Good article. But there are quite a few markets open year-round in Oregon. Hillsdale Farmers’ Market (the one I manage), People’s Co-op, Lloyd, and Oregon City have been year-round for a few years. Hollywood and Portland went to a year-round schedule this year. Corvallis has a winter indoor market as does Salem. Check the Oregon Farmers Markets Association, http://oregonfarmersmarkets.org for more information.

Rimless sheets serve well as a paddle if you’re baking pizza or bread on a stone. I use our rimless baking sheet almost as often as the peel.

Practice is the key, I think. My wife often comments that I have cookbooks that I never use. I often don’t use cookbooks the way many people might, for the recipe. Since learning how to cook, I use cookbooks in a different way. I use cookbooks for ideas, for inspiration, and in a way to break a cooking “block”. Sometimes I look in the fridge and pantry, stumped about what to make for dinner. I have an idea but am hesitant. I’ll start reading through books and eventually something emerges. What often happens is that the cookbooks affirm my gut instinct. That instinct comes from a long time of cooking- Boy Scouts, college, restaurant work, and just for the heck of it. I really should trust my instincts, but sometimes I don’t. So Julia Child, Viana LaPlace, Michael Ruhlman, Alice Waters, Deborah Madison, Mark Bittman et. al. help me along.

The McKinsey consultants recognized the brand value of Gourmet. They no doubt argued that the magazine was the weakest part of the brand in terms of net income. The mistake they are making is that the magazine drives the brand value. Think about it for a minute. Every sector of the publishing industry is losing subscribers and Gourmet is growing. The other parts of the Gourmet brand are losing the real reason why customers buy the books, videos and everything else.

If you can’t think of something to do with the chard you can always blanch it and save it for later. Trista, your suggestion for the chard works well for kale too. Cut the kale thinly and cook a little longer it should be fine.

Nice post especially from someone who claims that spring is “OK”. I love the transitional seasons (spring and fall) when the light grows stronger or weaker and where the winter and summer produce meet.

I love the name of your blog. It ranks up there with the name of the band Yo La Tengo. Which markets do you shop at in Oakland? I like to go to San Leandro (where my in-laws live) and the Friday Oakland one in Chinatown. I can sometimes get to the on near the Lake Cinema too. My brother-in-law and family live near that one.

Oops sorry. Hillsdale Farmers Market in SW Portland. You can find us on Culinate at http://www.culinate.com/market/hfm.

Deep Roots Farm brought some to the market this past Sunday. There should be more available on March 8th.

I’ve been meaning to ask for this feature. Good job!

Yes it was but the snow seemed to make the pizza taste that much better!

I like using a mixture of buttermilk and mayonnaise, say 50-50 mix. The buttermilk adds a nice tang to the slaw.

We have a global oversupply of milk but rGBH is promoted as a way to help dairy farmers. How does a product designed to make cows produce more milk help farmers? Increasing the supply will only lower prices further.

I’ve found myself eating less corn over the years. The flavor seems to have disappeared. I keep hoping that at least one farmer will back off the supersweet corn and go back to the older varieties.

There is also an ultraviolet light treatment for cider which apparently performs the same function as pasteurization. I don’t know much about it though.

Every state has an extension service which provides information on food preparation and food preservation. Oregon’s site is http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fcd/foodsafety/foodpres.php . Check your own state’s website for similar information.

“Good Food” hosted by Evan Kleiman and broadcast by KCRW in Santa Monica is another good podcast. The show includes a visit to the Santa Monica Farmers Market where Laura Avery interviews one or more farmers. The market tour often includes a chef interview as well. All in all, a great show.

I think it will take a bit longer in the US. But watch the big privately owned groceries like Wegman’s in Western NY. Wegman’s owns an egg farm which supplies its groceries. The company has started a cage free program within its own business. If Wegman’s goes 100% cage free then the rest of the industry will follow about 5 years later. Wegman’s and the other large privately owned groceries are way ahead of the publicly traded groceries.

Good question. The only certification you’ll see at markets will be organic certification. Many markets ask about farming practices in the application process. Farmers market shoppers are an inquisitive lot. They ask the farmers a lot of questions about their farming practices. So while there is no third party certification beyond organic, the nature of the market does create an informal stamp of approval.

A really good article. The labels can be very confusing and as pointed out in the article, many are unregulated. When buying eggs in the grocery, organic is the best route. It’s a well regulated and well defined label. If buying direct, talk to the farmer and when you go home crack an egg open and look at it.