Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Pretty potato packets and the St Johns Farmer's Market

I’m still pinching myself over the fact that St. Johns has a Farmer's Market. A real one. With produce, fresh from the farms, baked goods, locally roasted coffee, music, food demonstrations, and a wonderful gathering spot for neighbors. If you live in St. Johns (my area of North Portland) and you haven’t checked out the Farmer's Market, mark your calendars now for Saturday morning and plan to go. (And make sure you check out the recipes by yours truly on their blog: tips for using the great things you can get at the market.)

Here’s Super Susan at the Farmer's Market. We adore her: she's the rabble rouser I aspire to be. I'm only in practice, but like I told her when I took this photo, she inspires me.
Super Susan at the St Johns Farmers Market

But I wanted to tell you about an easy way to make potatoes on the grill. If you’re in a heatwave, like Portland is right now, there’s no way you’re going to turn on a stove. We picked up a really beautiful bag of potatoes at the St. Johns Farmer's Market and I bought them from the farmer who had picked them the very day before. This program, through Janus Youth Programs and their urban agriculture projects, works with young people and gardens, and they even have their own farm out on Sauvie Island. The kids work the farm, and bring the produce to market. These are kids from our own neighborhoods in North Portland. That just takes local to a whole new level, doesn’t it? You need to check out their booth, Food Works, at the market. But to these potatoes….look how beautiful they are:
potatoes for cooking on the grill
To make them on the grill, it’s very simple. Scrub them thoroughly, and slice as thin as you can. Make a packet of foil by laying out a sheet of foil, spray lightly with oil or nonstick spray and arrange the potatoes on top of half of the foil area, leaving 2 inches around the perimeter.
Dot with butter, and season with a variety of herbs, salt and pepper. I tend to think the more herbs the better, and love to throw in thyme, rosemary, oregano, and even some sage, all fresh from the garden and shredded roughly.

Fold over the half of foil, and tightly fold in and crimp the edges, all the way around. You should have a nice tight little packet. Place on grill, medium heat, for 20 minutes or so. The thinner the potato slices, the faster it cooks. Voila! Steamy packet of potato goodness. Purchased straight from the farmers hands. Now go love some more summer.

5 comments:

Heather said...

You missed a picture of Susan's dog .... I'm sorry, no beautiful pictures of amazing potatoes can make up for missing a dog!

Christine said...

I saw the lovely bags of potatoes at the Urban Farms stand Saturday! Ha. We're so behind on eating the potatoes that come in the Organics to You box that we didn't get any, though. Maybe next time.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it awesome?! It's wonderful to have a farmers' market so close by. I went the first two Saturdays and loaded up on cherries, blueberries, baked goods, and corn (I can hardly get enough corn these days--just had FIVE ears for breakfast!). Missed last Saturday because of prior engagements--so sad.
I'm sure we'll run into each other there some time soon!
--grey

A Lewis said...

Yes please, I'll take a potato packet. I love that salt-of-the-earth sort of delicious food.

Jennifer said...

Oh thanks for the heads up....gotta go to La Center tomorrow morning then to the St. Johns farmers market!!!