growing curious: yay!

I have been holding my breath since the beginning of January. Ahhh... finally exhaling...

I found out this weekend that Curious Farm will be at the Beaverton Farmers Market this year. This is the largest all-agricultural market in the state, and it receives 15,000 - 20,000 visitors every week -- from May through October.

At my booth I will sell old-fashioned brined pickles (in season only), live sauerkrauts (yes, plural...), sauerruben, seasonal kimchi, beet kvass, and an ever-changing assortment of vinegar-brined pickles like rosemary green beans, delicate Japanese pickled turnips, pickled snow peas, giardiniera, juniper-infused pickled onions, Indian-spiced carrots. I also will bring a limited array of just-picked specialty vegetables and herbs from our farm.

What makes my booth unusual is that I'll be selling the pickled items by the pound/pint/quart so that people feel freedom to experiment. Many people have never tasted real, live-cultured sauerkraut, for instance, and might hestitate to buy a 32 oz jar of it. Also, many people fear they won't like kimchi but come to crave it after trying it.

My offerings will change weekly -- guided by the seasons and what's fresh right now from my farm and other local farms. I'll grow as much of the produce I use in the pickles as possible, and I'll source additional ingredients from other smart organic, sustainably-minded farmers in the area.

I am a pickle anthropologist and evangelist. I want the Curious Farm booth to be a resource for people in the area to learn about pickling techniques from all over the world. I also want to provide probiotic-rich, health-giving, live-cultured pickles to the community because the real stuff is hard to find.

I'm excited. I'm overwhelmed. I can't wait! I'm nervous. I hope people like my pickles.