FARMERS MARKET MUSTS
Hello Chimacum Corner Community!
There’s a beautiful rhythm to the coalescence of a farmers market. First, the market manager and dedicated, selfless volunteers arrive and begin to build the container. One-by-one, canopies arise in rings around the space. A flotilla of box trucks, pick-up trucks, sprinter vans, and even a station wagon or two rumble in and rumble out, exhaling tent weights, folding tables, tills, coolers, and local product. Weary chatter percolates amongst the vendors, and then the cow bell rings and the chatter turns to small talk amongst patrons and the calling out of orders from prepared food vendors. The music kicks in, and the party is on. The Chimacum Farmers Market is back and more bustling than ever (and earlier than ever, too!). We are proud to host CFM on our grounds, and wish all the prosperity we can muster on all of the talented, revered vendors that co-create our local economy together out on the lawn. Follow along to take stock of what’s springing into action all about the store!
FLOWERING FRIENDS
Spring has officially sprung around the Peninsula; the lilacs are in full swing and the rhodies have entered the bloom parade as well. Why not expand the palette of nature’s glory with some bloomers of your own? The Nursery has a boatload of beautiful flowering plants for any container, window box, or in-ground bed around your place. Bright and cheery petunas, dianthus, lavender, and strawflowers abound, as well as the more unusual Beaujolais Loosestrife. There’s calibrachoa for building your own hanging basket, or you could spring for a truly majestic Fuchsia Hanging Basket from Doyle Yancey of Egg & I Farm. Doyle has some varieties in the baskets this year we’ve never even seen before, and grows all of his plants out from scratch. We also have some great cut-flower plugs from Red Dog, like the “Over the Rainbow” mix of Zinnias and the “Giant Mix” of Dahlias. And speaking of dahlias, we felt delighted to receive some precious tubers from Erika Stephens of June’s Blooms (@junesblooms) to sell in our greenhouse. Now is the time to get these beauties in the ground, and you don’t want to miss out on this carefully stewarded, hand split collection of tubers of unusual, sought after varieties. “Summer comes to multiply,” quoth Bon Iver, and this is all the more true when you keep up with your dead-heading!
RADICAL ROOT BUNCHES &
BOOTYLICIOUS BOK CHOY
No root crop is more synonymous with early spring yields than the radish. It’s a root so revered a group of local farmers once came together under its banner to create a written/visual art zine (rest in peace, Beaver Valley Radish, and live on in the minds of those who have saved their copies). Crunchy, spicy bunches of local radishes are piled high on the vegetable side of our Produce Porch at the moment. We have standard red as well as French Breakfast from both Red Dog Farm and Stellar J Farm, and we have gorgeous multi-colored Easter Egg radish bunches from our favorite lanky pranksters, Space Twins Provisions. If you are more of a turnip gal, you will be ravished by the sight of the season’s first soil-based snowballs, i.e. the bunched Hakurei turnip from Stellar J Farm. They are totally stunning right out of the gate, and it is a turnip so tender and sweet, it is truly best-appreciated raw. If that wasn’t enough, Jeff and Janet (Stellar J) are also awash in some absolutely perfect, delicate, and curvaceous Bok Choy as well! After a long winter of dependency on (and gratitude for) the longer supply chains, it is exciting to see the fresh sheets of the local farms fill up with ever more bounty.
COFFEE AND A SCONE
Before you amble on out to the Chimacum Farmers Market, come on in to our “coffee corner” in the store and pick up some “baked fresh daily” pastries from the Corner Kitchen with a cup of locally roasted drip coffee from Port Townsend Roasting Company and Sunrise Coffee Company. There’s a new scone in town, which you might not notice at first due to it having a similar glowing purple scratch-made icing as the Blueberry Lemon scone. Ladies and gentlefolk, meet the Blackberry Basil scone! Another new addition to the “Corner Made” bunch is the Citrus Hazelnut Poundcake, which is a moist, tender little bun of delight. Then there’s our other hometown heroes, the Rye Sable with black sesame from Chimacum Valley Grainery and the cookies and cinnamon rolls from Cearra’s Cinnamon Rolls (did we mention there’s a new cookie from her as well? Iced snickerdoodles, que beleza!)
HANDY HEALTHY BULK SNACKS
Speaking of “strolling snacks,” now is the time to stock up on trail snacks for summer hikes. We have a fine selection of bulk and packaged dried fruits and nuts fit for the occasions. We’ve got walnuts and cashews for stocking your pack or for summer pesto making, dried figs and berries to put in your pocket or add to yogurt bowls at the campsite, as well as trail mixes for… the trail lol. Be sure to peruse our bulk set next to the herbs and spices next time you’re in the store, as well as the rack with pre-packed bulk goods (packed by real humans in our tiny store kitchen!). An all-time revered choice? The Everything Bagel Cashews, for the win.
PERFECTLY PACKABLE DEALS
In addition to our bulky wonders, there are also some great deals from INFRA (Independent Natural Food Retailers Association) that are perfect for packin’ out. Standard snack number one for some CCF employees is the Salsa Verde version of the Fillo’s Walking Tamales (Lookin’ at you, Mike C.). For another savory on-the-go pouch item, we’ve got the A Dozen Cousins rice packets that are cooked in bone broth for a tasty protein and collagen punch. Toss some Wild Planet tin fish into your rice, and snack on some inka corn while you wait for camping stove to heat up. As Walt Whitman put it in “Song of the Open Road,” we encourage you “to know the universe itself as a road, as many roads, as roads for traveling souls.” And of course, we all know travelin’ is more fun with treats.
CHIMACUM FARMERS MARKET
On May 4th, may the farmers be with you! Chimacum Farmers Market is opening a month earlier this year, on Sunday May 4th. It looks to be an even larger line-up of vendors (33) than the year prior, and it will keep the same hours of 10am-2pm- every Sunday from May through October. As the site host of the CFM we are delighted to see the market up and running again with extra zeal. Come on down to Opening Day at CFM, with extra fun stuff like the twine-cutting ceremony, visit with Blossom the goat, big bubbles for the kids, and live music. Big shout-out to the farmers and producers who run their booths in the grass and stock their products on our shelves as well! Red Dog Farm is obviously a core vendor in our store as well as an anchor of all Jefferson County Farmers Markets, and we love our Beaver Valley growers, Kodama Farm and Gray Fox Farm. Another flagship vendor at CFM is Chimacum Valley Grainery, who bring the extra special goodies to market while also having a consistent flow of their main staples on our bread rack inside as well. We’d also like to extend a rousing welcome to new CFM vendor Humbleberry Farm, who raises quality lamb and cultivates absolutely gorgeous strawberries that we are honored to stock in our meat and produce departments. We hope you join us on the lawn this weekend, and buy directly from all the fabulous local producers who call CFM and CCF home.
PHOTO BY DEJA VIEW PHOTOGRAPHY
ROCKER ALUMNUS
Did you know that former CCF “Person-in-Charge”/Lead Clerk Steve Bonnell is back on the rock scene? You heard me, Steve is laying down heavy bass lines in a new consortium of dudes who have been in the scene around the Sound for many years. The band is called “Suzzallo,” led by Rocky Votolato, and their single “River,” on the brand new album “The Quiet Year,” absolutely rips! Catch them for their album release show at Real Art Tacoma this Friday, May 9th!
