Field notes: Coastside Farmers Market

It’s been a wild ride for yours truly this past week or seven - especially last week.  Thanks a Bushel and a Bunch to everyone who came to the Market for their 4th of July pic-nic fixins.  My farmers and friends were pleased and relieved to see so many of you come by on the way to the rest of your day! 

One thing I learned last week: there is an awful lot to recommend a short e-note.  And I am going to try it again now, but it might be tough because there’s an awful lot to recommend a trip to the Market this week!

On Saturday we host our first-ever Spin-in,  wherein folks who are so inclined will spin yarns of a whole other stripe than the sort you are used to getting from me.  Ask Terri Reece, an original Marketeer and our first official Market Sponsor,  all about what low-tech shenanigans winds her watch on the weekends, willya?

Senior Coastsiders is hosting a booth to encourage folks with expired pharmaceuticals to bring them in for proper disposal.  Sorry about the short notice, but if you do have outdated or under-identified prescription drugs stashed behind your toothpaste, why now would be the time to get them out of the closet.

Potrero Nuevo Farms, a first generation farm from Half Moon Bay joins us this week.  Along with October Farm. Lady Bug, Green Oaks Creek and Fifth Crow Farm we have quite a stunning percentage of new young farmers in our Market - and we now boast the highest percentage of in-county farmers of any Certified Farmer’s Market from San Francisco to the Mexico Border.

We don’t grow blueberries here, and the valley type blueberries are now out of season - but the mountain types are coming on strong and will be available in abundance courtesy of Rainbow Orchards.  Steve Curto will be dropping in to the Saturday Market with wonderful hand blended spices, and perhaps he’ll make is way to Pacifica for a stop this month as well.

The Cabrillo Education Foundation will be at the Saturday Market to answer questions about the challenges our school district faces, and let you in on what a small group of like-minded folks are hoping to do about that.  Perhaps even persuade you to attend the next community forum? On Wednesday the Pacifica Education Foundation folks intend to do the same.  Both groups are hosted by 1st National Bank, our sponsor for the community nonprofit booth for the 1st ten weeks of this season. 

Market fave Frank Ellis will entertain the masses in Half Moon Bay on Saturday, and Rick Bartow debuts in Pacifica on Wednesday, followed by a duo performance in Half Moon Bay next Saturday, thanks to the Friends of the Farmer’s Market.

BTW, I have taken the liberty to attach some scoop on Mr Bartow, and I hope you’ll find it interesting enough to forgive me the assumption that it would be fine to send you something only marginally Market related.  In addition to being a tremendous artist of some significance, he is also a mean slide guitarist and humanitarian.  Nice combo pack, if you ask me.

Next week I’ll tell you all about how to make an unbelievable dish with Paul’s pastured chicken and a curried blueberry glaze that was a total accident and a pie gone wrong, but it worked out pretty well in the end, rescued, as everything is, by Eda’s arugula and a soupcon of Dee’s fromage blanc.

See you at the Market!

Erin

Erin Tormey
Coastside Farmers Markets

May to December
In Half Moon Bay @ Shoreline Station
Saturdays, 9 am to 1 pm •
In Pacifica @ Rockaway Beach
Wednesdays, 2:30 -6:30pm