The Farmers' Market Challenge is now OPEN!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the Farmers' Market Challenge.

The purpose of this challenge is to raise awareness for purchasing locally produced foods. Be it fruits, vegetables, dairy products or related items we want to know what's available where you live.

This is for everyone. If you have a Farmers' Market in your area we would like to see your photos. If you don't have a farmers' market how about a roadside produce stand? Or maybe you grow your own vegetables? We want to see photos of your garden. Do you raise chickens or geese, do you use the eggs? We want to see your photos. The Challenge will be open all weekend so you have lots of time to post.

I have a little giveaway for everyone (worldwide) who links up a valid entry to the Farmers' Market Challenge. I am giving away a Sweet Onions market/shopping bag like the one in the photo above.

This giveaway is only for participants in the challenge. The winner will be drawn from the Mister Linky list only (my challenge post link will of course not count). To be eligible your link must be to a valid Farmers' Market Challenge post.

Participants may now sign in. You should have you photos and/or story posted on your blog before you sign in. Please link directly to your farmers' market post. No linking up just to advertise your blog, those links and spam links will be removed immediately.

Please take a few minutes to visit the other entries. Also please check back later to visit late entries. Part of the fun is seeing each others posts.

Mr. Linky is very easy to use, just follow the instructions. If you have any questions or problems my email address is on my profile.

A Trip to the Farmers' Market

It is a beautiful day to go to the market. Shopping bag - check! Water - check! I'm ready to go.

Looks like I'm not the first one to arrive today. Click on any photo to enlarge.

The apple cider looks so pretty in these bottles. It tastes good too.

Summer squash, yum!

Broccoli fresh from the garden.

These peaches are so juicy and sweet. I'm bet they would make a great pie.

Pick up some fresh milled flour for the pie crust.

And of course no trip to our farmers' market would be complete without Sweet Walla Walla Onions. Fresh from the field.

It's really hot! A nice glass of fresh lemonade would really hit the spot. Looks like Ethan is open for business. What a great way to end my trip to the market. Click on photo to enlarge.

Be sure to visit the other participants in The Farmers' Market Challenge.

After the Rain

The summer rains we had on Tuesday and Wednesday were very nice and washed away a lot of dust. Cooler air was a pleasant change. Now the skies have cleared and the summer heat has returned, today's high was 99 F. (37 C).

To view more skies from around the world visit SkyWatch Friday!


I want to remind everyone about The Farmers' Market Challenge this weekend! Get your entries ready, I will open Mister Linky late tomorrow night PDT so it will be ready for you on Saturday morning! You can see more details about the Challenge HERE!

Did I mention there is a little giveaway involved with the Challenge? I will be giving a market/shopping bag like the one above to one of the participants in the challenge. All you have to do to win is have a valid entry in the Farmers' Market Challenge this weekend. See tomorrow's post for more details.

ViCera Ceramic Knife And the Winner is ...........

I want to thank everyone who took the time to enter the ViCera Ceramic Knife giveaway here at The Road to Here. The giveaway ended last night at midnight PDT. I used a random number generator to select the winner and the results are in.


Research Randomizer Results

1 Set of 1 Non-unique Numbers Per Set
Range: From 1 to 70 -- Unsorted

Job Status:
44

Comment # 44 was from Leslie at Live, Love, Laugh with Leslie The winner has been notified via email and will have 48 hours to contact me with a mailing address.

Congratulations Leslie!

I have more giveaways coming soon so check back often.

A Drop of Blue

It was hot here on Sunday (101 F/38C) and we are expecting more of the same today. I know many of you are having similar temps so looking at something cool seemed like a good idea. Blue is a cool color and water always looks cool so here they are in the same photo.

Look at the world close up, visit Macro Monday.

St. John's Wort

St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

A little perennial shrub which from mid to late summer is covered with very pretty, fragrant flowers. The flowers have five petals and clusters of feathery gold stamens. The plant seems to do best when planted in average soil and prefers full sun but doesn't mind a light shade.

The name St. John's Wort comes from its traditional flowering and harvesting on St. John's day, June 24th. The genus name Hypericum is from the Greek words hyper (above) and eikon (picture). This refers to the use of the plant to ward off evil by hanging plants over a religious icon in the house on St. John's day.

As my good blogging friends Judy and Ginny would point out, Hypericum is more than a pretty flower. St. John's Wort has several medicinal uses with the most common being the treatment of depression. Other uses include treatments for stomach ulcers, nerve related disorders like neuralgia, sciatica and shingles. It also eases the symptoms of menopause. The oil is used topically for wounds, burns and sunburn.

This herb does have some side effects including photosensitivity in some individuals. Studies have also suggested some interaction with certain prescription drugs so you should consult your physician before taking St. John's Wort.

To see more beautiful flowers from around the world visit Today's Flowers.

A Simple View

Our skies have been mostly blue with touches of white, simple summer weather.

For more skies from around the world visit SkyWatch Friday.

The Farmers' Market Challenge July 31st

The Challenge with a Purpose!

This challenge started last year after I did a post about our local farmers' market. One of my good blogging friends Rae suggested it would be interesting to see what kinds of products were available in other areas. The challenge was a great success, there were entries from all over the world. If you would like to see one of last year's challenges go HERE!

While this challenge is lots of fun it also has a purpose. The purpose of this challenge is to raise awareness for locally produced foods. Most of the food you purchase at the grocery store is grown somewhere else. What kinds of foods are produced in your local area? Are you supporting your local farmers?

Be it fruits, vegetables, dairy products or related items we want to know what's available where you live. The products can come from your local farmers' market but it can also be what you grow in your own backyard.

This is for everyone. If you have a Farmers' Market in your area we would like to see your photos. If you don't have a farmers' market how about a roadside produce stand? Or maybe you grow your own vegetables? Do you raise chickens or geese, do you use the eggs? We want to see your photos. Do you have a recipe that uses the fresh foods you buy/grow locally? You can post that as well.

There will be three challenges before winter! The first challenge will be Saturday July 31st. Hopefully that will give everyone plenty of time to get your photos and/or do a write up.

I will post Mister Linky the night before and you can link-up your post anytime that weekend. Once you have posted be sure to visit all the other entries.

This is not mandatory but if possible please grab one of the Farmers' Market Challenge buttons and place it on your sidebar with a link back to this post. I thank you in advance for spreading the news about the challenge.

I also have a little giveaway to go with the challenge but more about that later.

I'm looking forward to seeing your photos and reading your stories, I hope you will join in on this fun and important event. See you on Saturday July 31st!

If you haven't entered my giveaway for the ViCera Ceramic Knife now is the time.

Busy Bee

This is a hard working little honey bee. Notice the size of the pollen sac on her leg.

See the world up close visit Macro Monday.

Pretty Pigeon Pose

I was out for a walk the other day when something caught my eye. I raised my camera but it was too late. Oh well, another missed shot. But then something strange happened.

Look who flew to a nearby log. "Are you looking for me?"

"Here, I'll give you a pose or two."

"Want to see me do a neck ruffle?"

"How about a profile shot so you can get a photo of my tail feathers? STOP ........ WAIT......"

"My feathers are a mess, give me a minute to groom a little."

"Okay, now I am more presentable."
"No, not yet! You're taking a picture of the back of my head."

"That's better, this is my best side." "Do you think Audubon Magazine would be interested in my photos? Could you print up some extras photos for my portfolio? A pigeon has to make a living you know."

Do you like critters? Then visit Camera Critters.

Vicera Cutlery Review and Giveway

About ViCera Cutlery

New Technology, Old-world Craftsmanship

ViCera™ ceramic knives are made of an advanced, high-tech ceramic called zirconium oxide (also known as zirconia). Zirconium oxide is extremely hard and wear resistant, rating 8.5 on the Mohs scale - surpassing stainless steel (5-6 Mohs) and approaching the hardness of diamond (10 Mohs). The Mohs scale, developed by mineralogist Friedrich Mohs, is the universally accepted standard for measuring the hardness of minerals.

During production, our master craftsmen fashion the pure zirconium oxide into knife shaped blanks using high-pressure presses. The finished blanks are then hardened in a process called "sintering", which requires special kilns that can achieve temperatures of over 1000 degrees Celsius. After they are removed from the kilns, the knives are cooled to a naturally brilliant white and then hand-sharpened on a special diamond coated grinding wheel.

When you pick up a ViCera™ ceramic knife, you are holding a perfect balance of new technology and old-world craftsmanship. A brilliant, white blade that is as light as a feather and tougher than nails.

Thanks to the fine folks at ViCera Cutlery I have been given the opportunity to test and review one of their knives. For my review I chose the Santoku knife. ViCera describes the Santoku as "Slightly smaller than the Chef's Knife, our 5.5-inch/ 14cm Santoku Knife is designed for those who want the virtues of a Chef’s Knife but seek a finer control over its use."

All of the photos you see here were made in my kitchen for the test. Click on any photo to enlarge.

My Review
I have never used a ceramic knife before so I was very excited to give it a try.
For my first test with the Santoku I decided to try slicing a bagel. Before I made the first cut I held the knife and was impressed with the overall lightness and balance in my hand. While the handle is substantial it felt very comfortable in my small hand. From the first cut I was amazed at the sharpness of the blade. Many knives will press the bread down before actually cutting, notice that each slice is perfect and not mashed down. This is a very sharp blade. If you look closely at the blade you will see a little of the blueberry juice, it washed off completely.

Tomatoes are my favorite test for any knife and I was not disappointed by the Santoku. I could slice the tomato paper thin with little effort.

Beside the sharpness and precision I was also impressed at the beauty of the blade. I went back to Vicera's website and and discovered the meaning of the ViCera name.

ViCera™ means Beautiful Ceramics

In Japanese, the kanji character for beauty is and can be read as "vi". The word for ceramics can be shortened to "cera", and writen as . Combined, the name ViCera™ (pronounced "vee-say-rah') means beautiful ceramics. At ViCera™ , we take great pride in our products as highly functional works of art. From beginning to end, our master craftsmen give careful attention to each and every blade to consistently produce unparalleled sharpness that lasts far longer than steel. The naturally brilliant, white blades are made using only pure Japanese zirconia ceramic and embody the traditional Japanese aesthetic of purity.

Remember that ViCera knives are ceramic so they will break if handled roughly. You aren't going to cut through meat bones without damaging the blade. ViCera knives are perfect for chopping, dicing and slicing vegetables, fruits, breads and boneless meats. The Santoku is very light weight and the way it handles is remarkable. I highly recommend ViCera knives for any kitchen.

I received a Santoku knife from ViCera Cutlery for this review. I have received no other compensation. The views here are my own.

Giveaway: ViCera has offered to send a Santoku knife like the one in my photos to one of my readers. The Santoku is valued at $69.99. Sorry but this contest is open to US readers only. Contest ends at 11:59 pm Pacific time July 28th. The winner will be emailed and given 48 hrs to respond. If I don't hear from the winner at the end of that time a new winner will be selected.

All entries must include a valid email address or your email address must be on your profile. If I can't find you, you can't win! If in doubt leave it in your comments. Spam comments will be removed immediately.

Mandatory first entry:
You must be a follower of The Road to Here on GFC (Google Friend Connect) to enter.
And........
Go to the ViCera website and tell me which other knife you would find useful in your kitchen or something you learned about ViCera. (1 entry)

Additional entries (leave separate comments for each):
Like ViCera Cutlery on Facebook. Leave a comment on the ViCera FB page saying that Judy Weber aka SquirrelQueen sent you (I will check).
(1 entry)

Like the SquirrelQueen on Facebook. If you leave a comment on my FB page with a link to your FB page I will Like you back. (1 entry)

Follow the Squirrel Queen on Twitter, I follow back. (1 entry)

Tweet about this giveaway, one time only. Leave a link to the tweet in your comment. (1 entry)
To make it easy: Giveaway: Win a ViCera Ceramic Cutlery Santoku knife ($70 value) at The Road to Here.http://tinyurl.com/2d648r6 Ends 7/28

Extra entries.
Blog about this giveaway. (4 entries, leave four separate comments with the link to your post)

Good luck to everyone! Remember the giveaway ends at 11:59 pm pacific time on July 28th.

Handmade Colors

As seen at our town's Multicultural Festival last month.

Enough of the words for now, visit Wordless Wednesday to see more photos. And for even more great photos visit Freda at Day One for Tuesday Takes!

Uninvited Beauty

Hairy Willow Herb

A member of the Evening Primrose family this plant grows along side streams, low pastures and in ditches. It originated in Europe and has been introduced to areas in the northeast US and parts of Washington state. It is a very aggressive plant which spreads quickly by rhizomes and seeds. Flowering occurs in July and August. The Hairy Willow Herb (Epilobium hirsutum) has been designated an evasive species in Washington state.

While I enjoy all wildflowers I don't like to see a invasive species push out native plants. There are varieties of willow herb that are not evasive. A beautiful flower with a funny name but not one you want growing in your area.

To view more flowers from around the world visit Today's Flowers.

Ulu at Ukpiksuu

Camp Ukpiksuu

My first experience using an ulu came while I was working at Camp Ukpiksuu (land of many willows) which was twenty miles south of Barrow, Alaska on the Arctic Slope. The camp was set up to teach native children about the ways of their ancestors, my job was to make sure they had fun. We did arts & crafts and learned about nature. I think I probably learned as much if not more than the children did. Sorry about the quality of the photo, it was made many years ago with a film SLR. This is a scanned image.

My first use of the ulu was to slice caribou meat in preparation to make jerky, the finished product was delicious by the way.

The Ulu (pronounced ooloo) is an all-purpose cutting tool of the native people of the Arctic. Traditionally a woman's knife it can be used to cut food, filleting fish, or even to cut hair. Uluit (the plural of ulu) come in a variety of sizes depending on the intended use. A small ulu would be an excellent addition to a sewing kit while a larger blade would be better for skinning and cleaning animals. Uluit have been found that dated as early as 2500BC.

The Inupiat version usually has the center piece of the blade cut out and both ends fitting into the handle. The Canadian ulu is attached to the handle by a single piece. Before other materials were available the handles would have been made from antler or bone and the blade from slate. Today caribou antler is still used for the handle but steel is more frequently used for the blade. The new ulu I showed you in yesterday's post is made in the Inupiat style.

Let's say you want to cut a piece of meat with your ulu. Hold the handle of the ulu in the palm of your hand with the beveled side of the blade away from you. With the meat on a cutting board hold the ulu at a slight angle and use a rocking motion to cut. It takes a little practice but you will find they cut remarkably well. The two uluit above are mine. The one in the background is purely decorative, the handle is made from sheep horn.


The one shown here is from Nome, Alaska. It was given to me as a gift after I had worked at a camp there one summer. The handle is caribou antler and the display base is whale bone. It is made more in the Canadian style with a triangle shaped blade.

Here is a video you might find interesting: Cold Cuts: Cuisine of the Arctic

Do You Ulu?

Or why I am so impressed with CSN Stores.

I was browsing through the Cookware store at CSN Stores and thinking about what I needed for my kitchen. As I browsed I remembered that I have been looking for an ulu so I typed "ulu" into the Cookware Store's search bar. I really did not expect to get a hit and thought I would see "no products match your query".

You will never guess what appeared before my eyes.

LamsonSharp PRO Walnut Kitchen Necessities Ulu Knife

Once you have experienced using LamsonSharp PRO Walnut Kitchen Necessities you will have a hard time using any other brand! The look, the feel, the overall quality it has to offer, is clearly outstanding.

Specifications:
* Blade style: Ulu Knife
* Lifetime warranty
* Made in the USA
Read Lamson's Green Story HERE.
And to make things even better it was on SALE!!!

My LamsonSharp Ulu arrived yesterday and I immediately gave it a test run. I love this knife. It is super sharp and the handle has a very comfortable grip. It sliced the potato and zucchini almost effortlessly. I know I will be using my new Ulu on a regular basis in my kitchen.

Now I'm not promising you will find a Left-Handed Bacon Stretcher at the CSN Stores but you never know. The next time you are looking for something give the CSN Stores a look.

Want to know more about the origins of the ulu and see the others I have? Check back tomorrow for the rest of the story.