Sadly, the past few months at the Arlington market have been disappointing--not much variety, more breads/cheeses/pastas/meats than produce, and the only place that had berries had a line halfway back to my house!
Why, of all weekends, I chose to suit up in my slicker and brave the rains, I don't know, but I was richly rewarded! This week, the farmers' market was full of all sorts of exciting produce. I probably would have spent a lot more money had I not been fully waterlogged in the 10 minutes I was there, but even so I managed to score: rainbow chard, some cool two-toned zucchini (I forgot to write down the name in my efforts to stay somewhat dry), huge blackberries, deliciously sweet plums, and sunflower flax bread. I was a bit disappointed by the peaches, which were tart at all the stands I tried. I also saw a pattypan squash the SIZE OF MY HEAD (I swear), but was way too intimidated to buy it.
Stay tuned this week for how this week's taking makes it to my dinner plate! Suggestions, of course, are welcome.
Which farmer's market do you go to? I try to hit the one at Courthouse when I can- they have my favorite bread ever (Atwater's) and these really nice guys selling eggs and milk who drive down from their farm in PA (I can never remember the name) to sell at the farmer's market. I always try to buy from them, at first because they were really nice but also because I noticed their eggs were the biggest + cheapest...they were all sold out by the time I got there last time though! Darn other people catching on.
ReplyDeleteYes, I go to Courthouse too! I usually try to go before 10:30 before the lines are ridiculously long. I haven't bought organic eggs yet, but I read the other day that these are much more nutritious than cage eggs too, so maybe I will next time!
ReplyDeleteStay tuned, I'm thinking of doing a "Friendly Farmer" post to meet some of the market purveyors. :)
By far the best farmer's market I have been to was the weekly market at the Promenade in Santa Monica, CA. I was tempted to empty my suitcase of clothes so I could fill it with all the goodies.
ReplyDeleteWe are blessed here in Atlanta with several excellent weekly markets. My favorite is the Green Market at our Piedmont Park in Midtown, but there are several others. I get a big kick out of buying fresh veggies and other good stuff there.
Speaking of Atlanta, I notice you have Woodfire Grill on your wishlist. Good call! It's great. I have been there several times and always had a good meal. Chef Kevin actually lives in a rental house that a good friend of mine owns, and we are trying to convince him to be a part of our Atlanta Dogwood Festival in April. The place where we are having our wedding reception is like 2 blocks from Woodfire, so maybe when if you make it here in December, you can grab a bite to eat then!
I learned yesterday (upon a non-rain-drenched visit to the farmer's market) that the squash are called "zephyr squash." Read all about it!: http://www.harvestwizard.com/2008/09/zephyr_squash.html
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