Some days are better than others for a farmers market, and wow, did the stars align for us today! We’ve got sunshine, marimba music, an all-star lineup in the chef’s tent, the best street food in the city . . . and a pretty awesome (if we do say so ourselves) selection of the best local fruits and veggies, free range chicken and eggs, wild fish, and grassfed beef, lamb and pork. And that’s not even mentioning the award-winning cheese, hard cider, honey, breads, pastries and coffee. Come over and stay a while.

Local luminaries Daniel Ahern (and Shauna, of course!), Hsiao-Ching Chou, Kim O’Donnel (top to bottom) are in the chef’s tent today. Come say hello, find out about their new ventures, and snag a sample of something delicious.

Lynne Vea’s chef demo started with great buzz. Customers were excited to see her familiar smile, which comes into our living rooms on Gardening with Cisco or at the accessible, nutritious and fun cooking classes at PCC Cooks. We’re sure her salmon recipe will leave you and your guests smiling, too, and giving thanks for the Northwest’s rich bounty.

Lynne shared a tip that elevated her salmon to another level of deliciousness: create an aromatic smoke using herbs, fresh or dry. Lynne used fresh basil in her demo, but recommends, as an alternative, stems left over from the season’s basil plants. Lay them on the grill alongside the salmon and close the lid to maximize the flavor. Oh the magical alchemy of fire, fish and herbs! This dish is like eating summer itself.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for Lynne’s return on Halloween, when she’ll be judging our annual Pumpkin Pie Contest. More details coming soon.

Smoky Sweet Chili Grilled Salmon With Plum, Blackberry and Roasted Pasilla Chile Salad
(Serves 6-8)

For the Salmon
1 wild salmon filet, about 1-1/2 pounds, skin on
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chopped basil
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Remove the small pin bones from the salmon filet. Combine the rest of the ingredients and spread about half of the mixture on the top side of the filet. Place the salmon, skin side down, on a hot grill and cover the grill. (You may scatter the stripped basil stems on the grill for a bit of smoke.) Cook for 15-20 minutes, (depending on the thickness), or until the salmon is just opaque through. You may also place the salmon skin side down on a roasting pan and cook it in a hot oven (425 degrees) for 20 minutes, or until done through. To serve: with a pancake spatula, scoop each filet off its skin and directly onto a warmed plate. Serve with the plum salad and offer the additional sauce on the side.

For the Plum, Blackberry and Pasilla Salad

1 pasilla chile, roasted, seeded and peeled
6-8 ripe plums, halved and pitted
1 cup fresh blackberries (or other summer berry)
1/4 cup basil leaves, left whole or coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons sweet wine like mirin or late harvest muscato
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar (depending on how sweet the plums are)
1 teaspoon hot pepper sesame oil
Salt to taste

Cut the chile into strips. If the plums are large, cut them into chunks. Place the plums, berries, chiles and basil in a bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients and toss gently into the salad.

Photos by Aimi Wallberg

Take a look at our Second Annual Pie Contest and start dreaming up a to-die-for, blue ribbon pie. You know you have it in you! But don’t dream TOO long before signing up, because there are only ten spots, and they’ll go quickly.

WHAT: Second Annual Pie Contest
WHEN: 6 pm, Thursday, September 30th
WHO: Contest is open to professionals and nonprofessionals alike. Judges are pastry pro Kim Mahar of the Four Seasons, 2009 Best of Show baker Pham Duy Nguyen, and Chef Angie Roberts of Boka.
PRIZES: $25-$100 in gift certificates to local restaurants.
RULES: No restrictions on form or ingredients, but pies must be “from scratch.” Judging is blind, so please stay mum about your entry.
FEE: $20 entry fee benefits our nonprofit market.
ENTER: Email your contact info to contest@qafma.org to enter

Larry Liang is a man of many talents, from writing to computers to music to cooking, but his ongoing obsession with curing pork has prompted such epithets as “drug dealer” (from his wife, no less!). Larry’s homemade bacon DOES have addictive qualities, leading to withdrawals, furtive messaging, and awkward savory exchanges, even at very own our farmers market. Not that I would know anything about that. We were grateful that Larry consented to demo with his pal Marc Schermerhorn (and tickled by how skillfully they shared the demo space and airtime, like an old married couple!).

We didn’t get a good photo of the finished product—it disappeared too fast. But here you can see little Jude (Chef Assistant Maria’s son) looking up as if to say: “more?”

Jude wasn’t the only one begging for more. These ribs are definitely worth the smoking time.

While Larry sourced his ribs from Skagit River Ranch, you can find excellent grass-fed pork at our market from Samish Bay and Olsen’s.

Applewood Smoked Spareribs
Rub:
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
3/4 cup chili powder
2/3 cup cumin
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix to incorporate. This is a base recipe that I like to use for smoking pork, including spareribs and shoulder. Additions I have done in the past include dried thyme, cayenne, paprika, or dry mustard. The recipe will make a lot more than you need for a single rack of ribs but you can store the leftover rub in an airtight container for future use.

Preparing the ribs:
Pat dry a rack of spareribs on both sides with paper towels. Turn over the rack so the bone side is facing up towards you. Depending on where you purchased your ribs there should be a smooth white membrane, if it looks like there are small pockets of fat but no membrane then it is possible it has already been removed.

If it is still there use a paring knife on one end of the rack to cut a small hole in the membrane, making sure not to cut through to the meat/bone. Slide your finger into the hole you just cut and start to separate the membrane from the rib bones with your finger. Once you have separated enough to be able to get a hold of it take a piece of paper towel, grab the membrane, and carefully pull it away from the rib bones. It should come off in one piece but if it doesn’t, repeat to remove any remaining areas.

You may notice under the newly exposed pockets of fat there is another membrane. Do not remove that one because doing so will cause the ribs to separate while cooking.

Liberally apply the rub to both sides of the ribs and shake of the excess. Let the ribs rest meat side up while you prepare the grill.

Preparing the charcoal grill:
Fill about 1/4 – 1/3 of a chimney with charcoal briquettes and light. After the top layer of charcoal is ashy and hot, build two small mounds of hot coals, one on either side of the grill. Place a foil pan in the center of the grill to catch the fat that will be rendered from the ribs. Put the grill grate in place and cover with the lid making sure all of the vents, in the lid and underneath the grill, are open. Let the grill preheat for about 10 minutes. Using a barbecue thermometer check the temperature of the grill, you are looking for about 275-300ºF. If it is running hot close the vents on the lid by about half.

Smoking the ribs:
After the grill has preheated, clean the grill grate with a wire grill brush and add a medium chunk of applewood to each mound of charcoal. Replace the lid to the grill and wait until you see smoke starting to come out of the vents. At this time remove the lid and position your ribs over the foil pan in the center of the grill, meat side up. Replace the lid so the vents are positioned over the ribs in order to draw the smoke over and across them.

The ribs will need to smoke for about 3 hours but the timing will vary depending on the size of your rack. Check on your grill at least every 45 minutes to replenish the coals to keep the temperature around 250-275ºF or to add additional applewood chunks. You will know your ribs are about ready when you start to see the ends of the bones start to poke out on one side.

Tomato Barbecue Sauce
Adapted from the Gourmet Cookbook
While I prefer to eat my ribs dry I like to serve the sauce on the side for people who enjoy sauce with their ribs.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (1/2 inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, minced
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons dry mustard
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Pour sauce through a sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids; discard solids. Cool to room temperature.

Photos: Top photo by Josh Parkinson, others by Kairu Yao.

Talented home cook (aka food-bedazzler) Marc Schermerhorn, notable for his roaming palate and ribald Tweets, finally agreed to a gig in our chef’s tent last week. It may surprise his fans, but Marc is as reticent in the flesh as he is digitally expressive, and exposing himself to a live audience is not really his cup of Kombucha. He’d rather be planning, sourcing, and whipping up a ten-course meal for a party of intimates. While he would never boast (at least in public), Marc graduated “top of class” in culinary school, where he learned enough about the industry to opt for a steady job at Microsoft. His culinary gifts are legendary, but experienced by only a fortunate few.

So we were pleased to get him in the tent.

Who knew it wouldn’t fit? It turns out that Marc and his demo partner Larry Liang (also a Softie) were our first guests over 6 feet tall, prompting the quick removal of a head-obscuring “Events” banner, to general applause. (Thanks to neighbor Robert Radford—yes, the former Lowell Elementary principal—for helping out.) Marc rolled with the flow, got his mussels heated up, whipped out a few double-entendres, and didn’t neglect the tips (e.g, don’t debeard the mussels until the last minute). The magic of this recipe is that once the ingredients are assembled, it goes very quickly. Marc was generous with samples that were salty and succulent. His crusty baguette, from Columbia City Bakery, was the perfect sopper-upper.

Thanks for coming, Marc. Just so you’ll have time to warm to the idea, you’re invited to return next summer.

Sake-Steamed Mussels in Thai Red-Curry Sauce
(from the Tsunami Restaurant Cookbook)
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, white part only, minced
½ cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 Tbsp chopped ginger
2 ½ Tbsp Thai red curry paste
2 lb fresh black mussels in shells
¼ cup sake

1. Place the coconut milk, lemongrass, basil, brown sugar, fish sauce and ginger in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Place the curry paste in a stainless-steel bowl. Ladle 1 cup hot liquid in the bowl and stir until the curry paste is smooth. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the curry paste back into the saucepan with the coconut milk. Continue cooking at a low simmer for another 15 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and keep warm while you steam the mussels.
3. Scrub and de-beard mussels and place in a wide-mouthed pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add the sake, bring to a boil and then cover the pan. Steam the mussels for about 5 minutes or until they are open. Discard any unopened mussels.
4. Drain off the excess liquid, or remove the mussels using a wire-meshed scoop. Divide the mussels equally among 4 bowls, top with a generous ladle of the curry sauces and serve immediately with lots of bread for sopping.

Thai Red Curry Paste
10-15 dried red chillies, according to taste
½ tsp coriander seeds
2 stems lemongrass, sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
60g / 2 oz shallots, sliced
3 Tbsp galangal, sliced
1 Tbsp kaffir lime zest
1 ½ tsp shrimp paste
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground white pepper

Preparation:
1. Soak the red chillies in water until soft.
2. Dry-roast the coriander seeds in a pan for a few seconds until an aroma arises.
3. Pound in a mortar or process all the ingredients until well blended into a smooth paste, then add the salt and pepper.
4. The paste can be kept for up to one month in an airtight container in the refrigerator or six months in a freezer.
.
To make a vegetarian version, omit the shrimp paste.

Photo of Marc by Kairu Yao. Others photos by Julie Whitehorn.