This Week at
the Market |
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| Larry Peters
Face Painting with Crista
Powerhouse Mentoring and Family of Friends
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| Tip of the Week |
New Mexico Chili Peppers
New Mexico Chilis are smoky and mildly spicy sweet chili peppers and are delicious roasted.
Slice the peppers lengthwise, lightly coat in olive oil and roast over low heat in the oven or over the grill.
Enjoy with goat cheese and fresh bread from the market!
-- Dave Sullivan, Sweet Leaf Farm
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Featured Produce
Part of the beauty of farmers' markets is that our produce changes with the seasons. Stay current with weekly produce highlights here!
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Yam Leaves(Blooming Goodies) Elegant Lady Peaches (Baird Family Orchards)
Elliot Blueberries(Happy Harvest Farm) Catalina Plums
(Liepold Farms)
Roma Tomatoes (Dante's Garden Pesto) |
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Enjoy the sunny weather at the Hollywood Farmers' Market this Saturday, September 6th. There will be music by Larry Peters and face painting by Crista. Also, this is likely the last week for blueberries this season so don't miss out!
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Tomatoes, Eggplants and Peppers -- Oh My!
by Sarah Broderick,
Community Volunteer Coordinator
I'd never met one of those
people before. You know, the ones who don't like tomatoes. Or eggplant. Or
peppers. They generally don't like potatoes either, unless the potatoes have
been really deeply fried. And they've likely never even heard of ground cherries
(cape gooseberries) before. Have you guessed it yet? Yes, I'm talking about the
anti-nightshade folks. I'd never known one until a few weeks ago when a
houseguest of mine looked on in horror as I started slicing some of the most
beautiful eggplants I've seen this summer. "Do you take the poison out before
you eat it?" she whimpered in my kitchen. I just shook my head and sighed, "I
salt the eggplants to soften and sweeten them." I know -- I could hardly
believe it myself.
Tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers symbolize the height of
summer to many gardeners and food-lovers. Potatoes are more than just comfort food,
they are one of the most enjoyable crops to harvest. Plunging a hand into the
soil and feeling around for a tuber is one of the rewards of planting this
nightshade. Tomatillos and ground cherries in their husks act like they're holding secrets behind a papery curtain. And they are ... so delicious. Tobacco
has played a significant role in human life for hundreds, if not thousands, of
years. And the fragrance of petunias and night-blooming nicotiana delight our
sense of smell.
Nightshades have evolved to produce very desirable fruit,
leaves, and tubers. They are important sources of food, spice, and medicine. To
my friend's credit, the Solanacaea family of plants also contains a wide range
of alkaloids that can be desirable, poisonous, or both. Some people are
sensitive to the alkaloids in nightshades and have allergy-like responses when
consumed. Certain plants of the Solanaceae family are poisonous, hallucinogenic,
and even deadly. Belladonna, mandrake, and jimson weed are all examples of
nightshades everyone should stay away from.
But for the rest of us, this time of year is one of
celebration. It's time to start canning tomatoes, roasting and freezing
peppers, and gorging ourselves on eggplant. It's time to make salsa verde and ground
cherry pie. It's time to get over to the Hollywood Farmers' Market and enjoy
the bounty of the season!
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Community Booth Spotlight
 Learn more about the organizations tabling at the market each week in our community booth column.
Sons of Norway
Grieg Lodge is the Portland Chapter of the International Sons of Norway. From its inception in 1910, Grieg Lodge has been all about service, fraternity and cherishing and preserving Norwegian and Nordic culture, old and new. Whether your family has been here for five generations or five weeks (or you just think Norway rocks!) Grieg Lodge is the place to get in touch with your "True Norsk" spirit. Find out more at our booth this Saturday at the Hollywood Farmers' Market!
Powerhouse Mentoring and Family of Friends
The Powerhouse Mentoring Program serves teens and young adults who are, or have been, in foster care in Multnomah County. Volunteer mentors are matched one-on-one with a young person for at least one year. Mentors provide a listening ear, unconditional friendship, and a link to community and activities that a youth in foster care might not otherwise experience. Mentors can be the all-important, stable, caring adult in the life of an adolescent in foster care and the spark that ignites a sense of resiliency in the youth that will ultimately help him/her succeed at living independently after leaving foster care.
Family of Friends is a mentoring program that matches six- through nine-year-old children in need of additional support with individuals, couples and families for a mentoring relationship. Matches get together a few times a month for a year or longer. In addition to giving the children social, emotional and academic support, mentors give their mentees a broader view of the world and their options in it. |
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Featured Vendor: Blooming Goodies
 By Carolyn Sharp,
HFM Volunteer
The Family that Farms Together
Blooming Goodies is a family-run operation. Four generations come together every week to pick traditional Asian produce on four acres of land near Oregon City. The youngest helper is a very mature four year old who helps carry small baskets to the wagon; the oldest is Mary Vue's 87 year-old grandmother who picks beans, cuts vegetables and does everything that other family members decades younger do. Mary was born in Fresno, but her Laotian parents left California for Oregon, lured by the quality of life in which they could raise their growing family. Mary says that the thing she is most proud of about her business is that they are able to "work together without any arguments and become a stronger family in the process."
One of the hardest parts of the job, according to Mary, is an issue any backyard gardener is familiar with -- controlling insects without using chemicals and sprays. Mary's family noticed that Oregon customers seek out spray-free, organic vegetables. One of her tricks is to water before dawn, wetting the leaves which she says discourages the insects from munching on them.
Visiting the Blooming Goodies booth at the Hollywood Farmers' Market, you will notice that they offer produce you can't find at any other stand -- baby bok choy, Thai basil, snow peas, Asian cucumbers, French long beans and even squash leaves. Don't hesitate to stop, take a closer look at that interesting bundle of greens and ask what an item is or how to cook with it. Mary fields these questions regularly and might suggest that you add those pumpkin leaves to a soup or steam or stir fry them with other vegetables.
Blooming Goodies produce is only available at local farmers' markets, so visit them this weekend!
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The Hollywood Farmers' Market is open Saturdays, May through October from 8am - 1pm and November 1, 8, 15 & 22 from 9am - 1pm. We are located on NE Hancock Street between 44th and 45th Avenues (one block South of Sandy Blvd).
For more information, check us out online at www.hollywoodfarmersmarket.org.
See you Saturday!
Hollywood Farmers' Market
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