18 new favorite local foods for buying locally at Seattle farmers markets

Every year, I like to look through my photos and highlight some of the new finds from the past year. 2011 was a tough year for weather. Summer didn't quite arrive. No matter, our wonderful farmers showed up every week. They brought a tasty array of delicious, exciting, healthful, and adventuresome foods. Here is some of what I found while perusing the stalls at Seattle farmers markets:

1. Alvarez Farms red “chipotle” jalapenos, for grilling, drying, and adding smoky accents to recipes. Husk some corn, blanch in water for 8 minutes, then roast until toasty. Now, dry the corn (or freeze it). Oh my, roasted corn all winter long is a treat to behold. Now make cornbread with it. Heaven.
2. Farmers Markets Seeds, in case you want to test your green thumb (check ‘em out at Ballard Market in the spring).
3. "Flashy trouts" romaine lettuce. They are flashy (with purple spots) and don’t taste like trout.
4. Foraged & Found Elder Flowers in early summer…did you know you can batter dip them, and fry them for a tasty snack? Or, try their Goose Tongue, which grows in tidal flats, looks like giant flat chives, and tastes like leeks.
5. Fresh bamboo shoots are a wonderful early summer vegetable. They taste like a cross between artichoke and asparagus. Steam ‘em and peel ‘em, down to the tender heart.
6. Nash's Organic Produce continually surprises with a rotating selection of grains, legumes, and flours. Whole rye berries make a delicious and hearty breakfast cereal with honey and cream. Right now I’m having fun with field peas (curry and dal…), and can’t wait to try their buckwheat flour next.
7. Goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms.
8. Green Tomatillo Salsa is now my favorite. Combine it with mashed avocado. You’ll never go back to red.
9. Loki Fish Co sockeye roe skins! Or, buy their ikura if you don’t want to salt your own (I’m writing this as I munch on their tasty pickled salmon).
10. Mair Farm-Taki has the most wonderful surprises, like bitter melon (outstanding when pickled) and quince to cook with Tonnemaker pears and honey until a thick paste. Spread it on toast for breakfast or over tangy cheese for an hors d’oeuvre
11. Olsen Farms potatoes for soup, salad, and more. See if you can work your way through all the different potato varieties they have. They’re all delicious. I like to parboil a few pounds, cut them in cubes and freeze them. Then you can mash ‘em or hash ‘em in a hurry.  Now, that’s FAST FOOD!
12. Pickled turnips, made in the same was as cabbage (by dry salting) make a crunchy topping for burgers and sandwiches. Oh yeah, baby.
13. Pickled yellow beets with fennel and garlic. ‘Nuff said.
14. Spaghetti squash with braised chicken, smothered in gravy.
15. Tonnemaker had wonderful Italian prunes for drying, snacking, and breakfast pastries.
16. Try infusing chickweed for herbal tea in spring. It’s great and the perfect spring tonic.
17. Willie Greens purple cauliflower! Roast or boil and mash to serve with halibut, salmon, or chicken. So pretty.
18. Woodring Northwest “Katy’s Eggs” in a rainbow of colors. duck eggs, and their spicy Parker Pickles: Spicy B&B, Bloody Mary Green Beans, and Spicy Dill. Yum, yum, and yum.