapes…the best thing about shopping at a farmers market is that the produce is seasonal , fresh and has the best flavor! Shopping and cooking from the farmers market helps you to reconnect with the seasons. Rather than being bored with the same produce brought in from all over the globe year round at the super market you can get inspired by the seasonal produce found on the farmers tables. Much food found in grocery stores is highly processed and grown using pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and genetic modification. Some of it has been irradiated, waxed, or gassed in transit….sounds appetizing? Many of our farmers go to great lengths to grow the most nutritious produce possible by using sustainable techniques, picking produce right before the market, and growing heirloom, open-pollinated varieties, and they all sign the non GMO pledge in their application.

Randy with the Zestar…coming this week!

Back in the Market this week , bringing a true taste of the coming fall is Kiyokawa Orchards. Randy is a third generation farmer who really cares for his land and his crops . Started by his grandfather, he now has one of the highest altitude fruit farms in Oregon, and regular good freezes help with pests naturally. He irrigates with glacial water, straight off Mt Hood, has some land in organic production already and takes care not only of the land and the trees but his workers too, some of which have been with him over 20 years and who he credits his success too. Randy’s daughter now works alongside him, when home from college…so there is a good chance this farm will have a fourth generation caring for it!

Green and Red Pears coming too!

You can visit their farm stand, which opens this weekend in Parkdale…or buy his products starting this Saturday at our Market…many heirloom apples, pears and plums. http://www.mthoodfruit.com/

Roasted, or grilled potatoes with garlic and rosemary….yum!

Back too this week is Pitkin Winterrowd Farms from Canby, with a new crop of garlic, potatoes, pears , grapes, herbs and English walnuts. We’ll have tons of great produce from RJ Farms, Parsons Farms , Green Acres Farm, Leones Farm …plus Maryhill Orchards, Bairds Orchards and Profarm….The wonderful bounty of the season is now available, think about buying extra and at least freezing (or canning, drying, pickling) some for later use.

Happy Pigs on Hansen Family Farm.

Looking for meat to grill this Labor Day? Hansen Family Farms will have cuts of meat from their Farm Fresh – Humanely Raised Pork (Ground Pork, Breakfast Sausage, Garlic Sausage, Loin and Rib Chops, to name a few! Plus Ground Beef (7-10% fat), Steaks and Roasts from our Grass-Fed and Finished Beef, as well as  fresh-out-of-the-garden heirloom tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers (slicing and pickling), and other in season fruits and veggies. Sweet Home Farms Meats will be back in the Market next Saturday.

Yup…find the elusive huckleberries this weekend.

Wild Oregon has checked in and Robin will have Salmon, Tuna..as well as south OR coast butter clams [Martha Washingtons] , Skate Wing and the first wild Huckleberries! Portland Creamery will have their really special chevre…the delicate Plain , plus Herbes de Provence and some wonderful seasonal flavors…make sure you read about them here: http://www.portlandcreamery.com/about-us/..and get a taste at the Market this weekend!

Seven Brides Brewing Co. back this week.

Seven Brides Brewing Co. is back this week (local beer for Labor Day!!)..so bring those growlers:) And Blossom Vinegars is back too….just in time for you to be making salad dressings for the sweet heirloom tomatoes. They also have Drinking Vinegars which make perfect Cocktails and Mocktails…and they have loads of recipe cards to share with you, or you can get recipes here;http://blossomvinegars.com/

Jessica with one of her smaller raised-beds.

New vendor this week is Urban Yard Farms by We Plant, You Eat! “Promoting sustainable yard farming through installation and maintenance of raised bed gardens.” For those of you that prefer to do it yourself, Jessica will offer a few products to help you achieve your own sustainable yard farm….and as Tom at Spring Creek Nursery will tell you, now is the time to plant fall and winter veggies…and he will have a good selection.

So…45 vendors this week….hot food by Mitzil…Savory et Sweet are out Saturday getting their “bricks and mortar” cafe ready (The Arugularium) to opening in Sellwood later in September! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arugularium/301755746628187 But don’t worry they will still be coming with the Crepe Food Cart…all through the Winter Market too:)

The POP Club Kids are going on a scavenger hunt this Saturday!

Beautiful day forecast…bring the family….lively Celtic music (10-1), the POP Club Kids will be going on a scavenger hunt for seasonal foods…and we still have the $5 SNAP Match…so those with the OR Trail Card can pick up something extra! Find us on the parking lot at 2051, Kaen Rd, off Beavercreek Rd, open 9-2.