Which Organics Eggs are Worth It?

For those of you who missed the link I posted earlier in the week, I think this one is worth another mention. Recently the Cornucopia Institute, whose motto is "Promoting Economic Justice for Family Scale Farming," published a ranking of nationwide organic eggs. Some of their criteria you may or may not care about. For example, when you're at the store, you might be more motivated by price than whether or not the eggs came from a family farm (100 points) or an investor-owned, public corporation (70 points), but you still might want the chickens to have plenty of outdoor access and untrimmed beaks.

Three Washington farms qualified for the highest, five-egg rating, meaning "Exemplary--beyond organic." One was our very own Skagit River Ranch. As Cornucopia puts it, "Producers in this top tier manage diverse, small- to medium-scale family farms. They raise their hens in mobile housing on well-managed and ample pasture or in fixed housing with intensively managed rotated pasture. They sell eggs locally or regionally under their farm’s brand name, mostly through farmer’s markets, food cooperatives and/or independently owned natural and grocery stores and sometimes through larger chains like Whole Foods." Having visited Skagit's farm, I can vouch for the chickens running all over the place in the outdoors and sunlight, with plenty of access to pasture and their favorite all-natural food: bugs. Of the other two top-rated farms, Misty Meadows serves the Bellingham area, and Trout Lake Abbey can be found in...Trout Lake.


If, like me, you occasionally miss the Thursday market, or get there too late to get Skagit's hot-commodity eggs, you might be interested in the other organic egg ratings. Namely, the brands you can get at the store. According to the ranking, your best bets would be Wilcox Farms and Stiebrs, both of which received three-egg ratings for their commitment to organic standards and "meaningful outdoor space." Organic Valley also grabbed the three-egg mark, with some asterisks for lack of transparency in study participation and a black mark for some eggs coming from a particular industrial farm in Northern California.


The organic brands to avoid? The following brands which I've seen in local stores garnered a 1-egg rating because they are industrial operations that lack access to the outdoors or transparency in production: 

• Eggland's Best
• Chino Valley Ranchers
• Horizon Organic

What the Cornucopia study does not take into account is nutritional value or taste. That ground was covered by a Mother Jones article claiming pastured eggs may contain (and I quote): 

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat 
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids 
• 3 times more vitamin E 
• 7 times more beta carotene

And one of the farms covered in their research? Our very own Skagit River Ranch! See for yourself: crack a Skagit egg in a bowl next to a storebought egg. The very best storebought egg literally pales in comparison. The yolk lacks the rich color of a farm egg, and the white runs all over the place, while the farm egg white holds together.

So if the sweet, flavorful strawberries don't get you to the Market this Thursday--if you can't be tempted by the sugar snap peas or the Veraci pizza or the wonderful cheeses--come by for the eggs. But remember to come early!

Let Barbecue Season Begin!

I know some of you gas grillers go year-round, but my husband is a purist. Meaning, only charcoal in a tidy pyramid and only on days that are sunny, dry and decently warm. (Definitions of "decently" vary--in 2011 it includes any temperature above 60F.)

Photo courtesy of Loki Fish

Tonight the first salmon goes on the grill, and if you have the same idea, you'll be happy to hear that both Thursday and Saturday markets will feature fresh salmon this week! On Thursdays you'll find Two If By Seafoods. Shannon Ford captains F/V Paul Revere in Bristol Bay, Alaska, a region swept by the radar from Dutch Harbor made familiar to many on the television show The Deadliest Catch. Dad Ernie expects Sockeye, Coho, and some King Salmon to available to market shoppers. On Saturdays you'll meet Amy of Loki Fish, and Amy also expects fresh Sockeye and possibly other varieties. Another treat? Fresh ikura, or salted salmon roe.

A friend of mine prepares her salmon in foil packets under a layer of thinly-sliced sweet onions and a splash of soy sauce. Delicious and easy to clean up.

In our family we 're pretty fond of the crust formed on grilled fish, so we tend to marinate and then grill on a rack. One tasty recipe that can be either packet-steamed in foil or just plain grilled is:

Asian Salmon
(Serves 6)

2 lbs fresh salmon fillets
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 T brown sugar
1 T honey
2 T soy sauce
3 T Dijon or flavored mustard
2 t fresh ginger, grated or minced
2 t minced fresh garlic

Combine marinade ingredients and let sit in the refrigerator up to two hours or at room temperature for twenty minutes. If cooking in foil, make a packet with a double bottom and loosely tent the foil over the top. Otherwise, place the salmon on a rack and slide it onto the grill. Cook until fish flakes.

While we're on the subject of barbecues, I love beans on the side. Alvarez Organic Farm offers a variety of dried beans, perfect for refried beans, baked beans, or just cooked beans for salads. Joe recommended the Mayo Coba butter bean with a little garlic and tomato in a salad. I gave the black beans a try, cooking them in a  few hours in the crock-pot and filling burritos with them. Because their beans are fresher, you can reduce cooking times, and they often don't need the overnight soak!

Add some fresh-baked bread with Golden Glen garlic butter and tossed greens with Market vegetables, and you're set. May this be the first of many sunny days...

Speaking of Rhubarb...

As I mentioned in my previous post, rhubarb takes on a whole new meaning in Washington State, where its season doesn't line up with strawberries. If you've been tempted by those lovely ruby stalks and have already given the Rhubarb Sauce recipe a go, I've got another one for you: Aunt Hazel's Rhubarb Cake. This one comes from Mildred Armstrong Kalish's memoir Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression. Despite having read the book, I have no idea what she means by "red sugar," unless she means the stuff we sprinkle on sugar cookies at Christmas. I substituted standard white sugar with no ill effects.


Aunt Hazel's Rhubarb Cake
1 ½ cups red sugar (or white)
½ cup shortening (I haven't tried substituting butter or oil. Used Spectrum Organic's non-hydrogenated shortening)
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
3 cups rhubarb, chopped and mixed with ¼-⅓ cup red sugar (about three large stalks)

Topping: Mix together ⅓ cup sugar, ⅓ cup nuts (I used chopped pecans and would probably up it to 1/2 cup), 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients and sift. Separately, combine buttermilk with beaten egg. Mix together dry and wet ingredients. Now add the chopped and sugared rhubarb. Pour into a lightly greased and floured pan, and then gently add topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 


This coffee cake was a big hit at a brunch I had recently. Seems like people are always looking for a way to use up rhubarb!


While we're on the subject of produce, the Environmental Working Group has put out its annual list of the most- and least-pesticide-laden produce. Another reason to buy at our farmers market. I also tend to be leery of "organic" produce coming from overseas, where standards and oversight might not be as strict as in the United States. Without further ado:


Dirty Dozen 2011

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines (imported)
7. Grapes (imported)
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries (domestic)
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/collard greens

And the winners:


Clean Fifteen 2011

1. Onions
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplants
9. Cantaloupe (domestic)
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

See you all at the Market. Thursday 3-7, parking lot of the First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, and Saturday 10-3, parking lot of the First Congregational Church.

Get While the Getting's Good

If we can't be there, at least we can eat their salt.

Okay, so the sun has gone into hiding temporarily again, but the first Saturday Bellevue Farmers Market of the season was as glorious as all the Thursday Markets have been. What a great day for great food and great conversations. The new location, in the parking lot of the First Congregational Church, has similar ambience to Thursday--trees, asphalt, and a church in the background. Awesome!

And as with the Thursday markets, I made new discoveries on my trip. For one thing, Tieton Farm & Creamery joins us this year from--where else--Tieton in the sunny Yakima Valley. Lori Babcock pastures her own herds of sheep and goats on the farm, blending their milks into some fabulous cheeses. Technically they are known as "Mi-Chevres" because they're not just goat cheese (chevres), but Lori just calls them chevres because she got tired of explaining what a mi-chevre was. All I know is, if you sometimes find straight goat cheeses too tangy, give Tieton Farms a try. The sheep's milk mellows the tang for a milder, sweeter result. By the time I reached the Market, Lori was already sold out of her chevres rolled in Hawaiian Red Salt or Black Lava Salt. (Guess we're all yearning for some tropical weather...) I couldn't miss what I didn't know, however, and found her chevre in paprika very tasty. And after trying Tieton's Feta, I don't know if I can go back to storebought!

New vendor Snohomish Bakery provided a welcome accompaniment to my cheeses: pumpernickel bread with NO caraway seeds. I ran home and sliced up the dark, dense loaf and threw it in the freezer. That day, and every day since, I take two pieces out and toast them up and eat them with cheese or butter. The kids were a little freaked out by how dark the bread is and accused me of burning the toast, but that meant more for me.

And finally, as a dessert, Becky of Oxbow Farms passed on the following recipe suggestion. I was bemoaning the fact that strawberries and rhubarb aren't in season at the same time in Washington, but Becky said a co-worker of hers just makes Rhubarb Sauce. She cuts the rhubarb into 1/2" chunks and tosses it with equal parts sugar and white wine and one vanilla pod. (Say, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup wine to a pound of rhubarb.) Then she covers the pan with foil and bakes in a 350F oven until saucy. Hmmm...

Let me add to that a friend's suggestion for Broomstick Pie, and we'll be in business. This is the non-healthy storebought part of the post. Annie suggests you wrap Pillsbury dough around a broomstick and cook it over your roaring summer firepit. When it's done, smother it in butter and honey (both available at the Market). Dump in a spoonful of your Rhubarb Sauce, and--voila!--Rhubarb Broomstick Pie! You'll probably be a sticky mess and attract bears, but I suspect it'll be worth it.

See you this Thursday and Saturday, rain or shine!

FAQ about the Bellevue Farmers Market

Photo courtesy Cook's Illustrated

You probably have some of your own, but here are the main ones I've been hit with:

Q: Has the Saturday market started yet?
A: YES! At least, as of this Saturday, June 4, 10-3.

Q: Where will the Saturday market be this year?
A: NEW LOCATION! Directly behind the First Congregational Church on NE 8th Street, two blocks east of last year's site.

Q: Will Skagit River Ranch be at the Saturday market?
A: No, but Samish Bay offers their delicious meat, and--forgive me--the woman known by my family as "the egg lady" has fresh chicken (and duck!) eggs.

Q: My kids eat a lot of storebought crackers for snacks. Do you have any other suggestions?
A. I do! For one thing, slap some cheese or flavored butters on those crackers. A little fat slows down the blood sugar spike caused by the starch. Golden Glen's cheddars are delicious, and they've added Cinnamon Spice butter this year. On Saturdays I could eat Samish Bay's Ladysmith with Chives till the cows come home. And you haven't lived till you've tried their Greek Yogurt. I add some honey and granola and--mmmm... In the fruit and vegetable department, the summer berries aren't in yet, but my daughter likes cucumbers sliced thin and drizzled with seasoned rice vinegar. She also went for House of the Sun's kale chips. And don't forget the marvelous beef and tuna jerkies!

Q: How do you cook the spring vegetables?
A: Always feel free to ask the farmers, but here's a favorite preparation (pictured) for baby bok choy from Cook's Illustrated. Asparagus couldn't be easier: just break off the woody stems, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper, and roast in a hot oven for 20+ minutes.