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09/25/11 - A Farmers' Market Recipe

Autumn has come to the Port Angeles Farmers' Market. The tomatoes are passing, but pumpkins and other squashes are coming in, as are the potatoes, cabbages, chards and kales. We'll try for a more detailed report soon, but for now we'll offer a recipe for banh mi. There was a booth at the market offering samples made using Pan d'Amore sourdough bread and Clark Family beef along with a collection of other market vegetables.
NOTE As usual with our recipes, feel free to experiment.

This is an awful picture we took of the ingredients. We promise to take better pictures for our next market report.
INGREDIENTS FROM THE MARKET
  • 3 cups finely shredded cabbage
  • 1/2 cup finely shredded carrots
  • 1/3 cup thickly sliced green onions (including tops)
  • 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
  • 1/2 pound ground beef or pork, browned w/ salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 thick, light-textured baguette, cut into 4 sections
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
INGREDIENTS FROM ELSEWHERE
  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
  • 8 teaspoons of garlic chili paste
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. In a bowl, mix cabbage & carrots with 1/4 cup rice vinegar, the salt, and sugar; let stand about 30 minutes.
  2. In a food processor or blender, combine remaining 1/4 cup rice vinegar with green onions, lime juice, ginger, garlic, and five-spice powder. Whirl until smooth
  3. Split baguette sections lengthwise almost all the way through, leaving halves attached at one side. Spread about 1 tsp. chili paste on 1 cut side of each. Add on top, then add cooked pork on cabbage mixture and cilantro leaves.

Keywords: autumn, clark family, farmers' market, port angeles, recipe

08/18/11 - Summer Comes to the Port Angeles Farmers' Market

Let's see, there are all sorts of greens, lettuce, chard, carrots, scallions, broccoli, cauliflower, basil, summer squash, bok choy, cucumbers, cabbages, raspberries, and even tomatoes. Don't forget the oysters, salmon, beef, lamb, bread, rolls, croissants and cheeses. You can do an awful lot of your grocery shopping at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market on Saturdays (10-2) and Wednesdays (2-6). (We're guessing on the hours. The official web site doesn't seem to have them anymore.)

West Wind Farms

The Korean Garlic Lady - with a lot more than garlic and dumplings

Johnston Farm

The market survey, preliminary results

The venerable Nash Huber

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

07/02/11 - Farmers' Market Update

Things have been getting much more lively at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market. Nash Huber has fava beans, spinach and strawberries. Did he also have that Swiss chard? We aren't sure if we got it from him or Westwind Farm. We're pretty sure Westwind had carrots. Everything is a bit late, but summer is coming in. Ars longa, veggies brevis, so enjoy the season.

Nash Huber's stand

Keywords: farmers' market, nash huber, port angeles, summer, westwind farm

06/09/11 - Port Angeles Farmers' Market Update

The Port Angeles Farmers' Market gets greener by the week. Everyone has salad greens and the baby turnips are tiny, but tasty.

Preston, of Wild West Seafood, has been selling gathered foods: morels, bear claw shoots and wild ginger. We tried the wild ginger, which has no relation to the ginger root one buys at the supermarket, and it did indeed have a gingery taste, but it did not go down well. As with a lot of gathered foods, a lot can depend on preparation. Next time, we'll do a bit more research.

We also dropped by the Good To Go stand and tried some of their croissants. They definitely went down well. The baking at Good To Go just seems to get better and better.

Wild ginger - one of the asarums

Baby turnips at Westwind Farm

Salad greens and eggs

Greens and garlic at Johnston Farm

A high speed photograph of a Good To Go croissant 50 milliseconds before it was eaten. This was a true photographer's challenge.

Keywords: farmers' market, good to go, johnston farm, port angeles, westwind farm

05/09/11 - Look Who's Back

The Port Angeles Farmers' Market is getting more and more spring-like. This time the asparagus were back, real spring vegetables. Both Westwind and Johnston Farms had them. That's right, Johnston Farms is back. That's wonderful news.

Johnston Farms is back at the market.

Keywords: farmers' market, johnston farm, port angeles, spring

05/01/11 - Farmers' Market Update

The Port Angeles Farmers' Market is going green now that the weather is a bit more cooperative. There are lots of raabs. Those are just kales and cabbages and the like that have started to flower. They have a wonderful, slightly fuller and perhaps sweeter note than the unflowering vegetable. They're great sliced thinly as the base for salads or sauteed.

Johnston Farm was only present by proxy. This time Westwind Farm had their salad mix, and a welcome sight they were. Westwind is also selling kale and cabbage raab along with those sure signs of spring, rhubarb and nettles. Yes, they're awfully late this year. Late too are the asparagus. Usually we've been living on Westwind Farm asparagus for weeks now, but not this year. We haven't seen a spear. Hope springs eternal and all that.

Westwind raab and rhubarb

Westwind was selling Johnston Farm salad mix.

Raabs and more at Nash's stand

Keywords: farmers' market, johnston farm, port angeles, spring, westwind farm

04/27/11 - A Word From Johnston Farms

We just heard from Christy at Johnston Farms. They haven't been at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market lately, but they are planning on coming back by summer. For now, the Clark Family Farm beef people are selling some of her salad mix, and if you call (360-452-1936) first, they'll be selling salad mix and other vegetables at the farm on Heusline Road off Old Olympic. That's great news. Johnston Farms was a real important part of the market.

Salad mix - That's proof!

Keywords: clark family, farmers' market, farms, johnston farm, port angeles

04/15/11 - Morse Creek Eagles

We saw two bald eagles at Morse Creek, a young one without the distinctive "bald" head and a fully mature one. It's spring, so there was a lot of water flowing under the old railroad bridge, and further down the Olympic Discovery Trail towards Port Angeles the bluffs have been crumbling and blocking the trail with mud and fallen trees. The professional maintenance team has been doing a good job keeping the trail passable, clearing out branches, removing the mud and redoing the drainage. We should also put in a good word for the amateurs who have been collecting litter and keeping the trail clean.

Can you see the bald eagle perched on a branch over Morse Creek?

How about this close up? (What do you expect from a point and shoot telephoto camera?)

A younger bald eagle was nearby.

The downstream creek

The trail

Keywords: morse creek, port angeles, spring

03/09/11 - Farmers' Market Update

This is just some Port Angeles Farmers' Market gossip:
  • Leela, of Lazy J, will now be working with Westwind Farms. She's sharing stall space with them for now and still has her baby potatoes, but this season she'll be farming with them, and we're looking forward to her new goodies.
  • Christy, of Johnston Farms, is on sabbatical for a few months, so we won't be seeing her for a while. She's hoping to be back some time in June, so if all goes well, she'll be back with the summer harvest.
  • Allan,of Dungeness Seaworks, was off to Sitka. He'll be fishing up in Alaska. That's where the fish are. He isn't sure when he'll be back at the market. Given the vagaries of fish and weather, the best we can do is wish him good luck.
  • Preston, of Wild West Seafood, says he is expecting black cod very soon, and halibut season is opening, so he's hoping to have halibut after that.

Keywords: farmers' market, johnston farm, port angeles, westwind farm

02/20/11 - Pane d'Amore at the Farmers' Market

We haven't been seeing Bell Street Bakery at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market lately, but Pane d'Amore seems to have taken up the slack. This is the slow season at the Farmers' Market, but there were at least four farmers selling winter vegetables (cabbages, brussels sprouts, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, garlic), three farmers selling meat (pork, beef, lamb), two parties selling fish (steelhead, salmon), the Holmquist hazelnut guy, the cheese people, Good To Go, and a number of others. Eggplant might be out of season, but the market is well worth a visit, even in the depths of winter.

Pane d'Amore - They and Good To Go sell their own baked goods at the market.

Keywords: farmers' market, good to go, port angeles, winter, salmon

02/14/11 - The DOA Fitness Challenge

Wow, the folks at the Clallam YMCA are tough. They taking getting into shape seriously, if we read this sign on the bulletin board correctly. That's the DOA Fitness Challenge. Dead On Arrival. You don't get more serious than that.

Keywords: port angeles

02/06/11 - Farmers' Market in February

This isn't prime farmers' market season. It's the middle of the winter, but our hardy local food providers have been putting on a good show, all things considered. Johnston and Lazy J Farms have been selling their braising greens. Apparently, all it takes is a bit of sun, and out of the ground come little mustard leaves and the like, all ready for the pan. We have a way to go before the spring crops appear, but it is worth checking out the market, even this time of year.

Korean food is great for warming up in the winter. It's cold in Korea this time of year.

We made a great Greek stew with our Clark Family pork chops. It's great pork.

Good To Go has their own pastries on sale. They are the only baker in Port Angeles these days.

Aside from their famous potatoes, Lazy J has brussels sprouts, leeks and their own braising mix.

Mystery Bay has lots of oysters, large and small.

Keywords: clark family, farmers' market, farms, good to go, oysters, port angeles, winter

01/28/11 - Toga's Sandwiches

We finally tried Toga's in its new incarnation as a soup and sandwich shop. We had noticed the change over a few years back, but, as you know, it takes us a while to try new places. Toga's specializes in hot sandwiches, so we tried a few:
  • The Ultimate Reuben - This was a good honest reuben on toast with good caramelized sauerkraut, a well balanced cheese and fairly good corned beef. We're spoiled by the likes of Carnegie Deli and Katz's in New York, but it was a good enough corned beef by Seattle standards. All told, a nice hearty sandwich.
  • Toga's Original Schnitzel Sandwich - This was a lot lighter, with a lightly breaded, broiled pork cutlet, melted jarlsberg and some lettuce, tomato and red onion. This would make a good sandwich to pack for the trail.
  • Baked Dungeness Crab Panini - This sandwich has a nice helping of Dungeness crab with cheese, onions and, we gather, artichoke hearts. The caramelized onions were great with the crab, but this is another messy sandwich, so we ate it at home.
All told, we were pretty impressed. Toga's has some pretty nice sandwiches. They are open from 10 to 6 at 122 West Lauridsen Boulevard. That's on Route 101, just west of the Albertson's. They have a Facebook page - sorry, we don't link to Facebook for security reasons - where they post their specials, and we've posted their menu online here.

The reuben and the crab - It sounds like a fable.

Keywords: togas, reviews, food, port angeles

12/11/10 - Santa Is Coming To Town

Every year the Port Angeles fire department sends out Santa to spread Christmas cheer and collect money for local charities. As one might expect, Santa rides a firetruck, so we literally await his siren call in early December. This year, it was raining, but Santa doesn't get stopped by snow, so the rain barely slowed him down.

Santa is coming ...

Santa, and his helpers, are here!

Good bye, Santa, see you on the 25th.

Keywords: christmas, port angeles

12/06/10 - Around Port Angeles

We were exploring downtown Port Angeles and dropped into the new Blow Hard Glass Gallery which is down on Railroad Avenue. Railroad Avenue always seemed like the industrial poor sister to Front and First Streets, which was a pity as it is the first street one sees getting off a ferry from Victoria. The new bus terminal and related work seem to have improved things a bit, and the new glass gallery is a great new addition. (Yes, we know, they opened in May, but readers of this site know that we are always months and often years behind the times.)

We also dropped into the Princess Valiant Coffee shop, and picked up some of their fresh roasted coffee. We were pleased to see that they also sell Dry Creek Farm eggs among other things.

We then dropped into Port Book and News, but we've entered the Christmas book embargo. Basically, no one is allowed to buy him or herself any books lest this interfere with the other's gift book buying. There is a reason we call this the most skulkiest time of the year. We really liked the little motorized amusement park in the front window. It's a great holiday season touch.

Click the image for video

Prince Valiant, more than coffee

Lots more than coffee

Blow Hard Glass Studio

More glass

Keywords: christmas, dry creek farm, port angeles

09/30/10 - Save The Spruce Railroad Trail

We are leaving this post up here at the top of our site because we want to get the word about the proposed changes out as best we can. Scroll down a bit for our usual updates.

The Spruce Railroad Trail is in danger. The park service and the county are seriously considering a plan to eliminate the existing wilderness trail and replacing it with a twelve foot wide, sturdily paved transportation corridor relegating its traditional users - hikers, joggers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders - to a three foot wide unpaved margin. Basically, they want to turn it into an urban bike path with some accomodation for the rest of us.

If you explore the Spruce Railroad Trail now, you get a true national park experience, with ferns, salal, mosses, and sometimes salamanders lapping at your feet. You can stop by the trail side an picnic or just rest on a rock or log. The trail has a soft surface which makes for easier hiking and jogging. The proposed transportation corridor eliminates all of this. It uses most of the right of way, eliminating a lot of the vegetation and natural diversity. It will be paved, changing the scent and atmosphere, and increasing runoff into Lake Crescent.

The current trail, and one of the wider sections

The proposed "improved" version
 If you want to find out more, you can check the park's web site and the section on the proposed transportation corridor.

The plan is still open for public comment, but not for much longer. They've been rather quiet about it given its impact. There was a small notice on the cluttered bulletin board at the trailhead, but little else. You can:



Keywords: lake crescent, port angeles, salamander, spruce railroad

08/12/10 - The Summer Port Angeles Farmers' Market

We haven't been writing very much about the Port Angeles Farmers' Market lately. This has not been because we haven't been shopping there, but because we've been lazy. The slow start to the season didn't help, but now the summer vegetables are coming in thick and fast. The Korean Garlic Lady is selling her wonderful, almost overpowering garlic, along with her excellent scallions. Lazy J and Johnston Farms have their great potatoes. Everybody seems to be selling cauliflower, and it's about time.

We should also note that Mount Townsend Creamery is selling Trailhead again. They aren't getting their milk from Dungeness Valley Creamery anymore, but the cheese is almost as good as ever.

Trailhead cheese is back.

Great garlic

Potatoes! We're saved!

Cauliflower in living color.

Those are Nash's watermelons.

Lazy J always puts on a great display.

More vegetables

Keywords: farmers' market, farms, johnston farm, port angeles, shopping, summer, mount townsend creamery

08/05/10 - Salmon Truck

The Rite Aid parking lot on Lincoln Street has a free market air. You'll often find someone with a pickup truck selling firewood, flowers or freshly caught salmon parked towards the main street. This salmon vendor was typical. It's one of the great things about living in Port Angeles.

A seasonal sight

Keywords: port angeles, food, salmon

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