Market Roundup: Wednesday in the OC & Beaverton

It was meant to be. Oregon City Farmers' Market manager Jackie Hammond-Williams felt it was time to expand the Saturday market schedule to add a mid-week farmers' market. The city council agreed, providing start-up funding and a location smack in the middle of downtown. Then someone found a newspaper clipping describing a "producers market" in the same exact location in 1924. Talk about destiny! Look for the smiling faces at Full of Life Farm's booth, where you can not only buy pastured poultry and eggs, grass-fed and grass-finished beef, pastured heritage pork and free-ranging goat, but you'll support a sustainable farm with a mission to care for the animals, the land and the people in equal measure. Quite a goal. And don't miss Diana's Delights, the retirement project of Diana Robson (above left), who will happily dish, in a charming English accent, about the foibles of Hollywood's glitterati from her former life as an actress, dancer, singer, chef and personal assistant. She currently offers jams, chutneys and lemon curd made from the fruit she purchases from market vendors and eggs from her daughter's flock. Secret treat: Pick up a bag of her flaky, fruit-filled rugelach for the ride home.

Details: Oregon City Downtown Wednesday Market. 3-7 pm on 8th and Main Sts. in downtown Oregon City at the base of the falls.

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The first time I went to the Beaverton Farmers' Market (an advertiser on GoodStuffNW), I was bowled over. In the days before farmers' markets were a ubiquitous presence in nearly every Portland neighborhood, the sheer size and scope of it was mind-boggling. Unimaginably gorgeous produce spilled from farmers' stands and tantalizing aromas from food booths wafted down the aisles. Some people still find it overwhelming, and for them there is its quieter, gentler sibling, a child of the afternoon and early evening, a place to stop and stroll and chat. Where the Saturday market is bustling and boisterous, the Wednesday market, with many fewer vendors but offering the same great produce, flowers and prepared foods, ambles at a much mellower pace. Three-year-old Bella Organics (photo, above) grows its berries, fruits and vegetables on an organically certified farm on Sauvie Island, and Alex Hashem said that once the weather warms up they'll be offering more greens, squash and summer produce for customers' tables. Captured by Porches Brewing Company was enjoying the sunny skies, and the friendly guy behind the taps said they're hoping that Beaverton market-goers get as excited about their St. Helens-produced beers as Portland's have. And new vendor Verde Cocina looked like shoppers were taking to their huevos rancheros, a white bean and garbanzo mash spread on corn tortillas and topped with a free-range fried egg, a little cheese, fresh salsa ranchera and a fresh market bean salad.

Details: Beaverton Wednesday Farmers' Market. 3-6 pm on SW Hall Blvd. between 3rd and 5th Sts.