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03/08/10 - Sefrina

Sefrina isn't the next town after Hilda. Sefrina is a Moroccan cholent, a great, easy to make Moroccan stew with a ridiculously long cooking time. We found out about it in Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco. Aside from the six hour cooking time, it is an easy dish to make. That's right, it cooks for six hours total, but your oven does all the heavy lifting. Everything gets wonderfully tender, and the eggs develop an amazing creamy texture as they hardboil.

We made this version with a 3lb 10oz pot roast from the Clark Family Farm. It had a nice big marrow bone which you can see floating there in the photo. The potatoes were from the Johnston Farm and the eggs from Westwind Farm, so this qualifies as a Port Angeles Farmers' Market dish. We also used dried chick peas, but they weren't from the Farmers' Market. You can make this dish with canned chick peas, but this is obviously not a dish you can throw together in a hurry, so why bother with time saving conveniences?

Our Moroccan stew

The eggs get tan and creamy.
 The recipe:
  1. The night before, soak a cup of dried chick peas in water overnight.
  2. Start boiling six cups of water in a tea kettle.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  4. Take a big casserole with a lid and dump in the chick peas.
  5. Add 3 or 4 pounds of beef cut into big chunks. Pot roast is great, but it is better if there is a bone or two.
  6. Add six potatoes.
  7. Gently tuck six raw eggs into the ingredients so far.
  8. Chop up four cloves of garlic and sprinkle them on top.
  9. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of saffron or turmeric.
  10. When the water comes to a boil, pour it on.
  11. Cover and put it in the oven for an hour.
  12. Lower the heat to 250°F and let it cook for another five hours.

Keywords: farmers' market, johnston farm, port angeles, food, recipes

01/31/10 - Clark Farms Beef at the Farmers' Market

We noticed a newcomer at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market this past Saturday, the Clark Farms beef people. They had a sign, some nice brochures and a big freezer pack full of beef. We had to try some, so we bought a pair of t-bone steaks, nicely packed and frozen. We put them to the test at Kaleberg Laboratories. That meant a session in the microwave for thawing, then heat processing in our broiler, not far from the electric coils. We applied hard infrared to push our sample to medium rare. That's a technical term.

Then came the actual testing. We applied our utensils, and transferred subsamples from plate to palate. The steaks were great, with a good, deep beefy flavor and a surprisingly tender texture. They weren't as fatty as Peter Luger's t-bone steaks, but they were better than the usual industrial beef by a long shot. Of course, these are just our preliminary Kaleberg results. We have a lot more testing to do, so we'll be looking for Clark Farms at next week's market.

The folks behind the beef

Our test sample

Their brochure

Keywords: farmers' market, farms

01/10/10 - The Winter Market

We missed the Korean garlic lady last week, but she was back again with her excellent garlic, scallions and Korean goodies including fish soup and kim chi pancakes. Korea gets pretty cold in the winter, so they have lots of good dishes for cold weather, and you can try some at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market.

Another newcomer was the Mystery Bay Oyster guy who sells oysters and clams with lots of garlic and butter. He's usually at the Port Townsend market, but they are closed right now, so he's offering his wares to us Port Angelenos. We had a plate of his oysters, and they were wonderful. We'll miss him when the PT market reopens.

The Korean garlic lady

The Mystery Bay Oyster guy

The Johnston Farm lady

Keywords: farmers' market, johnston farm, oysters, winter

01/02/10 - Winter Market

Just because it is the middle of winter doesn't mean that the Port Angeles Farmers' Market is closed. It's open every Saturday from 10-2 at the Gateway Center, and the farmers are there including Westwind, Johnston and Nash Huber stands along with Tuna Dan, Bell Street Bakery and the guy with the mushrooms and seafood whose name we have forgotten. We bought a lovely piece of black cod from the guy whose name we forgot, so he is worth a trip to the market in his own right.

Johnston Farm

Westwind Farm

Nash Huber

Tuna Dan

Bell Street Bakery

Keywords: farmers' market, johnston farm, nash huber, port angeles, winter


Yes, we smoked it in the snow.

12/06/09 - Smoked Steelhead

For the last few weeks Tuna Dan has had steelhead at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market, so that means we've been having smoked steelhead. We use brown sugar, black pepper, kosher salt and coriander seeds for our rub. We don't smoke it long, but that doesn't matter. We usually eat it pretty quickly.

Keywords: farmers' market, food

08/28/09 - The Port Angeles Farmers' Market Has Moved

The Port Angeles Farmers' Market has moved back downtown, to the new Gateway Center on Front and Lincoln. It's a nice space, and most of the regular vendors are there. We're hoping the market's new home works out in the long run.



Keywords: farmers' market, port angeles

07/30/09 - Farmers' Market Update

We haven't been reporting on the Port Angeles Farmers' Market lately, so it's time for an update.

Right now, the market is in full swing. We've seen the Johnston Farm, Lazy J, Nash Huber, Red Dog, The Family Farm, Westwind, Rick's, Black Sheep and a number of others including the Korean lady who has great garlic. We've probably missed a few in that list, so we'll apologize now, and next time we'll take better notes.

One farmer we had been waiting for was Harley of Dry Creek, who has excellent organic eggs. He had been between flocks of chickens, but we had expected him in late June. Now he's back, and we're glad to see him.

We've been to the Saturday market and the Wednesday market at the Gateway, and this last Wednesday we noticed a new non-farm vendor, Chocolate Serenade with handmade chocolate truffles. We particularly liked the cayenne pepper truffles, but, then again, we like spicy food.

Dry Creek Farm is back

Lazy J

Chocolate Serenade

The Johnston Farm

Black Sheep Farm

Keywords: dry creek farm, farmers' market, johnston farm, nash huber, port angeles

06/15/09 - QuilBay Oysters

We are always warned not to eat oysters in months without an "r" in them. We have never taken this rule too seriously, so we tried out a dozen QuilBay oysters. They were spectacular. They smelled of the sea and had a sweetness and a mineral note. QuilBay also sells other seafood at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market.

Keywords: farmers' market, food, oysters

06/01/09 - Farmers' Market Update

We may have another two or three weeks before summer starts, but the Port Angeles Farmers' Market is moving ahead. We've been enjoying the spring crops of asparagus, arugula, mixed braising greens and all those new potatoes. The seafood folks have been selling salmon and ling cod, so we've been doing more shopping at the market than ever.



Keywords: farmers' market, shopping, spring, summer

05/23/09 - Farmers' Market Update

For us, the big news at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market has been all of the folks selling fish and seafood products. Last week we snagged some great Neah Bay salmon, and this week we bought a pound of shelled razor clams. It all started with Tuna Dan, but now there are usually three seafood vendors.

The vegetables are moving into summer with more salads, mixed braising greens and other goodies. We even saw some broccoli rabe, but we are going to wait one more week in hopes of finding some with more flowers. We'll fill you in this coming weekend.

Keywords: farmers' market

05/10/09 - Farmers' Market Update

The Port Angeles Farmers' Market is really gearing up with more and more vendors arriving each weekend. The stalwarts, Westwind, Johnston and Nash Huber, were there along with a lot of others including Red Dog, Bob's, Black Sheep, Lazy J farms. (We apologize if we missed a few.)

The big news this week is that Westwind Farms has their amazing asparagus, but do come early.

Tuna Dan was the first regular at the market selling seafood, right now halibut and ling cod; he has been joined by at least two others include Wild West and Quil Bay. The latter two are selling clams and oysters, as well as fish. This has been a great new addition to the market.

There were also two bakeries at the market. Bell Street Bakery had their own booth from Sequim and Joy's mom was selling her own from another booth. Joy runs Joy's Wine Bistro in Port Angeles, in case you were wondering.

The Kim Chi lady was selling her Korean pickled cabbage and other Korean goodies. There is nothing like good strong Korean garlic. We also found out that it was Dynasty Restaurant selling dim sun. This time they had a nice sign.

We also saw Harley of Dry Creek Farm, though we didn't get a change to talk to him. We're hoping his chickens will be laying in June, and he'll be back with his Dry Creek stand.

Local produce is what it is all about.

Clams, oysters and fish - free nettles, what an incentive

More clams, oysters and seafood

Bell Street Bakery

Joy's Mom's bread

Vegetables and ...

... more vegetables

Dim sun from Dynasty

Kim Chi and other Korean goodies

Keywords: dry creek farm, farmers' market, farms, nash huber, port angeles, oysters


Dim Sun at the market.

05/02/09 - At The Farmers' Market

We were at the farmers' market today, and the place was bustling. Nash Huber, Johnston Farms, Lazy J and Red Dog were among the regulars along with the honey people at Elwha Apiary. We also noticed that the Wild West oyster people were here, and this week they were selling shucked oysters as well as oysters and clams in the shell. (We have to get a picture of their stand). There was also a dim sun stand. We didn't get to try any of their dumplings, having eaten right before heading down to the market, but we might plan differently next week.

Keywords: farmers' market, farms, johnston farm, nash huber, oysters


Red Dog Farm from Chimacum is a market newcomer.

04/19/09 - Farmers' Market Update

The Port Angeles Farmers' Market seems to grow a bit every week as new produce, new farmers and new vendors show up every week. We don't remember seeing Red Dog Farms last week, nor the Wild West Seafood folks who were selling oysters and ling cod. The QuilBay oyster and clam people were back too.

Keywords: farmers' market, oysters

04/12/09 - More Signs of Spring at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market

The Port Angeles Farmers' Market has been ramping up. The usual winter stalwarts are still here, but more of the seasonal folk have been returning. Quilbay wasn't selling its Quilcene oysters, but G&R was there instead. Gossip has it the Westwind asparagus are coming along, but slowly. Otherwise, all sorts of things are flowering and ready to eat. This has been a slow spring, but the season is starting to shape up.



Keywords: farmers' market, port angeles, spring, oysters

04/05/09 - Spring Comes to the Port Angeles Farmers' Market

To start with, Westwind Farm is offering nettles. You have to cook these carefully, but once blanched, they are delicious. We had ours in a soup with shitake mushrooms from Sunny Farms and miso from McFee's bodega. We also spotted fresh arugula and kale raab which is young kale with flowers, so spring cannot be far behind. As for the QuilBay oysters, we tried some. They were wonderful on the half shell. Finally, Johnston Farms is back for the season. It is good to see the market gearing up after a long winter.

Keywords: farms, johnston farm, spring, farmers' market, oysters

04/01/09 - Unusual Potato

At one time we had hoped our web site would never become one of those sites packed with photographs of curiosities like this unusual potato we spotted at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market. Unfortunately, we have succumbed to temptation.

That sure is an unusual potato. Potato courtesy of West Wind Farms.

Keywords: farmers' market, food, science

03/22/09 - QuilBay Oysters

There's a new stand at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market. The folks from the QuilBay Oyster Company have been selling good looking oysters and clams. They're in the shell, so you have to shuck or steam your own, but they are the second seafood sellers at the market, after Tuna Dan who has been selling halibut, steelhead and salmon right across the aisle.

Keywords: farmers' market, port angeles, oysters

03/08/09 - Seen At the Port Angeles Farmers' Market

We love the vegetables at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market. We're still in the winter, but, hey, they have cauliflower, and are supposed to be having more over the next few weeks.

Hey, cauliflower

Keywords: farmers' market, port angeles, winter

02/21/09 - Lazy J Farm - An Update

Lazy J Farm has some of the best potatoes on the Peninsula. Our favorites are the Austrian Crescents and the Ozettes. The latter were supposedly introduced to the area directly from Peru by the Spanish, way back when. Lazy J used to sell their potatoes, and other produce at the Farmers' Market, but they haven't been doing so lately. This situation is going to change.

The young lady in the picture, whose name we have foolishly forgotten, will be working with Lazy J, growing and marketing vegetables, theirs and her own. This is great news. Not only does it mean we'll be getting Lazy J potatoes, but it also means we'll have another farmer selling all kinds of local produce. We're really looking forward to this year's harvest.

Keywords: farms, farmers' market

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