Farmers’ Market Finds (Part II)
Story by Jennifer Grafiada Photos by Tristin Godsey
Those who make the Saturday trip to the Umpqua Valley Farmers’ Market will be richly rewarded. Fresh hummus samples and hot tea, late-season produce, new food trucks and a wide variety of gift ideas make it a year-round draw.
While winter cold and rain sent Farmers’ Market vendors under cover, this spring the stalwarts and newbies will be back outside, looking for good weather and customers. Market manager Amanda Pastoria hints at several exciting new vendors and programs this season, so grab your cash, plastic or Oregon Trail Card and plan a visit to the Farmers’ Market. Your taste buds will thank you. So will the market’s vendors.
UMPQUA VALLEY FARMERS’ MARKET
VENDOR SPOTLIGHTS
KALAPUYA HONEY
There is something beautiful about sunlight streaming through the golden amber of raw local honey in a glass bottle. Look closely and you can see different shades. Blackberry honey is darker and more robust than blueberry.
“We have an unscientific poll going,” says Dallas and Rhonda Amer, who run the honey booth every Saturday. “Red wine drinkers tend to like the blackberry, and white wine fans go for the blueberry, which is lighter and sweeter.”
Some years, the Amers offer a cranberry varietal after their bees pollinate coastal bogs. But in the honey business, there are no guarantees.
“The conditions have to be just right for the nectar to come far enough for the bees to reach it, and the bees have to collect enough to make a surplus,” says Dallas, who calls himself a bee farmer rather than a beekeeper. “You take care of the bees first.”
Dallas has 46 years’ experience in the bee business and grandson Matthew Clark looks to be heir apparent around the hives. Keeping Kalapuya Honey in the family is good news for the products’ local fans.
WHAT THEY OFFER
Raw local honey
Beeswax and pollen
Starter colonies (“nucs”)
Pollination services to farms and gardens
WHERE TO FIND THEM
Umpqua Valley Farmers’ Market
HOW TO CONNECT
BLUE NILE AUTHENTIC HUMMUS
Garbanzo beans, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, ground sesame seeds and salt.
It might seem simple to make hummus. It’s making great hummus that requires the extra effort.
Blue Nile Authentic Hummus uses non-GMO garbanzos (aka chickpeas) from Washington state and cooks them in small batches. Beans from a can are a no-go. The garlic is freshly chopped and the lemon juice hand-squeezed.
Tareck Wagdi, who produces and sells hummus with his wife, Tracie, learned this commitment to quality from his mother while growing up in his native Egypt. The couple’s love for authentic Mediterranean hummus goes back 15 years, when they shared it as an hors d’oeuvre at family parties. Today, they sell at several locations along the Douglas County coast as well as locally. Stop by their booth for a free sample on a pita chip. You might find yourself hooked.
WHAT THEY OFFER
Garlic-lemon hummus
Freshly baked pita chips
Mediterranean Tzatziki
Stuffed grape leaves, dried dates, marinated olives
Baklava
Spicy cheese dip
Loose-leaf herbal teas
WHERE TO FIND THEM
Umpqua Valley Farmers’ Market
Bailey’s Health Food Center, North Bend
Recreation Station, Reedsport
Coos Bay Farmers’ Market
Pony Village Mall, North Bend and Coos Bay
Bandon Farmers’ Market
HOW TO CONNECT
Facebook.com/Blue-Nile-Authentic-Hummus
541-517-4147
BlueNileFoods@Rconnects.com
Trevor Michel
FRESHLY CANNED ALBACORE AND SALMON
“I work 15-hour days and do the work of two men,” says fisherman Trevor Michel, who is proud of the freshly canned albacore and salmon he produces. “It is a dangerous job, but I am a risk-taker.”
Michel began commercial fishing as a summer job when he was 20 years old, then worked as a deckhand until he had saved enough to buy his own boat. He first sold his product through wholesalers, but now sells directly to customers in Southern Oregon. In the summer, he also sells fresh-caught fish and plans to have supplies on hand at the Farmers’ Market this season.
“Trolling is sustainable fishery,” says Michel, who holds a degree in natural resources from Chico State University. He uses hooks and lines instead of nets or pots, and processes his fish to ensure maximum quality.
“The canned albacore you buy at the store is not bled and it’s previously frozen and caught with nets in another country,” says Michel. “I take good care of my fish when I catch them. It is time-consuming to do it this way and hard work. But when I get compliments it makes it all worth it. Some people do not know albacore could be so delicious out of a can, but if everything is done correctly, the results can be gourmet quality.”
Michel plans to expand his canned fish sales soon, but until that happens, you’ll likely find him behind a stack of cans at the market. That is, when he’s not on the Pacific bringing in another catch.
WHAT THEY OFFER
Freshly canned albacore and salmon (salt or no salt; some with added garlic)
Fresh fish (seasonal)
WHERE TO FIND THEM
Umpqua Valley Farmers’ Market
At Oregon coast marinas (seasonal)
HOW TO CONNECT
707-845-6884
WHERE ELSE TO WATCH
They hope to sell their products wholesale to local businesses and ask that any interested restaurants or retailers please contact them.
