SINGING THE BLUES
Hello Chimacum Corner Community!
We are having a banner year for Chimacum-grown blueberries. The intricate succession of critical weather-calendar moments have all aligned into bounteous boughs of fruit that taste like the color purple. The blueberry fields of Stellar J Farm are one of the “Seven Wonders of Chimacum.” With the initial plantings going in via Lige Christian in the 90s, pre-Finnriver/Grainery, all the way up to the newest plantings of Janet and Jeff, this hallowed patch of Chimacum Valley bottom has poured out generations worth of the little blue orbs. This newsletter is an homage to these petite packets of antioxidants and fiber. There are endless ways to work these local legends into your diet, but we’ve settled on a few of our favorites. Come get the blues with us in the happiest of ways.
Ol’ Blue Eyes
One of the most lively booths at the Port Townsend Farmers Market has to be the Stellar J Farm booth during blueberry season. Folks gather with all manner of receptacles into which they pour 2, 3, 6, 12! pints of blueberries every Saturday. Just up the street from them is another local berry legend, SpringRain Farm & Orchard. John and Roxanne are having an epic blueberry year as well, and their three pound boxes of blueberries have become a staple on our Produce Porch this time of year in their own right. So if you can’t make Farmers Market, we have both farms represented at the store, and boy are their berries flying right off the tables and shelves. True diehards can even inquire about purchasing a whole 12 pint case of Stellar J blueberries as well. Now that’s a party!
Case Deals
This week’s list is simple, but effective in the case deals category.
SpringRain Farm & Orchard Blueberries
3# Flat: $25.99
Yellow Peach: Lucky 13
By the lb: $3.99
Half Case: $16.99
Full Case: $29.99
Hermiston Cantaloupe
35# case: $42
Pickling Cucumbers from Midori Farm
By the lb: $4.29
5lb Case: $17.99
Garnish Galore
Blueberries are the perfect floater to add to one’s drink as a sort of cocktail party gag. Great cocktails make a point to include the use of fresh herbs as well. The Chimacum Corner Nursery has us covered on that front, with assorted potted herbs from assorted nurseries, including the last delivery of seedlings from Midori Farm for winter and overwinter plantings! From Mojitos to Daiquiris to Gin and Tonic, there’s some great mint and thyme plants to get your garnish from, as well as the last successions of potted Basil, available in 4” pots as well as gallon-sized pots too! Get out there and get some herbs to reload the window sills and planter boxes!
Pancake Preparations
This week’s grocery feature is BYOF - Build Your Own Flapjacks! Blueberry pancakes are a must for the moment. We have all the ingredients so that you can keep your pancakes fully local! With flour from Chimacum Valley Grainery, eggs from One Straw Ranch, White Lotus, or Twin Cedars, and Dungeness Valley Creamery milk, you have an incredibly sturdy base for a bomb-proof batter. Toss in some blueberry jams and syrup from SpringRain and Gray Fox, plus maybe even some One Straw Ranch bacon (!), and you are living like a “junior general” (an old navy expression). Time to get those jacks a-flippin’! Shoutout to the Interdependence Day Pancake Breakfast Crew at the Chimacum Grange who inspired us with their own amazing flapjacks!
Lemon Blueberry Pound
Continuing in the blueberry vein, our Corner Kitchen has a new-for-‘26 creation that has become a top seller - the Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake! Individually sliced and drizzled with a house-made icing, this is fluffy, moist, and chock full of blueberries! It is the perfect picnic dessert, whether at the lake, on the trail, or at the beach! Just ask Turnip (although they prefer their blueberries au natural). Word is this special pound cake may be transitioning into an easy to transport muffin soon?!
All this talk of blueberry pancakes has us craving some maple syrup. Fear not, for Coombs Family Farms Organic Maple Syrup is on the deal sheet in both the pint and quart sizes! This syrup is extremely high quality and the Coombs Family Farm is a seven generation family maple farm headquartered in Brattleboro Vermont. They aggregate syrup from small family farms all over New England. What’s not to love? Liquid sugar, mmmmmmm.
Now Hiring: Buyer 3!
We are hiring a coveted position within the store: a full-strength Grocery Buyer! Buyers make the decisions that set up the cornucopia of products that fill every single nook and cranny of our retail space. They steward products from companies to warehouses to trucks to customers, and they create the “taste” that is Chimacum Corner. If you like nerding out on spreadsheets and playing tetris with physical objects, please consider applying to join the Grocery Buyer Team!
Tenants’ Rights Advocacy
Calling all tenants and allies of tenants! A solid band of six local non-profits have come together to organize a series of facilitated community conversations centered on identifying ways to collectively boost the rights/power of local tenants. The next two conversations are on August 8th (Port Townsend) and August 22nd (Quilcene). Check out the link here at the Housing Solutions Network for more information. Shout out to Usawa Consulting for helping to get the word out about this vital series during these challenging times. Tenants unite!
