Most of the time when I cook, it’s pretty simple- saute is my most frequent technique (although I flip with a spatula, no pan flip to toss food in the air… Hey the pans are heavy) or stir fry- otherwise I am often blanching or roasting in the oven- not much steaming, baking or grilling typically. The other important part for me is getting really good fresh ingredients from the Farmers Market, and trying to be open minded about the kind of vegetables I use, based on what is in season and attractive at the market, and then coming up with meal plans from that as my base.

So far, I’ve mentioned baby bok choy, fiddlehead ferns, stinging nettles, and brussel sprout rapini. At this last weekend’s market, I walked by and decided I just had to try pea shoots and also purple rapini. F has been a pain as even as a vegetarian, he doesn’t like a lot of cooked vegetables (picky PIA vegetarian…), so my approach to the pea shoots was to have them as a salad, and to elevate it with great ingredients like a cheese from Jacob’s Creamery, add some Freddy Guys hazelnuts and pickled beets from Zoe… The beets and cheese gave it some tang and richness so that I didn’t even think dressing was needed, while the hazelnuts gave it some crunch. I really enjoyed having the pea shoots. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one that saw those pea shoots and got a little crush.

At the Saturday Portland Farmers Market, there are several vendors offering pickled items, and although none of them look like grandma (well, my grandmas never did this anyway) apparently they have felt the calling to take various foods and treat them to the pickling process and accumulate lots of glass jars. But, don’t expect these to taste like your grandma’s pickles either- even if the process is something that has been done for centuries, these flavors have often been updated into new exciting combinations.

The most traditional vendor I visit is Zoe’s Favorites Pickles and Preserves, where you can find asparagus, spicy carrots, green beans, garlic, and Michelle (Zoe is her daughter) has small and large jars of her famous pickled beets. You can take a tablespoon or so to brighten up a salad by tossing it in, or add to any dish at the end. She also offers jams- this past weekend she has raspberry- if you want to top some cream cheese or chevre or use it on its own with some bread.

Bringing Korean traditional for pickling to us is the new booth to the Portland Farmers Market this year of Choi’s Kimchi Co, with the kids selling their mom’s fifty-plus years of homemade kimchi making They offer lots of different veggie takes beyond the traditional green cabbage, such as napa cabbage white napa, radish, and my favorite (for the texture), bok choy.

Another stop you should take is Sassafras Catering. I’m a big fan of their sunchoke relish- I think it will be a great and constant addition when the summer grilling season starts as a side accompaniment to add as relish to a burger or hot dog or potato salad. They also have brought watermelon rind pickles from the south up here to the northwest, thank you, as well as chutney such as apple or peach cranberry, and a beet and fennel relish. Their offerings are in the smallest jars, so you may find yourself hoarding them a little bit because the price for the amount is more dear then the other picklers.

For the most nontraditional take on pickling, try the unusual flavors in jars at Unbound Pickling, including my favorites, “bacon pickle” (pickle with added hickory smoke flavor) and “beatnik pickled beets” which are roasted beets in pomegranate and beet juice, as well as several other artisan offerings. Great accompaniments on a cheese plate, or to put a modern surprise twist on a dish because it always packs more flavor punch than you would think when you first see it in the dish presentation. They are the fanciest flavor pickles I’ve found- I think they have recently been picked up by Whole Foods, I hope they really catch on. Check out their website- they have some really beautiful pictures of their various products there, all I have is a picture captured during a chilly rainy market day.

Ok maybe Rose City Pepperheads isn’t really a pickler, but since some of the other vendors offered something in a comparable market, I think it’s a fair mention. The number of jellies she and her aunt make is astounding- I think there were almost 20?! – so you should probably buy one of their little variety packs. Flavors vary from “hollerin huckleberry”, “pomegranate with pizazz”, “marionberry blast” to “rage n red jalapeno” “Hawaiian jalapeno” and “smokin margarita”, all which are arranged from “Mild” to “Wild” which you might choose to spread on its own or with cheese or yogurt to soften to use as dips or spreads, or you can use it as part of a marinade or fruity finish of a topping after grilling something. They don’t use gelatin (pectin is used instead) so they are all veg friendly.