Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A Gem in Everett: The Sunday Farmer's Market

If it’s Sunday afternoon and it’s June, July, August or September it’s Farmer’s Market time in Everett.  And since the last few Sundays have been sterling when it comes to the weather,  BowlingWidow and I have been making a weekly trek to the market on our bicycles lately.  Why wouldn’t we?  It’s only a ten or fifteen minute ride. And it would be far less than that if we didn’t have to head south six blocks to navigate around a huge bluff.  Perhaps I should talk to our city leaders about constructing a zip line to the market as we fly above the bluff in question.
The (Brightly Exposed) Entrance to the Everett Public Market

There’s something about the concept of a farmer’s market that we can rally around.  Yeah, I suppose the produce, cheese, meat and whatever else is being sold is more expensive than what you can find in the supermarket.  But it usually is of a higher quality and for the most part is organic and pesticide free.  I like knowing that the corn or nectarines that I just bought were a part of plant (and not the factory kind either) in Eastern Washington the day before.  Besides, giving a small farmer or three a helping hand to  keep their livelihood going is just the right thing to do.
Another Happy Customer Stocking Up on Fresh Vegetables

These markets seem to be popping up everywhere these days and there are no shortages of like-minded people who are cramming the aisle ways and are underneath tents checking out arts & crafts, homemade salsa, gourmet olive oils and fresh seafood in addition to the farm fresh fruit and vegetable offerings.

Mexican Food Vendor at the Market:  I've Gotta Try That Sometime
And being a chilehead, this is my favorite harvest time of the year.  I can look forward to those late August and September weeks when Anaheims, Poblanos, Jalapenos, and Habaneros will start to show up, freshly picked from the Yakima Valley.  I have a feeling that September and October will be big homemade Mexican meal months at Casa de BowlingJoe.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

We used to love going to the Everett Farmer's Market. We go to a small one in Sidney, NE on occasion, and there's one on both Saturdays and Tuesdays in Cheyenne. Once we're over there full time, I'm sure we'll be hitting those on a regular basis. We always find some good artisan breads, fresh fruits and veggies, and even lamb or bison.

Anonymous said...

Yes indeed, cvow. We're now regulars in Everett and look forward to riding our bikes there every Sunday. Just as in Sidney (and I'm sure Cheyenne) we also have the breads and grass-fed beef/bison/lamb and probably some other meats. I do like living in North Everett more than I thought. It's a nice community. Not utopia but I do like the small businesses and the fact that people look you in the eye and say hello when you're on a walk. That never happened in Marysville.