The bounty of Summer is almost past, but alas Bellevue’s Farmer’s Market goes until October!
Not until recently, did I know that Bellevue has its own farmer’s market! The farmer’s market is located in the parking lot of Bellevue Presbyterian Church, half a mile north of Downtown Bellevue and is every Thursday 3:00pm-7:00pm. Open late enough to go after work for some fresh produce or a light dinner!
The market is slow enough that you aren’t going single file through a gridlock of people, like at Pike Place or Ballard’s Sunday market, which makes it a pleasant way to enjoy a Thursday evening. Being that the vendors aren’t mobbed with people, they are friendly and conversations flow easily.
The goods are mostly seasonal vegetables and fruits: peppers, beans, eggplant, and berries this time of year. My favorite booths are the tomato man and honey bee man. Full disclosure, growing up my father and his friend kept honey bees “for fun” and we actually processed the honey. We eventually moved and weren’t able to take the bees with us, but my dad’s college friend turned the hobby into a business--Cascade Natural Honey. The honey is unreal. This is the honey I grew up on: in tea, on toast, on yogurt, and over cheese. Cascade Natural Honey is unique for harvest varietal honeys; bee hives are placed in areas when pollination of a plant occurs. So “raspberry” honey is made when the bees pollinate the raspberry bushes. Same for blueberry, blackberry, thistle and Baby’s Breath, and sweet clover honey. The Thistle honey is my favorite for its dark flavor profile and being so thick one has to scoop it out of the jar with a spoon!
Bee man, or Cary, introduced me to tomato man who grows a wide variety of heirloom tomatoes, and hence the picture above. The tomatoes range in color from light yellow to striped by red and green! These tomatoes are so flavorful and meant to be consumed shortly after purchase, preferably with a sprinkle of sea salt or flash of balsamic vinegar!
Hopefully, the drool that is beginning to pool at your feet begets a trip to Bellevue’s Farmer’s Market this Thursday! Food this good makes it easier to live the healthy and active lifestyle we strive for. See you there!
Link to the Farmer’s Market: https://bellevuefarmersmarket.org/
