Beaverton Farmers Market – Easter and Passover Feast

First, we just have to say – how about that snow!?! Was that crazy or what? For those of you who can’t remember the last time it snowed in April, it was because it was in 1903! Amid the chaos of downed trees and power outages, we kept thinking about how glad we were that we resisted the temptation to put our tomato plants in the ground.

Even though it has felt more like Winter than Spring, we aren’t going to let the chilly weather spoil our plans for a traditional holiday weekend. So whether you celebrate Passover, Easter, or both, we have some fantastic suggestions that will make your celebration truly memorable.

At the top of your market shopping list should be farm-fresh eggs. However, if you plan on hard boiling eggs this weekend, read this article by our good friend, Kathleen Bauer, at GoodStuff NW.  Hard-boiled eggs made from super-fresh eggs can be challenging to peel, but Kathleen has a few tips for perfect hard-boiled eggs that will save you a lot of frustration. Kathleen includes four of her favorite deviled egg recipes with her egg handling tips.

If you are coloring your hard-boiled eggs, don’t worry if you don’t find any white eggs in our growers’ stalls. The Irish Kitchen offers tips on dying brown eggs explaining that all you need is white vinegar and a little time. In just a matter of minutes, the vinegar strips the color from the eggs allowing you to dye them in a whole range of pretty Easter colors.

Farmer Chris Winters suggests that you serve a tasty Green Eggs and Ham dish at your Easter meal. Try soft boiling some of his beautiful green Ameraucana eggs and serve them along with Lonely Lane Farms Zero Sugar Ham or their Pineapple Sweetened Ham. Use Kathleen’s instructions above to make soft-boiled eggs, but pull the eggs at precisely 6 minutes for firm whites and liquid yolks. Market Master, Ginger Rapport, keeps soft-boiled eggs in her fridge at all times because they are ready to use on toast, over rice, or alongside a scoop of cottage cheese. To warm a soft-boiled egg from the fridge, first, peel it, then pop it in the microwave for 20 – 30 seconds.

Lindsay’s Sourdough makes easy and delicious pancake and waffle batter that is essential for your holiday table. This week she will be offering both her Carrot Cake and Cinnamon Roll batters. Like all her batters, they are ready to go straight from the jar.  Both flavors would be a treat served with Creamed Spiced Honey from TBeeS, conveniently located next to Lindsay. If you are feeling a little more ambitious, cook up some waffles using Lindsay’s Classic Sourdough batter, top with your favorite fried chicken, and drizzle TBeeS Hot Honey over the top.

Columbia River Sourdough Bakery starts at the market this Saturday, and its stall will be packed with a great variety of artisan sourdough loaves of bread. They are conveniently located near Nut-tritious Foods, makers of our favorite nut butters. You will find the combination irresistible. Veronica Palazzo, the owner of Nut-tritious, loves her sourdough toast slathered with their pistachio nut butter, topped with avocado slices and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. For a simple treat, toast up some CRSD’s new cinnamon raisin bread slices and generously cover them with apple butter from Alchemist’s Jam. Jam maker, Danny Roberts, makes his full-flavored concoctions from locally sourced fruit. Danny’s partner, Jennifer Fisher, designed the beautiful labels, making them a perfect gift to add to any grown-up Easter basket.

Winters Farm debuted asparagus the past two weekends. Couple their tender spears with foraged morels from The Mushroomery. You have the makings of a truly memorable Spring dish – Jumbo Asparagus with Foraged Morel Mushrooms from Silver Oak. Serve this dish with a poached organic egg, and it will be the star of your Easter meal.

To help ease the strain of preparing a holiday meal, we recommend letting Jessica da Silva at Milk Money do the baking. Her quiches are a market favorite, and this week she will be offering two flavors – Caramelized Onion and Chevre with Asparagus; and Mushroom and Burrata with Spring Vegetables. She is also baking up the cutest sugar cookies, topped with royal icing that comes with a “paintbrush” and paints so your little ones can decorate their cookies.

We recommend Bon Appetit magazine’s collection of “73 Passover Recipes Everyone Will Love” for those who will be celebrating Passover.  Try their Roasted Salmon with Citrus Salsa Verde using locally caught salmon from Linda Brand Crab. Next, pick up some fresh shiitake and maitake mushrooms from the Mushroomery for this Mushroom Matzo Kugel, which also calls for Swiss chard, which you can conveniently pick up right next door at Winters Farm.

 Warm Regards,

The Beaverton Farmers Market