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18 July 2013

Whistle while you shop

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Words and Update from Kelly Merrick.

Kelly blogs about sustainable living and smaller footprints at kellyssustainablelife.blogspot.com

Pop quiz! What’s better than a farmers market on a sunny summer day? If you guessed a farmers market full of music on a sunny summer day, then a gold star for you.

And lucky for you, that’s exactly what’s happening at the markets this week. We’ve got a great lineup of local bands waiting for you to come do your shopping, grab a bite to eat and sit down to enjoy their show.

Kenton – Friday, July 19

3:00-4:45 – Robert Richter  

5:15 – 7:00pm – Howard Wade 

PSU – Saturday, July 20

9:00-10:00 – The Brassroots Movement DSC_0291

11:00-2:00 – Dina y los Rumberos

King – Sunday, July 21

11:30 – 2:00 – Steve Cheseborough

Pioneer Square – Monday, July 22

11:30-1:30 – Contratiempo

But wait, that’s not all. Now that temperatures have hovered somewhere between 80 and 95 degrees for at least three consecutive weeks, the markets are bursting with the bounty of summer, including, but of course not limited to, cherries, berries, apricots and peaches. That means you will definitely need to brave the heat, turn on your oven and make this fruit crumble with whatever fruit catches your eye at this week’s market. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. In fact, I may or not be baking my fifth fruit crumble in two weeks as I write this.

Like Dave mentioned last week, there’s also been some friendly competition going on at the markets. Monday brought three DSC_0328of the best and brightest culinary minds in Portland to shop the Pioneer Square Market, cook on a stage and then put their efforts up for judging in the third annual Chef Challenge sponsored by our friends at COUNTRY Financial. Kelly Meyers of Xico came out the winner, with her spicy mayan dip called sikil p’ak, surrounded by a colorful melange of farmers market vegetables.

If you missed the action like I did, don’t worry, you can find photos of the event and all  three chefs’ recipes at the COUNTRY website. For a less competitive environment, stop by PSU’s Chef in the Market.  This weekend Gregory Gourdet of Departure — a competitor at last year’s Chef Challenge — will bring his signature style to the stage.

Happy shopping!