Walking through the farmers market last week, I sensed a rumbling somewhere in my psyche. The temblor felt good. It seemed to release a sweet scent. It also hurt a little. I recognized the sensation as nostalgia, literally meaning ‘home-ache,’ the sweet pain of longing for home. Nostalgia stirs longings for our younger, more innocent selves and perhaps for a younger, more innocent nation and earth. The market stirs this feeling in me.

Later, I rooted around in the earth of memory, tried to rub the dirt off my past and stare into it, as far as I could, back to my first farmers market.

Suburban Maryland, forty-plus years ago. Mom drove a long blue station wagon. We four kids piled in without seat belts. I cannot remember much at all, except that it was an indoor space with arched windows, there were many tables of goods, and the farmers and their wives looked very different from the suburban adults that peopled my world. Some were Amish and perhaps their garb had much to do with the delight I felt. It was as if I were transported to another world, one of the ones I wished to inhabit more than my own, the world of Laura Ingalls and the little house in the big woods. More than the foods brought by the farmers, I was drawn to the handicrafts; whittled toys that Pa might have made in long evenings by the hearth, jars of pickles and jams that Ma and Mary and Laura could have cooked up in a steamy kitchen over a big, black, wood-burning stove. What I remember best about the farmers market of forty years ago is that it filled my eight-year-old heart with nostalgia. Apparently, even as children we can be wistful for childhood, even childhoods we didn’t have, even childhoods nobody had, exactly.

I have a friend, Pamela Smith Hill, who is an authority on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s ‘real’ life. I was, perhaps unreasonably, surprised to learn from Pamela’s biography of Wilder that Wilder’s tales of pioneer hardiness and self-reliance turned a rose-tinted lens upon her past. The stories were historical fiction, not history, and the real Ingalls family endured a grittier reality than the archetypal family of the books. So, as it turns out, my farmers market-induced nostalgia was for a fictionalized, idealized world. After some reflection, I’ve discovered that I’m okay with this. In fact, I really like it.

When I crack open the market-fresh egg of my nostalgia, the initial longing for long-gone Edens is quickly overrun by even an sweeter, more painful longing for future Edens, for tomorrows that begin with the beets and berries before me now. I project the crimson roots into an unforgettably startling soup shared with friends and I picture the season’s first berries dropping from my fingers into small, eagerly open mouths. In my imagination, the beets and berries melt into golden moments that someday, maybe, someone, maybe, will remember, maybe, fondly. I like imagining this world. I like making it possible.

Nostalgia blends memory and imagination; fact and myth, hope and desire. Its sweetish scent can be detected in attics, yearbooks, playgrounds and, wonderfully, in the aisles of the farmers market. Where else can you dig around in the earth of memory, touch the taproot of imagination, then eat?

Miriam Garcia is a folklorist-foodie, freelance writer and guardian of a super-secret chicken soup recipe. You can contact her at Miriam_G@me.com

Well just bring them down to the market this Saturday and have them sharpened while you shop!  Dragonfly Forge is returning to offer our customers this great service!  They will be joining us the second and fourth Saturday of each month during the regular season.

PRICING

*Knives (all hand honed)

All knives up to 6″……………………….$4
Knives 6″-8″………………………………..$5
Knives 8″-10″……………………………..$6

*Scissors & Shears

Blade length up to 5″………$6
Blades over 5″……………..$7

*Garden Tools

Hoes……………………………………………$4
Shovels & Spades………………………..$5
Gas or Electric Mower Blades……..$6
Other Blades priced upon inspection.

*Extra charge may apply for necessary blade repairs.

Many of your favorite market vendors are returning for the 2012 season. Most will be where you remember them, but you can stop by the Info Booth to take a look at the most recent market map to find out where your favorite farmer is set up. And while you’re there, check out our new Hollywood Farmers Market t-shirts!

New vendors this season include 2 Fruits, serving fresh juice and smoothies, N&N Amaro Produce and Scoop, handmade ice cream using local ingredients. We are also happy to welcome back Nature’s Wild Harvest, Camas Country Mills and Sage & Sea, all who came to HFM late last season.

We also have a number of on-call vendors that we’re pretty excited about this season. You won’t see all of these vendors at the market each week, but we fit them in when we can. Please be sure to give a big welcome and your support to these folks who make the extra effort to be at the market on short notice: The Better Bean Company, Abby’s Table, Inspired Salts, Fatdog Mustard, Pacific Northwest Kale Chips, Hammer & Tuffy’s Granola, Wild Wines, Hello! Salsa, Masala Pop & Pieku.

We’re also excited to welcome back Professor Banjo in the music stage this week.  His music is great for the whole family! He’ll perform from 9am-12:30pm.  Don’t miss it!

We are extremely grateful to New Seasons Market for generously donating to this program for the third year, and to the Hollywood Farmers Market board for authorizing market funds so we can commit to offering this program for the full May-November regular season.

This program fights hunger, helps neighbors in need, and supports a vibrant regional food economy. Even in a bountiful state like Oregon, hunger is a major concern for many Oregonians. According to the Oregon Hunger Task Force, Oregon “placed second highest among all states for a high percentage of hungry people” during the recent recession.

Over the past two seasons, the Fresh Funds program has distributed more than $15,000 to neighbors in need. In turn, this program also supports our local economy. Through increased use of SNAP benefits at farmers markets, federal dollars that might otherwise be spent elsewhere go directly into the hands of our region’s small farms and food producers. From helping out our neighbors to helping out our farmers, every facet of this program contributes to the success of our regional food economy and healthy urban neighborhoods.

Now we want to know what you though about the market.  Click here to take our survey. This survey focuses on the specifically on markets in January, February & March.  If you’d like to share your thoughts about the December and April markets, email us at info@hollywoodfarmersmarket.org.  We’d love your feedback!

Thanks & see you at the market!

This week, we are excited to bring back a few of your favorite regular season vendors and introduce you to a few new products we’re excited to add to the 2012 season!  You can look forward to finding garden starts, winter greens, kale chips, freshly baked goodies, locally foraged foods, locally raised meats and more!

Plus, we welcome back Dragonfly Forge, a portable knife sharpening business.  Have them freshen up all your kitchen knives while you shop!  With all the great produce popping up this spring, you’ll want those knives in tip top shape.

See you at the market!

April 7th Vendors:

Alsea Acre Alpines

The Better Bean Company

Deck Family Farm

Dragonfly Forge: Knife Sharpener!

Hammer & Tuffy’s Granola

Gabriel’s Bakery

Gales Meadow Farm

Linda Brand Crab

Mocha Roma’s Coffee

Nature’s Best Oregon Honey

Nature’s Wild Harvest

Olympic Provisions

Pacific NW Kale Chips

Peak Forest Fruit

Pieko

Pine Mountain Ranch

Sun Gold Farms

Sweet Briar Farms

Village Crepary

Willapa Hills Farmstead Cheese

Next month, we return to Hancock Street for our last two winter markets!  Join us to welcome in the spring on April 7th & April 21st, on Hancock St. between 44th & 45th Ave.