If you live in the Yakima Valley, you never become accustomed to the fresh offerings right from the field. There’s always more to try and buy straight from the source. On Wednesday, I travelled down to Sunnyside, Wash. on a perfect Valley day to the town’s weekly farmer’s market to check out the offering’s in honor of National Farmer’s Market Week. Mid-week markets, in the areas outlying Yakima, like Selah, Terrace Heights, and Sunnyside, provide an alternate day to find your local goods than the larger Sunday market in Yakima.
Sunnyside’s Farmer’s Market is located in Centennial Park in the historic part of the town. The market is held in a grassy area with a large gazebo; driving up you can hear the DJ playing great music, which, for a music lover like myself, puts me in a great mood right off the bat! Roughly five different local farms sell their fruit & produce fresh from fields of the Sunnyside farming area. It doesn’t get any more farm fresh than this.
Wandering through each farm’s booth, I bought something different from each one to serve up for dinner. Lemon cucumbers, different varieties of beets, cantaloupe, watermelon, red onions, sweet corn, banana peppers, and peaches just to name a few. The selection would compete with any big city farmer’s market. All beautifully laid out and carefully organized. Colorful banners proudly displayed each farm’s name in their booth. The pride taken is evident in the quality of their fruits and vegetables.
Fresh honey harvested from honey bees in the last couple of days, was available, along with soaps and lotions made with lavender. Other treats were the azada and adobada tacos and the Mexican-street style corn, brushed with mayonnaise, cotija cheese, and chili powder. Lip-smacking good!
For a list of all of the market’s in the Yakima Valley, visit: http://visitfarmfreshfun.com/yakima-valley-farmers-markets.asp
All photos by Claire Desmarais (thanks, Claire!)
Nice article Shelley!! Great photos Claire!