May 17, 2012
Vol 6, Issue 11
logo with eggplant

Market Updates

We are really get into the swing of things and the last couple of weeks have been great!  Locally grown produce like beets, carrots, greens, herbs, onions and strawberries line the market along with eggs, meat, fish, cheese and deliciously prepared foods.  And of course we still have beautiful plants and veggie starts for all your gardening needs.  

 

This year a few of your favorite vendors may have 

moved stall spaces or might move from week to week.  Don't forget to stop by the Info Booth if you can't find a particular vendor.  Our volunteers have the latest stall maps and know where to find everyone who is the market.  

 

We don't have any new vendors starting this week, but next week we are excited to welcome Big B Farm, Sage & Seas & Sylvan Valley back for the season.  And with all the great weather, it looks more berries will be here soon! 

 

We'd also like to remind folks that the market opens at 8am. For safety reasons, vendors aren't able to sell to you before that time.  But as soon as the bell rings, shop away! 

 

hfm bikesThis week we're hosting Bike to the Market Day, in honor of National Bike to Work Week.  We'll have Velo Cult, our new neighborhood bike shop, in the market to show us all the different ways to carry produce on your bike.  Plus, we'll have a drawing for everyone who doesn't drive to the market. Check in at the info booth to enter to win a $40 gift certificate to Velo Cult or a basket of market produce!   

 

Please remember to bike to the market, but NOT through the market.  The market streets are filled with families and vendors so for the safety of all in the market, please park your bike outside the market.  

 

And last but certainly not least, check out this great article about Lion Heart Kombucha, who joins us every other Saturday throughout the season (including this one).

 

See you at the Market!

Lion Heart Kombucha: Microbially Local Food
by Gabrielle Haber

On a recent spring day, Jared Englund's smiling face meets us on the sidewalk outside Lion Heart Kombucha's building at NW Lovejoy and 18th. He leads us halfway down an alley to the series of garage-like rooms that hold the workings of the operation. "I wanted to show you guys this," he says, ducking behind a curtain into one of the rooms. Suddenly the air is 80 degrees, with the distinctive smell of fermenting sugar. 50-gallon vats line the walls of the tiny room. "This is where we ferment the tea," Jared explains, "and then we blend the kombucha with fresh fruit and flavorings." He points to a bowl filled with watermelon chunks. "But I haven't been able to get any watermelon flavor to come out." 

 

Each vat in this room is filled with green or oolong tea sweetened with sugar, and floating near the surface of each vat is a kombucha culture that looks like a slimy, thick pancake. These are SCOBYs, or Symbiotic Cultures Of Bacteria and Yeast. The bacteria and yeast feed on the sugar and produce a wide range of acids, including acetic acid (the same found in vinegar), and the resulting liquid is the drink known as kombucha, which has been used medicinally in East Asia for centuries and has only been popularized in the United States in the last 20 years or so.

Like a sourdough starter, the exact make-up of every kombucha SCOBY is slightly different, depending on the locally-prevalent yeast strains, type of sweetener, chemicals in the water, even the type of container it's stored in. Though the biology will change from day to day, Jared says that all SCOBYs contain a few key strains of yeast and bacteria, and will typically support a primary population of 12 types of each. All of that fermenting activity results in a drink full of amino acids, which are central building blocks in our cells. Scientific research has also shown that kombucha has antibiotic properties, detoxifies the system by supporting liver function, and boosts immunity, though the full benefits of drinking kombucha remain to be studied.

We leave the fermenting room and step next door to the shop, a cozy space with just enough room for Jared's desk, a table for visitors, and a fridge full of kombucha in a spectrum of pinks and golds.

"Here, taste this," Jared says, pouring samples of red raspberry and sylvan berry as soon as we step inside. I taste. The raspberry kombucha is like a bright, fruity soda, but less sweet and with a tangy edge. This is one of the things differentiating Lion Heart from the pack of kombucha brewers that has sprung up in recent years; using a lesser amount of sugar and fermenting longer than most commercial brands, Lion Heart is able to balance the yeast and bacteria populations in each batch, resulting in almost no sugar or alcohol in the final product. This provides them with a fresh-tasting base to use on its own or as a background for the many different fruit blends.

"The strawberry was our first blend using whole fruit," he says. "We bought the berries at the farmers market, and that's really inspired our new direction towards local, 'real' flavors." In their first market season last year, Jared and his partner Amanda listened to their customers' ideas and took note of the seasonal fruits being grown locally. Their blueberry-ginger blend was inspired by HFM customers one day, who wanted to fill their bottles half with the blueberry and half with the ginger brews that were on tap. Jared is excited to continue building relationships at the farmers market this year, where rotating seasonal flavors will be sold that won't be available anywhere else.

Unfortunately, though, the growing success of the business means that HFM customers will only get to see Jared and Amanda every other week this year. In between running the store, brewing and bottling frantically to keep up with demand, teaching kombucha classes, and keeping up with little Lev, they've had to scale back on their farmers markets to maintain a balance. But returning to HFM was always the plan. "Hollywood customers really love our product," Jared says appreciatively. "And we were HFM shoppers before we ever sold there."

As we get ready to leave Jared to the rest of his work day, one more question occurs to me: where did the name Lion Heart come from? "We're really all about family," Jared says. "Our son's name, Lev, is really connected to our family already, and Lev means 'lion' in Russian and 'heart' in Hebrew."

Lion Heart Kombucha is available at 1720 NW Lovejoy (entrance on NW 18th), Thursday through Saturday from 11-6, every other Saturday at the Hollywood Farmers Market, at several locally-owned groceries, and on tap at food carts and restaurants across Portland. For starter kits and kombucha classes, check out their website at www.lionheartkombucha.com. 

At the Market

Music & Entertainment:

Sandy Saunders Band  

 

Biking with produce with  

Velo Cult 

 

Community Booth:

Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center

OSU Master Gardeners

Farmers Ending Hunger

 

Upcoming Events:

Bike to the Market Day - Saturday, May 19

Loaves and Fishes Health Fair - Saturday, May 26

Featured Product

May 19, 2012

 

Dry Fava Beans

N&N Amaro Produce

N & N Amaro Produce 

(a new vendor this year) has dry fava beans. You can put them in soups or salt and roast them like sunflower seeds for a snack!  

 

Lunch Meat

Deck Family Farm

Deck Family Farm now has lunch meat! This week they will have pastrami, roast beef, and ham available in small serving sized packages. All of their meat is raised on Oregon Tilth Certified Organic pastures and is processed nitrite free.

 

Eggplant Starts

Think Unique Gardens

Think Unique Gardens has eggplant starts for your gardening delight! Millionaire eggplant is the more common variety, which produces a lot of long, slender fruit, while the Bride variety gives a thicker eggplant with a purple and white striated appearance. The flavor profiles of these are similar, but it is not necessary to peel the Bride eggplants.

 

Seascape Strawberries

Happy Harvest Farm

Happy Harvest has Seascape Strawberries, grown in soil naturally with no pesticides or fungicides. Toss them on a salad, make strawberry salsa or jam, put them in smoothies, the options are endless!

 

Teff Flour

Camas Country Mill

Stone-ground Teff Flour from Camas Country Mill is a naturally non-gluten flour that can be added to bread, soups, and stews! Teff originated in Ethiopia and is used in injera bread. Despite being full of nutrients including iron, calcium, protein and fiber, it is the world's smallest grain. Stop by and ask for a copy of their cookie recipe! 

Tip of the Week 

Biking to the Market 

 

Whether you shop by the backpack or bike trailer-full, biking home from the farmers market is a great way to go! Here's a few tips:

1. Bring along empty yogurt containers or tupperware to pour your berries into before you ride.  

 

2. If you buy plant starts at the market, they will ride home nicely sitting upright in a bike basket or a milk crate strapped to a rear rack. Just pack your other produce around them so they don't shift around too much. 

3. Biking to the market is an added reason to enjoy a tasty treat while you're there. You'll need fuel for the ride home!

- Stephanie Noll, Bicycle Transportation Alliance

 Market Pics   











hfm_mapDays:
Every Saturday, May - Thanksgiving
1st & 3rd Saturdays, December - April

Hours:
May - October, 8am - 1pm
November - April, 9am - 1pm

Location:
NE Hancock Street between 44th and 45th Avenues (one block South of Sandy Blvd). In the Grocery Outlet parking lot!

For more information, check us out online at www.hollywoodfarmersmarket.org.

See you Saturday!

Hollywood Farmers Market
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