Sammamish Farmers Market Opening Day!

It’s opening day at the Sammamish Farmers Market (SFM)! Another long year of planning and it finally arrived – hurray! The infamously rainy Seattle weather was completely absent; we enjoyed a warm, sunny day on May 21st. It was the kind of day that makes you feel like spring is here at last, that we really can enjoy the outdoors, and that the future is bright and full of promise.

The Sammamish Farmers Market is one of the highlights of our young city. It’s a great example of the local food and crafts that can be enjoyed, and supported by, community members. Every week at the market you’ll find these vendors, as well as others. There are many memorable sights and sounds from that afternoon. So many, in fact, that it’s hard to choose what to write about. Here are a few of my favorites. Come out to the market on a Wednesday afternoon and see for yourself!

Dennis Ballen, the owner of Blazing Bagels, http://www.blazingbagels.com/, highlights a few of their fabulous food offerings!



Richard Ness of Kittitas Valley Greenhouse tells me about their Heritage Tomatoes: http://www.kittitasvalleygreenhouse.com/


Trista Chamberlin of Smith Brothers Farms shares their local milk products http://www.smithbrothersfarms.com:



Karen Kenyon of Quil Bay Seafood educates me on the high quality of their seafood products, and shares a fabulous recipe http://www.quilbay.com:



Thai Basil Clams in Coconut Milk:

2 to 2.5 lbs of Steamer Clams, well rinsed
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp minced or thinly sliced garlic
2 tbsp minced or shredded ginger
2-3 tbsp Thai basil, chopped
1 can of coconut milk
¼ cup Mirins sweet cooking wine
2-3 dashes of hot chili oil
Sea Salt or Old Bay Seasoning, to taste
Fresh ground pepper, to taste

In a large skillet, sauté garlic in the butter until fragrant (only about 1 minute). Add ginger and chopped basil stirring until mixed. Add coconut milk, chili oil, salt, pepper and wine and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Immediately add the clams, stir to coat, cover and reduce heat to simmer for 2 minutes. Stir again to submerge any clams that were above the liquid and may not have opened yet. Replace the lid and cook until the rest have opened, which should only take another minute or so. Serve with a fresh loaf of crusty bread from the market to sop the delicious broth. Serves 2.