Category Archives: beaverton farmers market

fermentation festival!

The 2011 Portland Fermentation Festival definitely was *the* place to be last night. I heard the line to get inside wrapped around the building.

It was intense behind the table, too, and I’m so grateful for everyone’s patience as I gave out samples of the Pink Lady Sauerkraut and the Leek-Horseradish Sauerkraut. I will have both of those sauerkrauts available for sale at the Beaverton Farmers Market tomorrow (10/22). I’m sorry… I won’t have them there for sampling this week; however, I will have samples of the Beet Kvass and the Ginger-Turmeric Tonic Sauerkraut, which many of you were hoping to taste last night.

I hope to see you tomorrow!

sour kohlrabi pickle

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My daughter thinks kohlrabi looks like a space ship or an alien. She loves it, though. Crunchy, fresh, sweeter than a turnip, and with a cleaner taste than a broccoli stalk.

This week at the Beaverton Farmers Market, Curious Farm will offer Sour Kohlrabi Pickle for the first time. If you loved the Sour Turnips, I think you’ll like these, too. They’re less pungent but maybe more addictive.

The kohlrabi was grown by Galin-Flory Farms. They’re next to us at the Market, and they’re growing some delicious, gorgeous vegetables and berries. Every Saturday it’s such an inspiration to see the rainbow of bounty they bring.

where does your kimchi come from?

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This is a batch of Curious Farm Harvest Kimchi, just before it goes into the crock to ferment.

The dark leaves are tender, young broccoli leaves from this patch in the garden:

The sweet carrots came from here:

The garlic was harvested at Curious Farm a month ago:

This batch of kimchi will be available at the Beaverton Farmers Market in early October. We love sharing the bounty with you.

“the sauce”

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This morning I jarred up a new batch of Curious Farm Chili-Garlic-Ginger Sauce for tomorrow at the Beaverton Farmers Market.

I love all the products I make, but I’m really excited about this sauce. It has concentrated heat from the chili flakes — which have some meaty sweetness to them, too, not just fire. The garlic gives the sauce a round, earthy warmth, and there’s just enough ginger to add sweetness and lift.

The sauce hits all of the taste spots on the palate — sour, pungent, sweet, bitter, and salty — and those flavors linger in just the right way. Even better, because Curious Farm’s Chili-Garlic-Ginger Saunce is live-cultured, it’s still full of probiotics, anti-oxidants and raw goodness.

“The Sauce” (and it needs a name so come taste some at the booth soon and help me come up with a lively name) is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. It’s not quite a salsa — though it could be used wherever one would use salsa or tabasco. It also is different from the fermented chili sauces available in Asian groceries. There’s more flavor dimension in this “Sauce,” and that might be because it’s still alive and hasn’t been shelf-stabilized.

Come give it a try at the Beaverton Farmers Market some Saturday! A 9-oz jar is $6.50, and — if you bring me back the jar — I’ll give you $1 off your purchase next time.

and i love…

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and I love this beautiful garlic — still juicy from its recent harvest. It’s sitting outside in baskets so that it will cure in the sun before I bring it in to store safely.

I am using this home-grown garlic in the new, very concentrated, curious farm chili-garlic-ginger sauce . This sauce is great for eggs, tossing with noodles, basting chicken and seafood, adding a smidgen to your own sauces and dressings.

Live-cultured, curious farm chili-garlic-ginger sauce is full of probiotics, raw goodness, antioxidants, and flavor.

now it’s summer…

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Hello and happy summer!

The menu for this week’s offerings at the Beaverton Farmers Market is online now.

I’m bringing the rest of the Ginger-Turmeric Sauerkraut that you loved last week. This is the first “tonic kraut” that I’ve brought to the Market, and it has therapeutic amounts of turmeric and ginger to help digestion, circulation and to give the body lots of antioxidants.

I also will have a new kimchi this week made from radish greens. Koreans often make kimchi from radish greens, and my recipe follows some traditional recipes. Radish greens are a nutritional power-house (the greens have a lot of calcium, vitamin C, potassium and copper), and they taste fresh and bright. Our new kimchi preserves this wonderful green energy and adds extra heat with garlic, ginger, and hot chili.

I also will bring a small amount of sour turnip pickles — baby Japanese turnips fermented in a salty, spicy brine. They’re still delicate, but they have a lot of personality now. Stop by and try one!

I’m having some computer problems and am unable to use twitter right now or process images on my computer. Hopefully those issues will be resolved soon. Thanks for being patient!

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday at the Beaverton Farmers Market!

leek-horseradish this week

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I’m thrilled (and relieved) to report that one crock of Curious Farm Leek-Horseradish Sauerkraut will make it to the Beaverton Farmers Market this Saturday, June 11th. This variety has become a true customer favorite, and many of you have been sad during the last couple of weeks when I’ve been out of it.

This is part of the batch that’s filled with Sweetrock Farm’s delicious leeks that were picked the very morning they went in the crock with the cabbage. It’s unusual for a batch to be ready this soon, but I’ll take the gift because I was worried I’d have to come to the Market this week with no sauerkraut at all! (I keep selling out!)

This batch also is the first batch I was able to begin after being at the Market for a week. Every bit of sauerkraut I’ve brought to the Market in the first five weeks began fermentation before the Market began — before I had any customer feedback at all.

I’m excited that you love this flavor as much as I do. There’s something special about what happens with the leeks and horseradish during the weeks of fermentation. The leeks become even more sweet. The horseradish mellows. If you’re a fan of this flavor, this batch is even better than the last because the Sweetrock Farm leeks were so sweet and fresh. Remember how cold it was in April and the beginning of May? Well, those leeks were loving it and were producing extra sugar to protect themselves from the cold. You’ll taste all that flavor in this batch of sauerkraut.

I’ll post this week’s offerings on the Fresh This Week page tomorrow or Thursday, but count on the Leek-Horseradish Sauerkraut being part of the menu.