Food People Love

Our celebration of Northwest Foods continues! If you missed it last week, we’re taking advantage of this special time between summer eating and the transition to fall weather to highlight some of the extra-special partnerships we have with small, local outfits like Tony’s Coffee in Bellingham, Twin Sisters Creamery in Ferndale, Farm Kitchen in Kingston and so many more. These relationships are special because they provide us the opportunity to offer unique, locally made foods not widely available while supporting growers and producers who are as passionate about delicious food as …
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As summer’s last crops overlap with fall’s first harvests, our Produce Markets are a cornucopia of Northwest-grown fruits and veggies. That gave us an idea … Wouldn’t it be a fantastic time to celebrate all our Northwest products and producers? So let the celebration begin – especially when it comes to those extra-special partnerships we have with small, local outfits like Tony’s Coffee …
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Breakfast time just got a little sweeter! We’re happy to introduce Our Own Muffins to all our Central Markets and Town & Country Markets beginning Friday, Sept. 6, just in time for the weekend! We’ve been baking, tinkering, and taste-testing — lots and lots of tasting — to make sure all five recipes come out just right and we’re excited to share them with you: Blueberry Muffin with Streusel Topping Whole Wheat Banana-Blueberry Muffin with Oat Topping Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffin with Lemon …
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Are you one of the 17.5 million people planning on braving the highways and airport terminals this weekend? Not me. I’m sticking as close to the grill (and the beer cooler) as possible. Which means I need to check out what’s on the Big Board! Every Wednesday our Big Board Buys offer you the very best deals on our favorite items in the markets. We like to think of it as our “thank you” for sharing our love of food. And few weeks highlight that better than our Labor Day weekend deals. We’ve got everything you …
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Unlike most foods, when I think of caprese salad, I think of the colors before the flavors. That simple flourish of red, white and green, a little drizzle of golden olive oil and a dark streak of balsamic vinegar. Few dishes are so simple yet so satisfyingly delicious. It’s so simple and has truly taken hold here in America, where a platter of sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella is now pretty common at our dinner parties and summer cookouts. …
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Another Summer Standout in Produce: Gunkel Peaches My little family recently went on a vacation that took us as far north as the base of Mt. Baker and as far south as The Dalles overlooking the Columbia River. And while we drove east along I-84 past the Maryhill Museum of Art toward Goldendale, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stop by the Gunkel Orchards fruit stand. Every year, the arrival of Gunkel peaches and cherries is a hallmark of the summer season in our Produce Markets. Summer just isn’t summer if you haven’t had a chance to wipe your chin after delving …
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* UPDATE! * Hatch Roasting Events Canceled Due to extreme weather in New Mexico last spring and this summer, growers have experienced a catastrophic crop failure. As a result we have extremely limited quantities of hatch peppers for the second weekend, hot variety only. We will begin roasting Saturday, Aug. 17, at 9:30 a.m. at Central Markets in Poulsbo, Shoreline and Mill Creek, and Town & Country Market on Bainbridge Island. They’ll be limited to a half-bushel per customer, and when they’re gone they’re gone. Thank you for your …
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Washington Growers Keep our Produce Markets Flourishing Robert Hayton, left, and his daughter Angelica, are part of five generations of family farming …
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We also visited Durst Organic Growers in Esparto, Calif., during the trip to G&S Farms in Brentwood, Calif., that I described in last week’s blog. Our Produce Market managers, myself and a few others walked through seemingly endless rows of cherry tomato plants. What I remember most vividly about that farm visit is that it was HOT, and as we each picked a few pints of cherry tomatoes we all gained a profound appreciation for the folks who are in those fields harvesting all day, every day through the summer. We weren’t alone. [caption id=”attachment_33396″ …
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Chris is roaming the Northwest with his family this week, so I’m stepping in to write our blog. Which gives me a chance to reminisce on an enlightening trip I took with our produce managers a few years ago. We visited some of our growers in California, including G&S Farms where our favorite summer corn is grown. There’s no better way to understand why one ear of corn is better than another than to chomp on one in a corn field just after dawn while the farmer who grew it explains why it’s so darn good. Except maybe to read a blog post by someone who …
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