Photo Report: Farmer’s Market Season Returns in Portland, OR
Ed. note: This entry is in lieu of the weekly recipe that is featured on Fridays here on Almost Fit. The recipe will return next week. In the mean time, if you enjoy Almost Fit, please consider subscribing or sharing the site through your favorite social network. Thanks.
It is no secret that Pacific Northwest winters are notorious for their extended gray days in the winter and spring months. Of course, if you’re from Arizona or Southern California, “notorious” is indeed the correct word. However if you ask the content, web-footed long-time residents, “famous” might be a more common term.
Believe it or not, while it may just be the seasonal depression talking, I can tell you that the daily variety of wild Northwest weather that makes the entire landscape glisten in sparkling green kind of grows on you. Frost, fog, light drizzle, sunshine, then drizzle again, then hail, then sun again for a few minutes, then early evening darkness, is a common daily combination of weather and light from November through May. Sprinkle in a handful of oddly timed freezing days, a flour-dusting of snow, and a pinch of the even less predictable - the unseasonably warm days, and you have a Wedding Planner’s cake-melting nightmare.
(As a piece of general advice, Northwest weddings are best planned in the beautiful out of doors in the summer, with an indoor facility close at hand just in case.)
But this piece is not about weddings.
The sleeping food giant awakens
It is the time of year for the return of the dormant, sleeping Farmer’s Market in downtown Portland, which is an event that brings out the hibernating whole food addicts in droves. If you want real food, the Farmer’s Market is the place to go.
Being card-carrying members of the whole food mindset, we went this weekend. Here are a few photos.
One view of the market (for the Northwest bashers and naysayers, note the clear blue sky in the background. It reached 82 at our house on Saturday. Of course, it is raining as I write this…).
Fresh herbs and starts, all organic. Our 3 and 1/2 year old loves to pinch the leaves between his fingers and smell the fragrances, trying to see what each plant smells like. Incredibly, according to him they almost all seem to smell like one form or another of chocolate - which he reminds us that at a moment’s notice he will gladly take off of our hands whenever we feel the need for such a service. With parents like us, he is doomed to Foodie-ism.
Many of the area’s finest bakers attend the PSU market. This photo looks to be something straight from the French countryside.
A lone man was selling bags of stone milled flour. Stone milled flour has nutritional benefits that are much greater than conventionally processed flour.
Rainbow chard, which we ate for dinner.
Fresh apple and pear ciders.
Organically grown tomato starts, which we purchased for our vegetable garden.
Fresh pesticide-free organic tomatoes, which accompanied breakfast this morning.
The Northwest offers some incredible mushroom bounties nearly year round.
As always, there is lot of character at the market…
…and venerable vendors very clearly straight from the farm, muddy boots and all.
Not to mention the most adorable herself.
Related posts:
Oh I love farmers markets! We have two very close to us that we make regular visits to. I love the look of the breads!
awesome! Our market in Corvallis doesn’t open until this coming Saturday, so I’ve been wondering what’s available now given our cold spring season. I don’t think we’ll have tomatoes yet, but I hope we have chard that looks that good. I’m also excited to see flour - that was our big stumbling block when we participated in the eat local summer.
You get way better stuff this early in the year than we do. At this time of the year there won’t be very good pickings here and is not worth the bother. I would have loved a loaf of bread, tomatoes and some of those mushrooms. Could have made a fantastic sandwich. Your little one seems to appreciate the bread. It must have been good.
@Andrew: In about 3 weeks we’ll have a bunch open for the season near us too - it is one of our favorite things to do on a weekend, often more than once!
@Anne-Marie: I was frankly kind of surprised to see the variety as well. The first few weeks of the Oregon City market are pretty “colorless” as far as vegetables go, so it was definitely unexpected. And the flour was also a really great find.
@Christine: That bread is dangerously good. And I can definitely attest to the mushrooms and tomatoes as well - we had the tomatoes sliced accompanying some eggs on Sunday morning. Very, very good.
healthranker.com Says: 14.04.08 at 10:54 am
Photo Report: Farmer’s Market Season Returns in Portland, OR | AlmostFit.com…
“[…]It is the time of year for the return of the dormant, sleeping Farmer’s Market in downtown Portland, which is an event that brings out the hibernating whole food addicts in droves. If you want real food, the Farmer’s Market is the place to g…
Hey, Metroknow,
Thanks for the tips! I’ll definitely make my way to the Zorithian Ranch. I do love history and art and in some way, this all does relate to health & fitness. Since I started hiking, I’ve learned a lot of history and have been feeling better in my health. I’m going to check out that Arroyo Trail.
-Jacob
Sorry, one last thing. I love farmers markets and the one where you now live seems like a good place to get some great food!
-Jacob
http://thisisnotadiet.org
hey… thanks for checking out my blog. To answer your question, i use weight watchers points so I deduct points for exercise and I make sure I eat all of my points each day. I assume that counting calories will be the same. I have a couple of resources that I use and I will let you know what they are soon. I just want to check out some things about calories real quick. Keep up the good work… I’ll get back with you soon!
@Jacob: That’s another thing that we really miss from Southern California - the abundance of year-round farmer’s markets. In the Altadena/Pasadena area there are 4 that I know of that are year round, and within 20 minutes of each other. In fact, the Thursday evening farmer’s market in South Pasadena is a really great event. We were weekly attendies for sure. The Montrose Farmer’s Market is also another really good one (Sunday morning I think…can’t remember). Thanks for the comment - I’m definitely following your progress on ThisIsNotADiet!
@Rev. Todd: Thank you for the follow-up. Its a question that I’m trying to find good answers on, and this does help. With so many divergent opinions on exercise, I thought your summary was really straightforward.
For folks who haven’t seen the post on Rev. Todd’s site, here is what we’re talking about: http://lesstodd.blogspot.com/2008/03/muscle-building-tips.html
Well worth the read.
Thanks again!
I’m so jealous! My local markets don’t open for 2 more weeks. My mouth is watering already. Thanks for sharing the wonderful photos and great food even if I can’t have it yet. Also thanks for the passionate comment you left about the FDA pasteurization or irradiation of food. It was great for awareness of what is happening to our food when the money industry takes over. I am a proud supporter of my local farmers and markets. We don’t have a spot for the big government!
Robin
Beautiful photos! You’ve just inspired me to visit one in Vancouver this weekend. The farmer’s markets in the NW have a different vibe than those in the SW…could it be the weather? Haha.
Love your blog! Awesome photos, well written and a great layout. Curious to where you created your blog?
I am always so jealous of your produce! I got spoiled in California. Farmer’s Market here doesn’t open for a bit longer.
Photo report: Oregon City Farmer's Market in July | AlmostFit.com Says: 14.07.08 at 4:03 pm
[…] is our habit, we stopped by the Oregon City Farmer’s Market on Saturday to pick up much of our […]