Washington State Farmers Market Week
Please join us at the Market to celebrate Washington State Farmers Market Week.
Please stop by the sampling booth to try our vendors' fruit and veggies and sign up for our raffle - we're giving away a bag of fresh produce and a bouquet of flowers at 6 pm.
In Governor Gregoire's proclamation, she notes that the 140 farmers markets in our state had $55 million in sales in 2008, up from $38 million in 2006.
Bike to the Market and stop by at the info booth to pick up your Market Buck and shopping bag to use while shopping.
If you would like to join a group of bicyclists, several people are meeting in the Sammamish Presbyterian Church parking lot at 5:30 to bike together to the Market. They're practicing for the Sept. 12 community bike ride/run/walk for International Justice Mission, http://www.ijm.org/, a human rights agency dedicated to ending human trafficking.
Entertainment
Kris Orlowski,
always popular at the Market, comes back to play his acoustic rock.
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 Last Week at the Market
In spite of the scalding temperatures last Wednesday, our committed vendors set up their stalls. They marked out the shadiest spots under their canopies or in their trucks, refreshed themselves frequently with the spritz bottles provided by the Market, and found brief respites from the heat in City Hall or air-conditioned stores. Wrapping wet towels around their heads helped too.
And then they greeted each of us shoppers with laughter and good cheer all around - what else could they do on a day like that?
Yes, that's one shopper who decided it was too hot to move so he might as well lie down on the grass, and yes, we did have happy shoppers.
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13. For supporting local farmers
Governor Gregoire points out in her proclamation for Washington State Farmers Market,
that most of the $55 million in 2008 sales at farmers markets went to family farms. That's a lot of support for family farms.
Last week, when I ran into a friend at the Market, she held up her bags and said, "Just stopped by to support the local farmers." Supporting our family farmers means a host of different things to people. Somewhere on this list I hope you find some reasons that resonate with you:
- Economic support to local farmers. Keep dollars in the local economy.
- Preservation of plant diversity. Local farmers plant many varieties because they're not bound by contracts to produce huge supplies of one variety.
- Sustainable land practices
- Reduction of food transportation costs. Food often takes a 1,000+ mile trip to reach us in grocery stores)
- Food safety. We don't hear about e-coli or salmonella scares from locally produced food.
- Sanctuary from urban life. Don't we all like to see the farmland on the outskirts of suburbs?
- Environmental protection. Farms have their own place in the water cycle by absorbing rainfall.
- Connection to the earth. At the risk of sounding New Agey here, there is something in almost all of us that likes being connected to growing things.
- Choice in foods. Most of our food is produced by very large agribusiness companies. Local farms give us another option. It's great to have choices.
- Taste. There's something about fresh-picked, locally grown produce that's dynamite to the taste buds.
2007 Census of Agriculture shows increase in number of farms
Something interesting has happened to farming in the last five years. Since 2002, 300,000 new farms have been established. That's a net gain of 75,810 farms or a 4% increase since 2002, something that has led the USDA to suggest we have leveled the declining trend in the number of farms since WWII.
These numbers came from the US Census of Agriculture, which we conduct every five years. The USDA announced the 2007 Census results in February 2009.
Specialty and organic production growing; Washington has more farms
Other findings: Farmers now represent more demographic groups; the new farms tend to be small with more diversified production; and specialty and organic production is increasing. Washington had a 5.1% or more increase in the number of farms. See the map here.
The USDA of course does not come out and say there are connections between these numbers and the growing appeal of farmers markets. It's hard not to see the connecting lines though. Let's continue to support our Market.
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 Meet the Vendor - Hermosa Mexican Foods
Karyn and Ernest Moreno started Hermosa Mexican Foods, http://hermosamexicanfoods.com/home.html , six years ago when they decided to test market their tamales and salsa verde at farmers markets. As Karyn explains, "We wanted to introduce the Pacific Northwest to the comfort foods we grew up with. Since tamales were very hard to find up here, they became the logical choice for us." "Hermosa" means beautiful, emblematic of the beautiful food they now create for us in the Northwest.
Generations-old and new recipes
They began with a red chile pork tamale made from a generations-old recipe from Ernest's maternal side of the family. The chicken tomatillo tamale was the next offering followed by the vegetarian tamale, a recipe Karyn says she "worked on for months to perfect on behalf of her mother and grandmother who are vegetarians."
Hand-rolled tamales without lard
The Morenos make their own masa without lard. They hand roll each tamale and top them with lettuce, tomato, diced onion, cilantro, Cotija cheese, sour cream and Hermosa Salsa Verde.
Special of the week - seasonal and sweet tamales made from farmers market produce
Each week, they also create seasonal and sweet gourmet tamales from farmers market ingredients. Hermosa offers a "Tamale of the Day" because so "many Pacific Northwesterners are not familiar with sweet or fruit tamales, so we are proud to be able to offer these at the markets for customers to try." The special tamale for this Market day is peach.
Here are just some of the special tamales Hermosa has created this Market season:
- Asparagus, leek and smoked gouda cheese
- Chorizo, a Mexican sausage, with sauteed red, yellow and orange bell peppers and onions, topped with a spicy peach salsa
- Strawberry topped with strawberry syrup and whipped cream
- Banana chocolate chip topped with a Mexican chocolate syrup
- Blueberry topped with home made creme fraiche and fresh blueberries
- Ratatouille tamale using eggplant, zucchini, squash, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and basil grown by local farmers
Why Hermosa comes to farmers markets
This is what Karyn has to say about farmers markets, "We love working at the farmer's markets because we love supporting our community, farmers, and fellow vendors and meeting new people, as well as chatting with our ever-so-faithful returning customers. Everyone we meet is so friendly and outgoing that it makes working fun."
Hermosa has developed a highly loyal following here in Sammamish. When they couldn't be at our Market until the end of June, we had many disappointed diners coming to the Market info booth to ask, "Where's Hermosa?" They knew they had found something special. Now that Hermosa is back, the lines continue to form.
Ordering by the dozen or picking up frozen tamales for dinner at home
Customers can call Hermosa to place orders by the dozen. The dozen can be a mixed variety and comes with a 12 oz. container of Hermosa Salsa Verde. The specialty gourmet tamales can be ordered by the dozen as well. Customers can pick up their orders at the Market or stop by the Hermosa commercial kitchen in Snoqualmie. Hermosa always has frozen 3-packs for purchase at the Market.
You can also find Hermosa on Facebook,
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/pages/Hermosa-Mexican-Foods/54592840676?ref=search |
 Cooking with the Market - Pesto
Now that basil is at its peak at the Market, this is the time to make pesto sauce both for immediate consumption - it's perfect over pasta for a hot summer night's dinner - and for freezing - when you want to recreate that blissful taste of summer freshness during the gray days of fall and winter.
Genoese in origin
Pesto is one of those sauces with never ending versions to try. Genoese in origin and hundreds of years old, generations have had their say in just what and in what proportions make up this sauce.Ever since Americans discovered pesto in the 1980s, pesto has never been the same, as we Americans, as is our wont, have created variations and found new ways to use it.
Simple sauce
Like so many gloriously good things, pesto is simple and made from a few ingredients, basil, cheese (Parmesan or pecorino or maybe both, depending on who writes the recipe), nuts (pine nuts or walnuts or both, again depending on the recipe writer, and it's possible that the oldest recipes didn't even include nuts), garlic, salt, pepper (maybe or maybe not, depending on the cook), and olive oil (although some cooks insist that some butter must be used to make the best pesto). Well, maybe I should retract that it's simple.
Genoese vs. American basil
Basil is the key ingredient, although Americans experiment with greens like arugula. Genoese basil is a small-leaf variety more pungent than our broad-leaf American version that has a hint of mint. That's why the Genoese feel rightfully protective of their sauce - only they have the right basil. Nevertheless, our basil makes a mighty fine sauce.
Mortar & pestle method vs. food processor/blender method
Traditionally, pesto has been made using a mortar and pestle. Pesto devotees make a convincing case that the mortar and pestle method releases more flavor and fragrance from the basil. That makes sense, but the food processor and blender create a delicious sauce with far less effort.
For pasta, vegetables and sandwiches
When we think of pesto, we usually imagine a plate of perfectly cooked pasta swathed in that fragrant green garlicky sauce. But pesto is a great accompaniment with vegetables, it perks up turkey sandwiches, and a bit of it spread on sliced tomatoes is pretty divine.
How to store
Put your finished sauce in a glass bowl and cover the sauce with a thin coat of olive oil. Thin is the operative word. This protects the sauce from turning dark green throughout. Then cover the bowl and refrigerate. This keeps about a week. This sauce also freezes easily because it maintains its taste once thawed. One way is to freeze it in ice cube trays and then transfer the cubes to freezer bags.
Do not heat sauce
If you don't use the sauce immediately, take the covered bowl from the refrigerator a couple hours before serving to take the chill off. Heating this sauce might cause the basil to turn a little bitter. Nevertheless, I reheat gently when necessary.
Pine nuts vs. walnuts
European pine nuts are sweeter than the pine nuts from China that are more common in our stores. Some detect bitterness in the Chinese pine nuts. Toasting them may soften that taste. Walnuts are a pretty good alternative, but they do change the taste of the sauce a bit. The best words I can find for it are substantial and woodsy; it's good but different.
Here's the recipe that works for my family:
Market Pesto
1 bunch Market basil (one bunch makes about 4 cups of washed and dried leaves; no stems please)
6 garlic cloves from the Market, peeled and quartered
½ c. pine nuts, toasted
2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. finely grated Parmesan Reggiano (Use a rasp grater to obtain the fine texture that is advantageous when blending the cheese into the sauce.)
1/2 c. olive oil plus 2 tbsp. (Many pesto recipes use a proportion of 2 cups basil leaves to ½ cup olive oil. That's too much olive oil for me, but if you find that my scant 1/2 c. of olive oil makes too dry a sauce for your personal tastes, add enough olive oil to make the sauce as you like it.)
Whirl the garlic around in the food processor/blender. Add the pine nuts and process for a couple seconds. Add the salt; process, and then add the basil. Don't over process. Add the cheese and process for a couple seconds. Slowly pour in ½ c. olive oil and blend.
Spoon into glass bowl and coat the top with the extra 2 tbsp. olive oil. This helps prevent the sauce from turning dark green. Before serving, stir the sauce to incorporate the coating of olive oil. Then blend as much of the sauce as you want into the hot pasta.
You can also stir in some of the pasta boiling liquid if you'd like a thinner sauce.
L. Leo, Editor
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