Farmer's Market

I decided I want to do periodic posts on the Farmer's Market as a way to show what's currently in season.  I knew when I started shopping at the Farmer's Market that eating local and/or organic is healthy, but buying things in season never really occurred to me.  The grocery store pretty much always has everything right?  I just never thought if there are strawberries available in December, what journey did they take to get to me?  Or, what stuff was put on them to make them grow in the middle of winter?

So, shopping at the market as often as possible has helped me to get a better idea of what's available when.  One of the best parts about the market is the smell.  On Sunday it smelled like fresh basil and fruit.  Yum.  The other best part about buying what's in season is learning to cook new stuff.  The people working the market are usually pretty helpful about giving ideas on how to cook or use their foods; don't be afraid to ask.

Here is my haul from Sunday:

...and another (better) angle...

Here's what I got for just under $40...

2 ears of corn

3-4 organic beets

7 spicy peppers

30 brown eggs

2 leeks

1 bunch of long beans

2 Comice pears

2 Asian pears

8 pluots

2 nectarines

6 peaches

5 heirloom tomatoes

1 bunch of bok choy

1lb bag of brussels sprouts

4 green bell peppers

And now, some food notes for you....

• No lettuce this time because they just re-planted, so it won't be available for 3-5 weeks. 
• Stone fruit is still in season which makes me happy.
• I ♥ pluot's, if you have not had one, you should try.  A pluot is a plum and an apricot. 
• I am excited to use the long beans, leeks and bok choy tonight.  I will probably throw in some of those hot peppers and mix up some type of noodle stir-fry with salmon.  We've got an eggplant hanging out that came from Mrs. Bestie's Dad's garden, so I want to use that too.  I originally thought I'd throw the corn in, but now I'm thinking I'll use that for something else.
• Don't hate on brussel sprouts!  I used to hate them too, until PG cooked them for us and now we can't get enough!  I will be asking his permission to share his recipe.
• We've been using a lot of the green bells on our sandwiches, which is super tasty.
• The price of the eggs went up from $6 to $7 - I asked and the girls told me it was because the price of feed went up too.  Still a great deal.
• I'll roast those beets and we'll eat them with balsamic and goat cheese.  Here is an easy recipe.
• And the heirlooms...these are the best kind of tomatoes in the world.  I used them this weekend to make a margherita pizza....I will post the photo of it here tonight (sorry!  I just accidentally deleted it, darn it!).

Enjoy your local Farmer's Market!