| Market Updates |  Summer officially started on Tuesday and with it Hollywood Farmers Market staff decided to take a trip up the Columbia River Gorge to Maryhill Orchards along with a side trip to Feeley's Fruit in Hood River. It was a wonderful, hot sunny day as we rode along the banks of the Columbia River through lush orchards, ducking under  branches heavy with ripe, sweet cherries. Maryhill Orchards' cherries first arrived at the market last Saturday and will only continue to ripen and sweeten in the weeks to come. There were even ready-to-pick peaches on the trees! HFM staff got a juicy and sweet preview, but there aren't quite enough peaches for market sales yet. However, by next Saturday, July 2nd, there will be peaches galore - just in time for 4th of July festivities!
 Feeley's Fruit's cherries are still a couple of weeks away and their peaches are at least a month out. Expect them to start the market on July 9th - they cannot wait to come back to the Hollywood Farmers Market this season!
If you have been missing their super fresh certified organic eggs from pastured hens, wait no more - Persephone Farm returns to the market this Saturday with eggs and fresh produce. Many of you have been asking and we are glad Persephone Farm is back.
The Fest O' Pesto is this Saturday! Classic Foods will be dishing up ravioli samples at their booth, generously dressed with their own house-made Pesto Genovese, Cilantro Lime Pesto and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto with Roasted Garlic. Is your mouth watering yet? Deck Family Farm will also be sampling their pastured meats and will show you how to make a simple savory and delicious meal with steak & a little pesto. Deck Family Farm will also be selling the last of their walnuts at an amazing bulk price of $8 per pound. Stock up on local walnuts for your homemade pesto production!
Don't miss the three pesto making demonstrations this Saturday:
8:45am - Persephone Farm with Jane Hashimawari
10:45am - Winter Green Farm with Amie Edelstein
11:45am - Big 'B' Farm with Michelle Girard
See you at the market! |
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Pesto! Pesto! Pesto!
by Daria Colner
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There is nothing quite like the amazing aroma of basil. Whether you're fortunate enough to have it planted in your garden or you pick up a bunch at the farmers' market, basil inspires delicious food. While there are many options for cooking with basil, perhaps the most ubiquitous is pesto. Not all pesto features basil, in fact many recipes demonstrated at the market this Saturday will feature other herbs. But it is by far the most popular variety and is what most Americans associate with the dish.
The word pesto derives its name from the way it is traditionally prepared - with a mortar and pestle (mortaio e pestello). In Liguria, a ceramic mortar and wooden pestle are used with a gentle turn of the wrist, which allows the taste from the basil to be squeezed out as opposed to crushed. If you aren't a traditionalist, feel free to use a food processor. While pesto is best when made fresh and added to fresh pasta, it also freezes well so you can enjoy homemade pesto during the middle of a rainy Portland winter.
If you're feeling adventurous, try experimenting with your pesto by swapping out an ingredient or two each time you make it. Substitute hazelnuts or walnuts for the more common use of pine nuts or try using cilantro instead of basil. Some cultures add tomatoes or roasted red peppers. Give in to your wild side because with pesto you just can't go wrong!
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Community Booths
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Every Saturday, two community organizations provide customers with information about unique projects around the city and add to the community feel of the market. Organizations represent many different interests, from local food initiatives and healthy living advocates to conservation groups and youth empowerment agencies.
Oregon Food Bank distributes food to agencies that feed people who are hungry throughout Oregon and Clark County, Wash. They also work to address the root causes of hunger through public policy advocacy and education programs. Their mission: To eliminate hunger and its root causes ... because no one should be hungry.
The Columbia Slough Watershed Council is a community-based non-profit focused on the health of the Columbia Slough waterway in Portland, Gresham, and Fairview. The Council offers k-12 youth education programs, monthly volunteer opportunities, workshops, canoe trips, and nature festivals for families. The majority of activities are offered for free or a $5-7 suggested donation. The annual Columbia Slough Regatta (canoe and kayaking celebration) will be held on Sunday July 31st, and Aquifer Adventure (pirate-themed groundwater festival) will be held on Saturday Sept 17th. More information about the Council is available at 503-281-1132 or www.columbiaslough.org.
The views expressed by the organizations in the Community Booths are those of the organization and its representatives and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, the Hollywood Farmers Market.
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At the Market
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Music & Entertainment:
Faxon Mills
Community Booths:
Oregon Food Bank
Columbia Slough Watershed Council
Upcoming Events:
Fest O' Pesto - 6/25, all day
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| Featured Products | |
June 25, 2011
Yu Choy Blooming Goodies
This is a delicious and tender green related to Bok Choy. It is great sauteed or in soups. Brooks Cherries Maryhill Orchards Sweet and larger than the Chelans (also available this weekend) these cherries are just coming on now and are grower Allene Takahashi's favorite variety. Pluvius Cheese Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese This cow milk's cheese is featured in the Summer 2011 issue of Culture Magazine. Mild, approachable, elegant, simple, and meltable. Check out the samples, located conveniently close to Laurel Ridge Winery! Flower Bouquets Herr Family Farm Herr Family Farm wants to make you a bouquet with their beautiful peonies, canterbury belles, and purple queens. Or, as always, you can customize a bouquet with our own favorites of their vast selection. Fresh Crepes Village Crepery Featured flavors this Saturday will be Strawberry & Whipped Cream and Cheddar Pepper Bacon. |
Tip of the Week
brought to you by Robert Reynolds' Chefs Studio
| | Strawberries - There is nothing better than the perfect trio of Oregon strawberries, sugar and creme fraiche. Take a strawberry, dip it in sugar, dip it in cream. Repeat. |
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The Hollywood Farmers Market
is open Saturdays, May through Thanksgiving from 8am - 1pm. (November Markets begin at 9am). 