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







Thursday, May 7, 2015

First Spring Farmers Market



Hi guys! Good week so far? Yesterday was opening day of the Wednesday farmers market in town. It was a quiet grey day and the market seemed to have caught the vibe.


But I was excited and actually got there early. The market now has strange new hours, I just am baffled : 10 AM to 2 PM Then 4-7 PM, every Wednesday. What? Are the vendors gonna stay but be closed? Siesta time? Or new vendors will arrive. Or what.
I'm not fond of early in the day food shopping. I always grocery shop last thing in my errands list. Otherwise you end up with a car full of spoiled food. Or you have to rush home and get everything in the fridge?
When I lived in Brooklyn Heights, years ago, I loved it that in the summer the farmers market was still fresh and busy when I came out of the subway after work. I remember bunches of ruby red baby radishes, as if it was yesterday. Better than roses, I thought at the time.
Next week I'm going to check out the evening hours, see what that's about.

There was very little produce, but the asparagus was exceptional. I steamed this bunch and put a little butter and lemon pepper and we gobbled it up. The stalks are as thick as your thumb, that's the best tasting kind.


Some folks like the very thin shoots, but to me that tastes grassy. My dad used to tell us the thin shoots very fresh new baby shoots, but I now understand that's incorrect. There are simply two or more different hybrids, some are slender, some are chubby.
Asparagus is like pugs: chubby is best! LOL


No flowers, no herbs, no garden seedlings. Some lettuce and some greenhouse heirloom tomatoes. Mostly the vendors were selling things like honey and cheese and wine; eggs and yogurt.


I liked this guy's display with the old milk bottle carrier and red checked oilcloth.


He sold wine and cheese; all we'll need for deck time this summer.


I chose a Camembert from him.


There's also an old school bus with herbs and spices. I'll pick a few to try next time. They look tasty. I use a lot of spices in my cooking. Note the lovely pickling spice, second from the right. Gotta have for my pickles.





And way off in the corner was my old friends from Cobble Hill in Brooklyn.



I got fresh mozzarella and handmade parpardelli [egg noodles] from them.



This is a fun new vendor. She sells doggy treats and adorable little hand knit doggy sweaters. Maybe next time I'll bring Mo so he can try on a sweater. I was being cheap yesterday because I'm hoarding my spending money for the Flea. I got him yummy sweet potato bones for his busy box though.


I have a friend coming to visit in a few weeks. I'm thinking she'll enjoy a dinner picked here at the market: the wine and cheese, of course. Then artisan bread/ olive oil. And fresh pasta with spring veggies and cheese. Does that sound good? And girly? I'll make us lemon bars for dessert.


And so the season of hospitality and beach guests and ''cocktails'' at sunset begins. Finally. My winter quiet is ending, I'm a bit sad? But I'm wearing shorts! Yes right now a I type. Summer is looming, be here soon. (52* foggy. Wind from SSE at 18 mph)


What did you find at the market, or grocery store. Anything special?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.



8 comments:

  1. Love your goodies with the hope of visiting on the deck. Your dinner with a friend sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I m so happy to be able to get fresh, organic foods again.

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  2. One of my old (and eccentric) neighbors called chubby asparagus "homewreckers". I'll let you guess why!\ Andy was a bit odd but very nice neighbor.

    All that yogurt and cheese made me hungry! And ooh, nice choices of doggy treats for Mo, you can try different ones during the summer. Your 'girly' dinner sounds yummy to me and I don't even LIKE asparagus!

    I'm sure the markets will get larger as the season warms up. Thanks for sharing, and have fun tomorrow. Umm, did you have the pasta for supper?

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  3. Shorts are good!

    I, too, am curious what will go on at the market between hours?? Maybe having afternoon and evening hours is a way to collect fees for rental spaces TWICE in one day, whether it's the same vendor or a different one. You're purchases are going to be dee-lish. We seem to usually get the skinnier asparagus out here, I love it what ever size it is. And I'm not sure I want to why Mel's neighbor used to call the fat stuff homewreckers.

    No fun markets for me this week. I spent an inordinate amount of time driving to any and all pet stores looking for a particular cat food. My Gracie has REALLY serious digestive issues and I have only found one kind of food that she will eat, and that she can tolerate. The manufacturer just changed the formula and she doesn't want to eat the new one. I am trying to buy up all of the cans of old formula that I can find. Exciting right?
    Such is life :)

    The pansy in the little pot is very cute!

    Happy weekend, and Happy Mother's Day to you!!

    Kel

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You could try Amazon for the pet food. Or try mixing a little turkey or tuna to the new stuff? Turkey is easy to digest.

      Good notion about the double rental fs, I can see that being the case.

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  4. Actually we went to the Farmers Market Wednesday. Their opening day too! Ours is in the morning till1. We got grass fed beef, brown eggs, a pie and of course some treats for Rusty.

    Blessings,
    Gert

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