Grapevine May 21 Market

in this issue
--What's at the Market this week?
--Market Ad wins Oregonian's Design-An-Ad competition
--Spinach

Looks like we're heading for another nice weekend.
There are several returning vendors this week. Happy Harvest Farm rejoins the Hillsdale Farmers Market this week with its red and white striped canopy and truly outstanding strawberries. The salmon fishing season opens for four days this week which means that Oregon Wild will be at the market this weekend. Fraga Farms won't be at the market this week. Pastrami King, a new venture from Ken's Home Plate, starts at the market this weekend serving pastrami sandwiches and other goodies. See you on Sunday!

What's at the Market this week?
OK, I may be jumping the gun by a week or two but between the warm weather and the great tasting strawberries showing up at the market, I'm declaring that strawberry season has begun. How far behind can cherries be?

There will be plenty of other spring and early summer fruits and vegetables available. The asparagus season has been great in both variety and quality and will continue this week. You should also find lettuces (leaf, romaine, butter), salad mixes, kale, arugula, broccoli, broccoli raab, cauliflower, cabbage, beets, carrots, snow peas, radishes, green garlic, spinach, shallots, onions, wild (morel) and cultivated (maitake and shitake) mushrooms and hydroponic tomatoes.

Other foods at the market this weekend include breads, pastries, jams, honey, pasta, cheese, eggs, beef, chicken, rabbit, pork, spice mixes, lox, smoked sable, coffee and chocolate.

Market Ad wins Oregonian's Design-An-Ad competition
Karen Bartus, a 6th grader at Hosford Middle School in SE Portland, took first place in the grades 4-6 category of the Oregonian's 4th Annual Design-An-Ad project. Her winning ad, displayed on the right, was
one of over 50 ads for the market submitted by students in the Portland Metro area.

All the submitted ads were very good. Selecting one ad to participate in the larger competition was not easy. Thank you Karen and all the other students for your excellent work.

Spinach
Spinach is commonly found at the market in spring and fall. A versatile vegetable, it can be found raw, wilted and cooked in salads, side dishes, soups and main courses. Whatever your intended use, be sure to thoroughly wash spinach to remove the grit from the leaves.

Spinach salads are a common spring dish. For a simple salad, take washed and dried spinach (tear the leaves into bite sized pieces if big), dress with your favorite vinaigrette and add chopped hard boiled eggs, red onion and croutons.

You can also make a quick pasta dish. This usually works best with a tubular pasta like rigatoni. While the pasta is boiling, saute 2-3 chopped garlic cloves in some olive oil over medium high heat for a few minutes. Add about 1/2 pound of washed and coarsely chopped spinach and turn heat down. Saute until the spinach wilts then remove from heat and add one cup of ricotta cheese and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Stir until mixed then add cooked and drained pasta, mix and serve.