It threatened to rain, but the weather held the whole time we were there.  The face of the market is ever changing.  Now in its third year the 6th Avenue market is coming into its own.  They are rearranging things a bit and adding a little bit of diversity in the vendors.  There are a few more craft type vendors and a few new non-produce vendors.

We browsed our way down the market and purchased our way back.  I’m sad that I didn’t have the opportunity to catch the names of all of the booths I purchased from, but I did get some.  We purchased Asparagus and spring onions from the wonderful family that sits at the very back of the market.  I have been buying amazing produce from them for 4 years now and I still don’t know their names.  This year they have a new addition in the form of a 2 month old baby girl.  She is just as sweet as her mama and I can’t wait to watch her grow up.

I picked up smoked salmon from Rolf (always a must on a weekly basis) and was happy to hear that he’s on his way up to Alaska to catch more to sell “fresh” (it is flash frozen for transport).  Nothing better than fresh salmon on the grill in the summer.

Next we were pleased to see Vallhalla Coffee.  This is great because we love their coffee, but for some reason we forget to stop by their shop on 6th Ave to pick up beans.  What’s more is that I was tasked with buying good coffee for the nursery and I was going to get Stumptown at Satellite.  However, I did better than that.

We picked up dinner at Gateway to India (per our usual 1st day of the market tradition) and CJ greeted us with a giant smile.  The food was delicious as always.

I was happy to see that Tahoma Farms had a booth right in a prominent place.  This is good so that we can pick up the items offered in the Terra Organics boxes on the off weeks (or at least what Tahoma grows).

My husband is a huge local honey eater.  He has had peanut butter and honey toast nearly every morning for the past 7 years (maybe longer).  In the off season we purchase our honey at Tacoma Boys or H&L.  During the market season we purchase it from whomever is selling it at the time.  The last bottle we purchased was at the Proctor market the day before Mother’s Day.  It crystalized quickly and I wasn’t impressed.  My husband was running out so he was happy to see Sweet As Can Bee Honey at the 6th Ave market.  They had samples of all of their offerings and I love it when honey vendors do that.  We walked away with a bottle of vanilla honey and a jar of cinnamon creamed honey.  It was the only purchase we used our debit card on (typically we only spend $40 in cash at the market.  it is our way of not overspending).

Our last stop was at a small booth selling tomato plants and greens.  I am fully stocked on tomato plants and I am no longer allowed to even look at them, but greens… I could eat my weight in greens.  I have a crisper drawer full of braising mix and kale so I didn’t need that, but this little vendor had a little green which I’d never heard of.  I don’t know how to spell it, but is like a raab of some sort although not quite a raab.  It can be eaten raw or cooked and tastes delicious.

I was happy with the selection of the market on opening day.  I wish there were more people, but with the weather being so bad I’m not surprised.  I will continue to support the 6th Ave market as long as it is open.  I’ve missed you market season… it’s been a long winter.

It has been since the end of WWII when the government had an over abundance of things like nerve gas that they needed to dispose of.  What a better disposal method than to spray it on food crops.  Turning DDT into a pesticide led the US down a dark road.

But that was the 1940s.  People like organic stuff now.  It has to be better now… doesn’t it?

No.  It is becoming worse.

An article published in the NY Times on May 3rd illustrates just how bad things have gotten.  Seed companies have been genetically modifying corn, soybean and cotton seeds for years to be Round Up resistant.  This means farmers can spray Round Up on their crops to kill the weeds, but not the crop.  Trouble is, weeds are smarter than farmers and companies like Monsanto.  Weeds have now evolved to be resistant to Round Up.  This means more chemicals and more genetic modification.

To get a better idea of what is so wrong with the food system in America you could read books like Omnivore’s Dilemma or In Defense of Food.  You could watch movies like Food Inc. or King Corn (which I highly recommend).  However, one of the best films out there on this particular subject is a little known documentary, The Future of Food.  You can watch it for free on Hulu.

It isn’t a secret as to what our opinion of GMO food is.  We don’t like it and are quite angry about it.  What can we do about it?  We are very conscience about our food choices.  We do our best to purchase food from reputable organic farmers.  We plant heirloom variety seeds.  We educate ourselves about the state of the food system.  We vote with our wallets.  It makes a difference.

So when some good friends asked us to join them for dinner on Valentine’s Day (at one of Tacoma’s most expensive restaurants) it wasn’t just the price that made me say no.  Instead we elected to invite their whole family to our house for a nice dinner (and a just a little kitsch).

For the meal I served:

Avocado Seafood Cocktail with Chipotle Adobo Dressing

Cabbage Slaw with Orange and Pumpkin Seed Dressing

Black Pepper Honey Steak

Melting Greens

All of the recipes were out of the Splendid Table cookbook and I settled on them because of their (somewhat) seasonal nature.  Granted, the seafood cocktail did include grape tomatoes and bibb lettuce (avocados are never in season here) and Cabbage isn’t 100% in season, but close enough.

Just the thought of spending a nice evening with good friends and sharing a meal is what makes the day special.

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  At the current moment we have reached our $3000 (gross sales) goal.  With about $650 more in sales we could be close to having $3000 in profit!  That would men we could almost double what was sent to Baby Home #2 last year (that was $1700).

There are only 2 more days to order truffles and caramels.  We will take orders until midnight on November 27th.  If you haven’t placed your order yet do so quickly.  If you have placed your order thank you very much.  The Baby Home is very excited to make the childrens’ Christmas a little extra special.

If you have tried to order and the system won’t complete the payment portion please contact us.  We are aware of some problems with being able to complete some credit card transactions.  The system is secure it is just an issue with Paypal (we always have at least 1 glitch with them every year).  We will make sure you can arrange payment so you can get your order.  We don’t want anyone to miss out on the deliciousness.

As always, if your waistline won’t allow candy please consider making a donation to Sweet Hope.  There is a donate button on the ordering page of our website.  Donations are welcome all year long.

Thank you to everyone for doing your part to spread the word.  We can’t do this without you.

www.sweethopefoundation.org

In 2006 my husband and I sold and made chocolate truffles and caramels to raise money to bring our son home from Russia.  After our son was home we were repeatedly asked to make the candy again and we did… and did and did.  That one little fundraiser turned into a very large production that consumes the better part of 3 months for me.  Which would also explain my significant lack of posting about gardens and garden related topics.

Every year we sell chocolate truffles and caramels and we give the money away.  We’ve given it to other families adopting children and last year we gave it away to our son’s former orphanage.  This year we are doing the same thing.  Only this year, we are making more varieties of truffles and caramels in the hopes of sending even more money.

Check out the website for Sweet Hope.  It explains the whole story much better than I can throw together in one blog post.  If you go to the ordering page (since you are going to order, right?) and click on the photos of the candy, they get bigger.  I hold no responsibility for any drool that may end up on your computer screen, desk or keyboard.

100% of the profits from the sale of Sweet Hope candy goes directly to Baby Home #2 in Khabarovsk, Russia.  The candy comes gift boxed and makes great Christmas gifts.  All orders ship on December 16th, just in time for Christmas.  You (or your loved ones) get candy, and a child gets a Christmas.

This afternoon we attended a playdate at a preschool classmate’s home.  We’ve been trying to set this up for weeks, but well… I get distracted by shiny objects and it just hasn’t worked, until today.

I must say I had a lovely time and got to know what I hope will become a new friend.  Someone quirky like me (in a good way) and easy to talk to.  My son had a wonderful time and behaved himself nicely (despite the one near catastrophe).

Oh wait… this isn’t the mommy blog is it?  Darn it.  Bet you thought I got confused there for a minute.  I’m getting to the point.  Keep your pants on.

I mentioned to the other mom about my chocolate “business.” I went to pull out a business card (which I totally left at home) and while I was rummaging in my bag she handed me a business card.  It just so happens that this mother owns Trails of Crumbs Bakery.  Even better, she writes a blog too.  Honestly, what mom doesn’t write a blog these days.  I assure you, this is not a mommy blog.  It is a blog loaded with recipes and photos of delicious baked goods.  Check it out.  You can have a little piece of Tacoma delivered right to your door.

What does this have to do with gardening?  Nothing.  I just like cookies.

Since I have a wide variety of types of tomatoes (and none are dedicated “sauce” tomatoes) I thought I would give drying a try.  I was lucky enough to receive a food dehydrator from mom a few years ago that comes in handy ever now and again.  I pull it out during apple season to make chewy apple chips or banana crisps.  I pulled it out a few weeks ago to dry some peppers that were on the verge of going bad.

I did some looking on the internet to make sure that using a food dehydrator for tomatoes would actually work, and sure enough there was plenty of information.  In addition I recently purchased “Canning & Preserving Your Own Harvest” by Carla Emery & Lorene Edwards Forker at the suggestion of Willi at Diggin Food.  The writers of the book had a great idea on preserving dehydrated tomatoes.  It doesn’t even require boiling giant pots of water.

My version is slightly different than the book, but this was a trial run.

Clean all of your tomatoes.  Spray the racks of the dehydrator with cooking spray (if you don’t oil the racks you will say bad words later, learned this with apples and bananas).  Slice tomatoes in 1/4″ slices and remove the white core part.  Place on dehydrator racks without the tomatoes touching.  Turn on dehydrator and let go for what seems like eternity (mine went all afternoon and night).  1/2 way through the drying swap the racks.  Put the top ones on the bottom and the bottom ones on the top.  The tomatoes are done when they feel like leather and are still pliable.  Some of mine were a little crispy.  Turn off the dehydrator and let them cool.  Once the slices are cool put them in a bowl and toss them with a little plain white vinegar.  Take them out of the vinegar and pat them dry with paper towels.  Allow them to dry completely.  Place them in sterile jars and cover with olive oil (I happen to use grapeseed oil since I’m quite allergic to olive oil).  Place a lid on and keep them in a cool dark place.  Apparently you can keep them for up to a few months.  Refrigerate after opening.  So simple!  They look pretty to boot.

There were two reasons for planning date night last Friday.  First, it was our anniversary.  Second, our local cinema was showing Food, inc.  If you have never seen this film I highly suggest that you find out where the closest cinema is and see it.  It opened in June so there are very few theaters showing it these days.  We were lucky in that our local cinema brought it to town.

Now one would think that seeing a film about the industrialization of the American food system is not that uplifting of a date.  On the contrary.  We walked out feeling that we were actually doing something to make a difference in the way we eat.

In addition to seeing the film we had a lovely dinner at our favorite restaurant, Primo Grill.  A place where the chef takes care to find locally sourced ingredients.  After dinner we had a little extra time so we stopped by King’s Books for some browsing.  However, browsing in a bookstore never means just that.  I walked out with a 1950 Gardening Handbook to add to my vintage garden book collection and 3 new and used books on food in America, Organic, inc., Fast Food Nation and Recipe for America.

With all of this hyper-localism and sustainable eating we got to thinking about what we could do to spread the word of why eating local is a good thing.  This blog is a good place to start.  So is your next meal.  You can make a difference, one meal at a time.