I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Friday, July 10, 2015

Farmers Market - Early Summer's Bounty


Hi everyone! Have you been visiting your local farmers market or green market this summer? My market is small but fun, and each week the produce  becomes more plentiful and inspiring.


This week we had the first of the summer squash. These deep yellow squashes are so delicious, what a treat. I simply slice them and steam therm in a Ziploc Steamer bag, with a smidge of butter and black pepper. They come out hot and perfectly cooked. 3 minutes.


Drain well and sprinkle chipped asiago  or parm on the top.


These are the little baseball squashes, also deep yellow or pale green. This weekend I am going to make a spicy rice / ground beef casserole, save half to make stuffed squash with these cuties.



Beautiful colors!

golf ball carrots, adorable!
For pot roast!


I love to see how the vendors show their wares, often very creative. Though truly the veggies from the guy who tosses the crops on a painted plywood table---his things are just as tasty.

chic galvanized buckets with chalkboard labels.

rustic market baskets

Herbs.



Strawberries.


Mo's weekly treats.


Spices. Gonna make pickles soon, when the cukes come in.



Cookies---"Cowboy Choc chip"---light and crispy, buttery, with cherries added. No clue what makes them ''cowboy''.

I am also still treating myself and my friends to a tasting from the Big Cheese each week, for weekend wine & cheese on my deck.

            Sheep.                                 Goat.
This week I chose a very ripe, runny, odiferous! sheep's milk Camembert. [good]; and a truffled goat cheese Camembert. This cheese is a little floury or dusty in texture, maybe is not ripe? And I for one cannot taste the truffles. [interesting. will wait to eat the rest of it, see if it ripens into a fuller flavor?]






It's also fun to meet the vendors. These beautiful radishes were from a pair of young women who sold only the rads and cut herbs. This was their first ''real'' crop, as in not an herb.


They were so proud of their radish crop! I bought a bunch of assorted white--crispy and HOT! / peppery; and also a bunch of assorted reds, milder but flavorful.


Farmers market sopping is, to me, a treat, like maybe going out for drinks or to a movie?---because it is a very expensive activity! Ten bucks for radishes? Five for four cookies!


If I view the market as entertainment my wallet doesn't shriek as loudly or painfully.
So--stop at the ATM tomorrow and find a  fun market. Try something new?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach


6 comments:

  1. What a beautiful market.

    I was so hungry for radishes that I bought some at a small stand even though I knew they were too big. They were pithy and hot, but they tasted like radishes. I grew up eating radish sandwiches so I made one. (Bread, margarine or butter, sliced radishes, and salt and pepper.) Flashback time. LOL.

    Wishing you a great weekend.

    Hunter

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  2. Hunter, I can't imagine radish sandwiches! Now I'll have to try one...

    The yellow squash look lovely. I learned to like squash when my neighbor taught me to stir-fry it with onions and butter or olive oil, and season it with a little soy sauce. I like it pretty much any way you can cook it now, though! I hadn't seen the little round yellows before, although I'd seen the green round zucchini and even grew them once.

    Hmm, the hot white radishes make me think of the BIG daikon radishes used in Japanese cooking added to soups (they stay sort of crunchy) or pickled in something yellow (turmeric?). I found several links to making the pickles, by the way, and they're supposed to be a 'superfood'. http://www.lindsaydahl.com/easy-pickled-daikon-radishes/ Might be something interesting to try, even if you try it with regular white radishes?

    The soft runny and stinky cheeses scare me, LOL. I'm not adventurous enough to try them!

    I sure like 'going with you' to the market! Thanks!

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  3. I love radishes and they are so easy to grow.

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  4. We have an abundance of roadside stands and farmers markets. I have a fairly large garden so I haven't been buying too much. I have picked so many cukes, squash, eggplant and peppers my fridge is bulging! Not to mention tomatoes...I overplanted this year and put in 11 plants...all different varieties. String beans should be coming in soon...I love this time of year when the good fresh food is so plentiful!! What I have been buying is watermelon, cantaloupe and corn...and fresh breads. We have a guy who bakes in a brick oven.....next up....bruschetta and some fresh salsa!! Ahhh......the taste of summer!

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  5. Your summer market posts are my absolute favorite, this one included. How can you not want to try all of those colorful veggies. I've not seen the 'baseball' squash before, so cute.

    I haven't been to the Farmer's Market in awhile. Our usual location is on Sundays, and it's sooo crowded. I need to make an effort to get to the mid-week locations soon.

    Thanks as always for sharing, and enjoy the bounty.

    Kel

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    Replies
    1. I m glad you enjoy my market posts! Hope you find the time to get to your markets too. Crowds----we tried to go to a boardwalk fair this morning!Nowhere to park anywhere, just awful traffic and hot sunshine. I was so disappointed, need new sea glass earrings. :-(

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