Summer Market

This weekend is the first weekend of the official “Edmonds Summer Market” with my favorite fruits, vegetables, and most importantly—earrings! (Seriously, if you guys need earrings, Vera at Edmonds Farmer’s Market technically VNDesigns is the best jeweler ever.) But besides the earrings and pretty flowers, the farmers markets are a great place to stock up on your weekly grub.

Buying foods from farmers markets is beneficial in many ways, you get delicious and nutritious food, it is not coming from mass marketing and middle men, cuts down on carbon emissions, supports local economy, and creates community. I like talking with the vendors at the farmers market—there’s a particular stand at the Edmonds market from Yakima that has THE BEST cherries on the planet. There’s another stand from Skagit Valley that sells monstrous zucchinis in the mid-late summer that I really enjoy.

But why really buy from farmers markets? The food is more expensive than Winco, QFC, or Safeway, I understand, but nutritionally you get more bang for your buck. Farmers harvest crops with the intention of the consumer purchasing it at its time of ripeness. The farther away the crop is from you (bananas are not grown in WA people), the sooner the farmer has to pick the produce from the crops. The later you pick the produce, and the closer to peak ripeness that time is, the higher the nutritional value. (I feel like there were a lot of “the’s” in that sentence….) Makes sense though, right? If you harvest a fruit/vegetable much before it’s ripe it’s like cutting the umbilical cord too early—you cut off the plant’s source of nutrition which means less nutrition for the plant compared to a plant that was harvested later. These farmer’s markets allow the consumer to get fresh fruits/veggies that were harvested the day before, or even that morning! How fresh is that?

Another benefit to farmers markets is getting foods that are seasonally appropriate. At a typical supermarket you can find strawberries in mid-December and winter squash in June. These foods are not as nutritionally dense as foods that are produced seasonally because plants were made to grow at the times they were made to grow. Strawberries need a lot of sunshine (something we don’t get much of in the winters) and when produced off-season in a greenhouse or shipped in from countries south of the border the nutritional quality greatly diminishes. That’s why it is suggested in winter months to buy frozen berries because those foods are picked at peak ripeness (right in the summer time) and flash frozen to lock in those key nutrients.

Going to the farmers market you don’t have to worry about “is this grown in a greenhouse” or “is this food in season right now?” because you can just talk straight to the farmer right there. ASK QUESTIONS! They love to talk about their farms, they love to talk about food, and they love people who are interested in their food. So go have fun, enjoy a nice day out in your community, get some earrings, pick up a bouquet of flowers for your mom, and enjoy the juicy delicious and nutritious Yakima cherries.

*I was not paid by any farmers/vendors, just my enthusiasm for the Edmonds Summer Market J

ZUCCHINI BREAD bourbonandhoney.com

PREP TIME

20 MINS

COOK TIME

55 MINS

TOTAL TIME

1 HOUR 15 MINS

A sweet breakfast or tasty treat, this bread is quick, easy and packed with fresh zucchini.

Author: Kristen Olson

Makes: 2 Loaves (24 Servings)

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups grated fresh zucchini (3 medium)
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 8x4 or 9x5-inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together the sugars, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and melted butter until well blended.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture, to the wet ingredients, stirring after each addition, until well blended. Fold in the nuts, if desired.
5. Divide the batter equally between the two loaf pans. Bake for 40 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in a resealable bag at room temperature up to 4 days.