The Farmers Market shelves are bursting with hand selected fine food products, and each week we have new Pacific Nothwest products arriving! This week am proud to announce that we have Bluebird Grain Farms flour and wheat berries avaiable. This is the absolutly best flour on the market today, and it comes to us from the rolling hills of the Methow Valley. A family owned farm, Brooke and Sally grom only 100% organic heirloom grains on their biodynamic farm. This is an ancient seed known as Emmer Farro, 'the mother of wheat', It is genetically pure, never hybridized, and 22% higher in protein than modern wheat varieties. Also, it is significantly lower in gluten than grocery store wheat! Each order is handmilled according immediately before shipment, a far cry from the mass production of our modern standard flours.

We are also very pumped about tomorrows' first order arriving from helsing Junction farms1 Whoohoo! I love dealing with these folks and look forward to having their produce for the rest of the season.

And- Nancy is making another ( larger!) batch of her exquisite fresh Pesto this week. By popular demand! Heavenly food, we're so blessed to have her doing the cooking for us!

Did anyone notice my major blunder in last weeks email?

At 1:30 in the morning I awoke out of a sound sleep, realizing that in my recipe for Refrigerator Pickles, I had neglected to include the main ingredient- Vinegar!!

I'm so sorry. If you are contemplating the recipe, add 6 cups of white vinegar to the brine mix. otherwise you end up with just a sweet marinade. How embarrasing.

Researching good recipes can be a humbling experience. I start out by thinking that the bedraggled and well spattered recipe card that I’ve been using for many years is the finest recipe ever concocted. Then I discover that there are several dozen other variations upon my version that, in all fairness, I’d better try out. 

Sometimes I go right back to my old faithful, writing it on a fresh new card to signify the renewal of our culinary vows. Other times, I sadly file the yellowed card in the memory file, placing a brand new shiny recipe in its’ place. I always feel like a heel when doing this. As if I’ve been an unfaithful lover, tossing the steadfast, reliable, but now utterly boring old flame aside. That’s the hussy in me, I guess.

I’ve always loved my old Cobbler recipes. It was dangerous to flirt with new recipes. We’ve spent so many happy years together, why would I take such a risky chance? Some irresistible urge led me down a dangerous path. I became seduced by the idea that another, juicier, more handsome, hunkier cobbler recipe was out there, just waiting for me. Once you’ve heard that siren call, you know that soon you’ll throw all caution to the wind and go scampering off after the newcomer. I’m a bit frightened that this behavior might eventually lead to replacing my favorite beat-up old cobbler pan too. Unthinkable! Forget that I ever said that.

So. There are several schools of thought out there in the dangerous murky waters of fruit cobbler recipes. First- does the fruit go on the bottom of the pan, or does it get added on top of the batter? Eggs or no eggs? What about the subversive recipe that begins in a traditional manner but then breaks all the rules by having you pour one cup of boiling water over your innocent and unsuspecting fruit and batter? Spices or no spices? Sugar the fruit first or let it supine au natural in the naked pan? And then there is the mid-European recipe which calls for a rolled dough on top! Uh- around these parts, we call that a pie.

I have always had two cobbler recipes ( makes me sound completely wanton, doesn’t it?); one for Berry Cobbler, and one for Fruit Cobbler. They always understood that each had a separate place in my heart and accepted that fact. You see, the berry cobbler has the batter on top, the fruit has the batter on the bottom. It would be subversive to switch them around, and the berries would burn if put on top. I’m not that cruel.

You will be relieved to know that in the end I came running back to both old faithfuls, flinging myself back to those loving, well known, and forgiving recipes. They understood. They’ve seen it all.

Fruit Cobbler

use peaches, pears, plums, or apples

prepare the fruit by peeling, coring and slicing. You need about 2 ½ cups of fruit. Add ½ cup of water to the fruit, more if using a dry fruit, less if juicy

Mix together;

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup milk

In large cake pan, melt;

1 cube of butter

Spread the batter over the melted butter. Put the fruit on top.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes

Blackberry Cobbler

Use Little Wild Blackberries, Marionberries, Blueberries, Loganberries, or Boysenberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees .

6 cups of berries

3/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup, scant, of tapioca

Mix together in a glass bowl and microwave for 5 to 10 minutes. This brings out the juices and gets the tapioca working.

In food processor or mixer, blend together;

1 cube of butter, cut into small chunks

½ cup of sugar

1 cup of flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

½ cup of milk

Put hot berry mix into a 7" X 11" glass pan. Drop the batter by spoonfuls onto the berries. The batter will spread out and cover all as it bakes. Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes.

Barbara Bennett Parsons, manager of the Grays Harbor Farmers Market located at 1958 Riverside in Hoquiam. Purveyors of fine fruits and berries!

Open 7 days a week, at 1958 Riverside in Hoquiam! Deidra's Deli also is open every single day, 538-5880