WILD HARE WEEKLY, SUMMER #10

It is the first week of August, and across the United States, we get a chance to honor just how delicious, vibrant and vital Farmers Markets are to our communities. We'll also be celebrating Irrigation Appreciation Week around here, given that the forecast has temps dancing around 90 degrees over the next few days. I've been lucky enough to be a market vendor on two coasts, and I can tell you that some of my favorite meals, longest days, hardest earned dollars, cherished friendships, incredibly supportive customers and greatest memories slinging vegetables for a living have come my way because of Farmers Markets. Mark and I are really honored to show our daughter the ropes these days.

I'll let you in on a little secret--Markets are really HARD, and that is coming from a farmer. We spend the day prior, harvesting, sorting, washing and properly cooling every bit of produce that you see come to market, usually harvesting more than we think we can potentially sell, because market shoppers are drawn to abundance. (If you've ever been the person to buy the very last bunch of something from our table, you're a special kind of awesome.) On Fridays, we do this prep three-fold in preparation of two markets and CSA distribution. On Saturday mornings, we're up before the sun, loading vans, using every square foot of space in the back of the van to fit all of the produce we can, surrounded by all of the tables, tents, weights, baskets, bins and bags that we need to present it to you all. It is kind of like moving or packing for a road trip three times a week, and when you arrive at your market destination, you might just have enough time to unpack it all and stage it all out in an appealing way. And then you are there for five hours actually selling, and if it hasn't rained and shoppers like what they see, you thank your lucky stars that you have less to fit back in that van at the end of the day when you repeat the whole cycle again.

We are, therefore, very fortunate to be a part of three unique but fantastic markets here locally. The staff and boards of people behind the Tacoma Farmers Market, Puyallup Farmers Market and University District go above and beyond and put an incredible amount of work into making the market days great for vendors and shoppers alike. In addition to all of the crazy marketing and logistics that come with setting up for a physical market in a place that every other part of the week is just part of the open street, the staff behind these organizations spend time applying for grants that help put fresh food into food insecure households and raising funds that incubate new businesses and support farmers who face adversity. This is all to say that there's so much more than meets the eye when it comes to Farmers Markets, and we're so thankful that ours have brought so many of you into our booths and lives. Tacoma Farmers Market is hosting theSecond Annual Grit City Gala next week on August 15th. If you'd like to support the work that this organization does for our community, and enjoy a fabulous seasonal meal, there still may be a handful of tickets left for the event.

Enjoy these hot August nights...and head out to a market this week!
Katie

WILD HARE WEEKLY, SUMMER #9

Did you know that we grow more than 40 varieties of tomatoes at Wild Hare? Well, you do now. This afternoon, we kicked off this week's harvest with a preponderance of really gorgeous Roma Tomatoes, aka Paste or Sauce Tomatoes. We'll pick colorful cherries, meaty slicers, a handful of heirlooms, and surely have some seconds and splits at the farmstand this week. But, seeing these beauties laid out on our tables ahead of tomorrow's CSA distribution, I wanted to take a moment to bust a myth, clear the air, and spread the good word about Romas. Even though they're considered sauce tomatoes, you can use Roma Tomatoes for more than just sauce. Yep. They're are actually perfectly tasty for fresh eating. They lend themselves toward saucing, because they tend to have a higher ratio of flesh to juice than other tomatoes, meaning that you don't have to spend the extra time boiling out and reducing down extra liquid. Our Romas tend to be firmer and almost gummier than our slicers, but they're plenty sweet and flavorful. Griddlers Gourmet Grilled Cheeses like to use them for their magical tomato soup for this reason, but meanwhile, I watch my friend Christie, owner and purveyor of green goodness at Green Heart Smoothie chow down handfuls of them totally raw just about every week. So go ahead, snack away, cut them into your salads, slice them onto sandwiches, make fresh salsa or make sauce. Whatever floats your boat on a given day. Conversely, you can make fine sauces with any sort of beefsteak or heirloom tomato if you cook it down, and Cherry Tomatoes (when we don't sell them out from under ourselves) are one of our favorites to toss with a simple bit of olive oil, garlic and angel hair. My point? Don't get hung up on the names or types too much. Just enjoy them any which way you like.

WILD HARE WEEKLY, SUMMER #8

WILD HARE WEEKLY, SUMMER #8

Finally it is July proper--high temps, cool cucumbers and juicy tomatoes to boot. It is the time of year when we finally get to nosh on all of the deep summer veg (much of which is technically fruit if we're being honest with ourselves). Luckily things like blueberries, cucumbers and salad greens tend to be refreshing and hydrating too.

I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to send a newsletter out last week. Hopefully you enjoyed those great big Collard Greens and Blueberries just the same. Mark and I were invited to participate as part of a panel of Young and Beginning Producers with Northwest Farm Credit Services on July 15th in Woodinville. We were only one county away for about 30 hours, but we had plenty of catching up to do upon our return. It was a truly enriching experience to meet and share a handful of business owners like ourselves, though certainly different types producers--we were flanked by beginning winemakers, fishermen and geoduck farmers, sharing our successes, drawbacks, and hopes for the future with a seasoned board of growers, many of whom were multi-generational large scale conventional commodity farmers. There are just so many ways to work in agriculture. It was a pleasure to share our enthusiasm for our way of farming--and our gratitude for all of you! And if the week wasn't eventful enough, I have to say a big thank you to PCC Farmland Trust, Tahoma Audubon and to those of you who turned out for Birding on the Farm this past Sunday. We were up to our binoculars in blue skies, great company and such wonderful insights about the habitat that we share here in the valley.

Keep Cool!
Katie