Farmer’s Market Challenge post #3

Hollywood Farmer’s Market, Portland Oregon

Early this morning it was evident that the week of cloudy weather was giving way to some much needed sunshine. I headed out to one of my favorite farmer’s markets with Lucy in tow. If you’ve seen my 2 previous market posts, you’ll know that not only does most of my food come from farmer’s markets year round, but also that I absolutely love the market experience.

Portland has many markets and some are huge and sprawling. The largest are the Beaverton Saturday Market in the suburbs and the Portland Farmer’s Market which is downtown and a main attraction for visitors and residents alike on a Saturday morning. Hollywood is a relatively small one but has great vendors and is well attended.

My priority is to buy foods that are free of genetically modified organisms and gyphosates (herbicide) is key and this dictates which growers I buy from and therefore which markets I attend. These dangerous seeds, farming practices, herbicides and altered genetics have infiltrated some part of the growing cycle for the majority of farms in this country and in fact it takes extraordinary effort for farmers to truly stay USDA organic. The best insurance - but still not perfect - are the products verified by the NonGMO Project, Oregon Tilth and/or the USDA Organic green label. Anything else is suspect.

best goat cheese I've ever tasted!

I’m admittedly pretty hardcore about this, but I know too much and have seen too much not to take it seriously. And the good news is that many of the vendors at farmer’s markets care just as much about this as the most fanatical among us.

The Hollywood neighborhood is an old and charming area and the farmer’s market is always a happening hub of music, knife sharpening, farmers, and shoppers who love the experience. This market in particular boasts amazing prepared food so I usually plan to eat something while there.

One of my all time favorite farmer’s raises yak, buffalo, elk! They also offer a “paleo mix” of ground meat from each kind of animal which includes 15% organ meat. Very healthy but it takes a little getting used to the gamey taste.

Today the musicians even had a dancer!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my farmer’s market posts, I know I’ve loved having a reason to photograph and write about each as well as to learn about other markets of the world from your posts. Thanks again @ericvancewalton and @fairytalelife for the challenge!

Have a beautiful weekend!

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