Mountain of Cherries

I’ve been doing this farmers market thing for awhile now, and I have to say that cherries are without a doubt some of the most difficult fruit to photograph. They’re so bright red that it washes out nearly every detail on the fruit, and drowns every other color in the frame.

Consequently I rarely feature my cherry images, and today would have been no different if I didn’t think leaving them out would be a crime. Because anyone who went to the San Francisco farmers market this weekend knows that the cherries were the star of the show.

Tasty Strawberries

And that’s no small feat this time of year. Today I tasted a strawberry so good I thought it had been injected with sugar, because it reminded me more of the sweetened agua fresca drinks from the taquerias in the Mission district than it did any natural fruit.

But still the cherries were better. Not only that, they’re better than they were last year and possibly the year before that. Honestly it was difficult to not buy some from every farm I stopped at, and I do regret not coming home with more. Don’t miss the cherries this year folks.

Brooks Cherries

Of course there were other notable spring treats as well. Rhubarb is here, and before the season ends I’m determined to try to figure out how to use it. Most of the recipes I’ve seen for it are sweet, which I’m not so excited about. If you know of any good savory recipe, please let me know.

Rhubarb

Generally all the spring vegetables are still amazing. I’m especially loving the sweet spring onions, though I’m normally not a huge onion person. This year I’m adding green onions to everything from eggs to salad. The leeks are excellent too.

Spring Vegetables

Oddly even summer produce is starting to appear. I was stunned today to see watermelon and peppers this early in the season. The vendor told me it was from their farm in Southern California, which makes a bit more sense.

First Watermelons

But as much as I love summer, I’m not ready to skip ahead just yet. I still haven’t tried any of these beautiful blueberries on my morning muesli.

Blueberries

Nor have I found anything to do with green almonds yet this season.

Green Almonds

And the last of the citrus fruits shouldn’t be ignored either. This late in the season tangelos, navel oranges and kumquats are the best. Though we had some spectacular blood orange juice this weekend as well.

Kumquats

It’s truly an amazing time of year for the farmers market. Don’t miss it.

Big Tomatoes

Today’s purchases:

• Mindblowing strawberries (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Red Russian kale (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Heirloom black cherries (K & J Orchards)
• Baby carrots (Knoll Farms)
• Salad greens (Knoll Farms)
• More carrots (Star Route Farms)
• Cilantro (Star Route Farms)
• French breakfast radishes (Heirloom Organic Gardens)
• Red onion (Balakian Farms)

Spring Onions

It’s that time of year again! With spring in the air, farmers markets are opening up all over the northern hemisphere. If you’d like to share your local market with Summer Tomato readers, please read the guidelines then let me know.

Greg Hayes is a father, husband, and unintentional health nut who writes about fitting fitness into busy lives at Live Fit Blog. Check it out to read his ramblings about fitness, healthy living, and being mauled by little boys.

Farmers Market Update: Bowling Green, Kentucky

by Greg Hayes

Over the last several years, my wife and I have slowly made the transition to living a healthy lifestyle here in southern Kentucky. Not a simple proposition in a state with one of the highest rates of obesity in the nation.

For me, the responsibilities of graduate school, career, and starting a family had crowded out thoughts of fitness. Seven year ago, after tearing an ACL, I decided it was time to get my weight under control and make fitness a priority. I learned how to lose belly fat, and made the commitment to start eating healthy. It’s taken some time, and making use of the freshest food in the region has been a cornerstone of that healthful eating plan. For me, that plan starts with the SKY Farmers Market.

SKY Farmers Market

Farmers markets in this area are usually open from mid-April through mid-October, so we’re just getting started with the local harvest. This Mother’s Day weekend the wife, kids, and I wandered out in search of some fresh spring vegetables, and a little camaraderie. We scored on both fronts.

The city of Bowling Green has two farmers markets. The SKY market, open on Tuesday and Saturday mornings, is the newer of the two. They distinguish themselves from their competitors by certifying that the vendors actually produce the wares you’ll find in the market. Membership requires an inspection by the market manager, so you can guarantee the goods available aren’t trucked in from elsewhere. It means you shouldn’t expect to find watermelons in May, but you can be certain to get the freshest possible produce.

Collard Greens

The vendors do a wonderful job of establishing a festive atmosphere, with live music, animals to interest the kids, and even a hot breakfast, cooked right there.

Little Piggies

There are no permanent structures, so the vendors pull their trucks and vans in on Tuesday and Saturday to open for business. Despite being a rather cloudy day with a threat of rain, there was still quite a crowd.

Live Music

Being early in the growing season, the selection of vegetables is currently weighted heavily toward cool season crops. Kale, green onions, asparagus, and many herbs were in high demand, along with early strawberries.

Fresh Herbs

O’Daniel Farms is one of the most well-known family farms, and their asparagus always goes fast. In addition to a great selection of vegetables, they also sell locally raised beef and chickens. Antibiotic and hormone free, of course.

Local Meats

The kids always head over to check out the selection at Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, where you can find locally made cheeses in a variety of unusual flavors. From there, its a beeline to look through the current choices of homemade dog biscuits for their two best buddies, Alvin and Jackson.

Homemade Dog Biscuits

We were there to pick up fresh asparagus but spent Saturday morning celebrating Mother’s Day with my wife, so we arrived late. The asparagus had already sold out, but we found the following items to tide us over until Tuesday morning.

Cheese

SKY Market purchases:

• Kale – O’Daniel Farms
• Arugula – O’Daniel Farms
• St. Jerome Cheese – Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese
• Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits — Zutray Dog Bakery
• Onions – O’Daniel Farms

What special treats were at your farmers market this week?

Perfect Rainbow Chard

Everything was so beautiful at the farmers market this weekend, I’m going to let my images speak for themselves.

Spring Flowers

Spring Strawberries

Red Radishes

Pea Tendrils

Lovely Spring Onions

Organic Green Garlic

Heirloom Tomato

Fresh Sage

Lovely Carrots

Baby Fava Beans

Early Cherries

Bergamont & Chocolate Mint

Purple Flowers

Today’s purchases:

• Strawberries (Lucero Organic Farms)
• Baby artichokes (Iacopi Farm)
• Red Russian kale (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Fava beans (Catalan Family Farm)
• Carrots (Catalan Family Farm)
• Cilantro (Catalan Family Farm)
• Sugar snap peas (Chue’s Farm)
• Italian parsley (Chue’s Farm)
• Morel mushrooms (Far West Fungi)
• Salad greens (Star Route Farms)

Is your farmers market open yet?

Purple Spring Onions

I’m not sure I’ve done enough yet this year to illustrate what a truly special season spring can be. In the springtime, everything is new.

Breathtaking Tulips

We get the first greens and fresh colors since the final harvest in autumn, but in the spring everything is sweeter and more delicate.

Bloomsdale Spinach

We don’t just have garlic, we have the sweeter and more subtle green garlic. Carrots, while large and husky in the winter are small and tender in the spring. These baby carrots taste nothing like the fake, flavorless “baby carrots” that come in big bags at the supermarket. These carrots are special.

Real Baby Carrots

Swiss and rainbow chard are better right now then they are at any other time of year. They’re so beautiful it’s hard to not bring extra home to put into a vase.

Rainbow Chard

Artichokes and asparagus are also peaking right now. I was so overwhelmed by the sweet, earthy smell of artichokes when I walked up to the farm stand that I forgot to actually take a photo of the beautiful vegetables (there are plenty from previous weeks if you want a peek).

Though most people don’t think about eggs as a seasonal product, they are. Chickens don’t lay as many eggs when it’s cold. Plus, pastured grass is lush and filled with plump, tasty bugs once spring arrives. We got some pullet eggs this morning from Eatwell Farm. We had asked for the extra-large eggs, but apparently they sold out before the market even opened this morning. They’re that good.

Pasture Raised Eggs

For farmers market noobies, one of the most impressive things you can introduce them to is Meyer lemons. Lemons are sour and their peels are bitter, right? Not Meyers. While they aren’t exactly sweet, their acid is not harsh. And their peels are so thin and tender you can eat them raw. Meyer lemons are divine.

Perfect Meyer Lemons

But one of the best aspects of spring is the hints of summer that sneak in from week to week. Now we have strawberries, and they’re actually getting good.

Endless Strawberries

We also have some early tomatoes and ripe, creamy avocados, two of my absolute favorite summer ingredients.

Haas Avocados

As a last throwback to winter I plan to make a soup with one of these celery roots later this week.

Celery Root

Today’s purchases:

• Rainbow chard (Iacopi Farm)
• Red Russian kale (Eatwell Farm)
• Oregano (Eatwell Farm)
• Pullet eggs (Eatwell Farm)
• Leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Spring onions (Everything Under The Sun)
• Meyer Lemons (Hamada Farms)
• Cara cara oranges (Hamada Farms)
• Tomatoes (Bruin Farms)
• Cioggia beets (Star Route Farms)

Beautiful Carrots

If you ever wondered why Forrest Gump thought peas and carrots went so well together, it must have been because he loves springtime.

Sugar Snap Peas

The reason we think most foods go together, in fact, is because they tend to be in season around the same time and traditional recipes put them together.

Cute Asparagus

But it turns out lot of things go well with carrots. Their sweetness and crunch is a wonderful contrast to many of my favorite spring treats, like spinach, asparagus and collards.

Collards, Potatoes & Asparagus

As I mentioned last week, chard is fantastic right now as well. These red and white Swiss chard bunches were so bright I actually had to turn down the saturation in Photoshop, which most photogs know is almost never done on food photos. The pink was just blinding.

Beautiful Chard

It’s also a great time to get beets, fennel, lettuces, artichokes, herbs and other vegetables.

Red Beets

Hearts of Romaine

Spring Artichokes

Not always associated with spring, but a seasonal treat nonetheless are fresh walnuts and mushrooms.

Walnuts In Shell

Trumpet Mushrooms

I’m still waiting for the spring fruits to appear. Though a few strawberries have popped up here and there, they haven’t looked good enough to buy yet. So while I’m waiting, we’re still eating up the delicious oranges, mandarins, pomelo and tangelos while we can.

Golden Nuggets

Finally, if you’re into lilacs (the best smelling flowers ever), this is the most lovely season I’ve seen in years.

Lilacs

Today’s purchases:

• Purple carrots (Star Route Farms)
• Artichoke (Iacopi Farm)
• Rapini (Capay Organics)
• Fennel (Chue’s Farm)
• Broccolini (Chue’s Farm)
• Cara cara oranges (Paredez Farms)
• Mandarins (Paredez Farms)
• Tomatoes (Bruins Farm)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)
• Walnuts (Kashiwase Farms)

Artistic Oranges

I’m still not sure exactly what happened, but somehow the settings on my camera were really messed up this weekend and I didn’t notice until I got home and looked at the images on my computer. Yes, that makes 2 unrelated camera fails in a row.

Oops.

To get around the issue I did what any dedicated geek would do, I screwed around in Photoshop until the images looked cool.

Artistic Lobok

It’s a shame too, because the produce was beautiful today at the market, and the overcast weather would have normally made for perfect photos. But I discovered a world of crazy effects and filters, and I hope you enjoy the new perspective.

Artistic Radishes

At the market this week I’m loving the spring greens and salad fixings. Radishes, while normally not my favorite food, are divine right now and I’m using them whenever possible. Same with carrots and beets.

Artistic Beets

Salad greens like lettuce, spinach and arugula are amazing, but so is the Swiss chard, which is a fluffy and crisp as I have ever seen.

Artistic Chard

Another spring signature is the asparagus, and I’ve been eating my fair share. Especially with eggs. If asparagus isn’t your favorite but you’d like to get better acquainted, try cooking it in a bit of acid, like balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. It does wonders.

Artistic Asparagus

I’m also trying to take advantage of artichoke season, indulging in both the small baby artichokes as well as the larger varieties. I love them all (and really need to publish my recipe for making a perfect steamed artichoke).

Artistic Artichokes

Other spring treats including olives, horseradish, walnuts (and walnut oil), avocados and citrus.

Artistic Olives

Oh, and of course fresh shetland fleece.

Artistic Fleece

Today’s purchases (~$20):

• Swiss chard (Capay Organics)
• Red Russian Kale (Catalán Family Farm)
• Artichoke (Iacopi Farm)
• Green shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Navel oranges (Hamada Farms)
• Meyer lemons (Hamada Farms)
• Mint (Marin Roots Farm)

Osaka Market Customer Line

Huge thanks again to Joan Bailey for sharing another Japanese farmers market with us, this time from Osaka. (The first was Tokyo). I absolutely love Joan’s narrative descriptions of the Japanese markets and all the unique offerings, it makes me hunger to do more traveling.

I also asked Joan for a brief update on the situation in Tokyo, where she lives. You can read more about the what is happening there at the bottom of her post.

Joan lives, farms and gardens in Tokyo. Follow her from seed to harvest to market at Popcorn Homestead and Everyday Gardens as well as Twitter.

Farmers Market Update: Odona Farmer’s Market in Osaka

by Joan Bailey

Our final fling in Osaka before returning to Tokyo was a trip to the Odona Farmer’s Market. I’d missed it on a visit to the city in early January, and since we’d self-evacuated there after the March 11^th earthquake it seemed as good a time as any to do a bit of exploring. (Nothing like a farmer’s market to scare off the aftershock-radiation blues, I say.)

Japan’s third largest city, Osaka lies about 320 miles south of Tokyo. A charming city with slightly rougher edges than its sleek northern cousin (think Chicago versus New York), it offers the market-goer a veritable cornucopia of shopping locations year-round.

While not the largest in the city, the Odona Market was certainly one of the busiest I’ve seen in Osaka so far. Named for the posh department store whose front sidewalk it fills, market vendors benefit from being on a direct path to Yodoyabashi Station in a major business-shopping-touristy area. Even as we arrived shortly after the market opened a number of serious shoppers were already on the scene and one stall had already sold out of their supply of dried beans.

Seafood Stall

Bundled up against a brisk March wind that whipped along the high-rise lined street, shoppers and vendors alike surveyed a scene of fantastic winter bounty. Citrus, a wide assortment of winter greens and vegetables mingled with some early spring favorites like nanohana (a signature spring green) and strawberries, heaps of onions, beautiful brown eggs, white and brown rice, homemade mochi, miso, tsukemono (pickles), cakes, jam, tea, assorted mushrooms, and even bubbling styrofoam crates of fresh (a.k.a. living) seafood were on offer.

Throwing myself into the fray of bicycling housewives, cane-toting grandmothers bent at the waist, black-suited office workers, and young mothers towing uniformed school children, I started shopping.

Narakiyorisa Farmers

Starting at the end farthest from the station, I first visited Narakiyorisa Farms from nearby Minami Awajishi. Like most vendors this afternoon, three people worked the stall. Two stood behind to answer questions and handle sales while a third stood out front welcoming customers, answering questions, and monitoring restocking needs. While their onions, broccoli, and nanohana tempted, it was the big bag of homemade mochi that had me sidling up for a closer look.

Mochi

Mochi, made from pounded rice, can be eaten savory or sweet, grilled or plunked in a bowl of hot miso. Really, the possibilities are endless, and while the texture puts some folks off (a bit gooey and chewy) it is one of my favorite things ever. The varieties are nearly endless, as are the regional variations in flavor, shape and style, and I never pass up an opportunity to purchase it at market. In hindsight, I wish I’d also grabbed some of their dried onion soup. Made with their own onions and a selection of herbs and spices, it did sound like a perfect treat for a chilly spring evening. Instead, I snapped up a bag of their pickled daikon for our journey home. I know what I’ll buy next time!

Just down the line from Narakiyorisa I stopped at a table overflowing with vegetable goodness. Sourced from a number of area farms I was greeted by tight round heads of red cabbage, brilliant white daikon, celery stalks, and bright early strawberries; however, it was Kaizukashi Sobura’s shiitake mushrooms that stole the show. Raised on the outskirts of the city, my mouth watered at the site of those fat little fellows. Before I knew it they were in my bag as the perfect souvenir – light as well as tasty – to carry home.

Strawberries

Since Osaka hosts a number of markets (at least five that I know of) spread throughout the week at varying locations, it’s perhaps no surprise that I ran into two growers I met during my January roamings. Numa-san and her bottles of homemade yuzu, tomato, and orange juices were easy to spot. Last time I had purchased Shishiyuzu (a softball sized yuzu) for marmalade, and this time I gave serious thought to the large bags of yuzu seeds for sale. Showing me the sample jar of them soaking in alcohol (the rubbing, not drinking variety), she recommended the mixture as a refreshing and cleansing spray for face or hands. (A single yuzu holds a huge number of seeds, so discovering a use for all of them would take some of the tedium out of the marmalade process.) I opted instead for her homemade daifuku mochi. After tasting a sample of her komugi (mugwort) mochi with perfectly sweetened anko (sweet adzuki bean paste) centers, I was helpless.

Yuzu Seeds

Koroku and Nakama Farms split their time between a Saturday market on one of the river walks and the Odona Market. Located in Izumi and Nara (one of Japan’s ancient capital cities and home to some of the most spectacular architecture in the country) respectively, the real attraction of their stall are their heirloom vegetables. (Heirlooms can be hard to find in Japan, even at farmer’s markets. Like the US, most people only know one kind of tomato, soy bean, or squash, despite a long and deep tradition of regional varieties.)

Two kinds of renkon (lotus root), some of the first sansai (mountain vegetables) I’d seen this year, joined a mix of greens. Sensuji, a hardier looking version of mizuna that resembles kale a bit in texture and taste, and Yamatomanna, an older and mixed version of nanohana (rape), had me striking up a conversation in my bad Japanese in short order. Both can be quickly steamed and tossed with soy sauce and sugar like shingiku or thrown in traditional winter dishes like nabe (a dream of a boiled dinner) for a bit of green crunch in a season when it is most desired.

Remembering that we were traveling that evening, I chose instead a bag of hasaku or, as the farmer called them, Japanese grapefruit. Sour with a spark of sweetness, they nearly glowed in their newspaper lined crate at the front of the stall, and they looked like a cheerful gift to bring back to somewhat stressful Tokyo.* It would travel well, and the season for citrus will begin to come to a close shortly. It seemed only prudent to make the most of the opportunity.

Sakezuke

As the sun began setting and lights flickered on at the stalls, I stopped at Yamato-Shokuhin’s stall to sample their sakezuke. Pieces of eggplant, cucumber, ginger, and daikon are set in sake lees (the dregs of the sake making process) for a period of time, which preserves and flavor them. It’s a fermentation/pickling process similar to what we do with sauerkraut or even quick refrigerator pickles. Usually served in tiny bowls amongst a myriad of other tiny bowls full of delightful and surprising flavors, sakezuke is just one part of a pickle tradition that varies from region to region, town to town. This little flavor of Osaka would come to Tokyo, but this time just for us.

What I bought:

• Daifuku Mochi from Numa-san
• Hasaku from Kiroku Farm
• Regular mochi and pickled daikon from Narakiyoisa Farm
• Shiitake mushrooms from Kaizukashi Sobura
• Ginger and cucumber sakezuke from Yamato-Shokuhin

We’ve since returned to a calmer Tokyo. The aftershocks are gradually lessening, although up north in the Tohoku region where the damage is worst, they continue. Our concerns about radiation and earthquakes, while valid, seem tiny in comparison to what is happening there. Supplies to the evacuation shelters continue to be a challenge, although organizations like Second Harvest work to meet it and care for survivors. And while there are also valid worries about radiation contaminated vegetables from Ibaraki, Fukushima, and Chiba prefectures, it perhaps pays more to worry about the farmers themselves. The majority of them are small growers who willingly destroyed valuable spring crops to protect themselves and those they feed. Now, more than ever, it pays – for the farmer as well as the consumer – to buy vegetables from local growers at small stands or at farmer’s markets.

Miner's Lettuce

Sometimes I’m less excited to go to the farmers market in the rain, but after spending last week in Austin consuming nothing but meat and alcohol I was ecstatic to get back to the market today, even if it meant getting a little wet.

Rainbow Umbrella

Luckily my efforts did not go unrewarded. To my astonishment I found stunningly beautiful, deep red heirloom tomatoes today. Tomatoes! I was floored and can’t wait to find out if they taste as good as they look.

First Heirloom Tomatoes

Also remarkable was the appearance of strawberries. Granted they weren’t as pretty as I know they will be next month, but it’s always wonderful to see a splash of color on an otherwise gray and gloomy day.

First Strawberries

I had a blast at the farmers market this weekend, stocking up on asparagus, kale, collards, spring onions, and adorable little carrots.

Thumbalina Carrots

Green Garlic Bunches

I also found some more rare spring delicacies, like miner’s lettuce and fiddlehead ferns.

Fiddlehead Ferns

And don’t forget to get the best of this amazing citrus season while you have the chance.

Whole Blood Oranges

Happy spring everyone!

Today’s purchases ($38):

• Lacinato kale (Capay Organics)
• Collard greens (Capay Organics)
• Fennel bulbs (Capay Organics)
• Broccolini (Allstar Organics)
• Thumbalina carrots (Allstar Organics)
• Asparagus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Heirloom tomatoes (Bruins Farms)
• Meyer lemon (Hamada Farms)
• Navel oranges (Hamada Farms)
• Tangelo (Hamada Farms)
• Green shallots (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Italian parsley (Chue’s Farm)
• Cilantro (Chue’s Farm)
• Scallions (Chue’s Farm)
• Avocados (Brokaw Nursery)

Indian Trails Greenhouse Room View

Joan Lambert Bailey was in Tokyo while preparing this farmers market update from her recent trip to her Madison. I’m happy to report that though Joan and her family were startled by the earthquake, they are all okay. To contribute to the relief effort in Japan, please visit The Red Cross.

Joan lives, farms and gardens in Tokyo when she’s not visiting her native Midwest. Follow her from seed to harvest to market at Popcorn Homestead and Everyday Gardens as well as Twitter!

Farmers Market Update: Madison

by Joan Lambert Bailey

Visiting Wisconsin in February is to enter the heart of winter. Brilliant white landscapes shimmer and snap in the cold wind, and anything green seems months away.

Home from Tokyo for a month-long visit, I ventured down to an old haunt – the Dane County Farmer’s Market in Madison – to find a winter food culture veritably humming with activity and tasty treats. A distilled version of the much larger summer market that rings the Capitol Square twice around, the Late Winter Market (and presumably the Early Winter Market, too) offers up an excellent seasonal selection from the Wisconsin table: maple syrup, a kaledeoscope of cheeses, hearty breads and organic tortillas, mushrooms, and an assortment of meats along with winter greens and root crops.

Dane County Farmer's Market Breakfast Table

Held at the Madison Senior Center, this day’s Late Winter Market felt more like a church bazaar or community dinner. Rosy-cheeked patrons shook off parkas and hats while deciding whether to start perusing the vendors or grab a table for enjoying the Winter Market Breakfast.

Bleu Mont Dairy Cheese

True to my Wisconsin roots, I went straight to Bleu Mont Dairy and their bountiful cheese display. A good sharp cheddar is hard to find, but their five-year-old cave-aged bandaged cheddar I tasted there proved a little piece of heaven. The creamy texture and nutty flavor were more than I could have hoped for. Willi Lehner, chief cheese-maker at Bleu Mont, guided me through a few more samples as we talked about his creamery (he’s added a cheese cave and is incorporating alternative energy into the operation), and his own evolution as a cheese-maker (some time spent apprenticing in Switzerland to learn a few old tricks of the trade and his increasing use of organic milk as it became more readily available) since first coming to the market twenty-five years ago.

After tucking a block each of Swiss Reserve and Cave-Aged Banadaged Cheddar into my bag to savor with friends in Tokyo, I ventured around the corner for a closer look at the whimsical cutouts at Gypsy Travelin’ Market. Started at the market twelve years ago with her own recipes, Jae Almond appears to have found a niche offering items made with whole grains, wheat alternatives, non-refined sugar, and vegan recipes. Even as she mentioned business at the market was slow that day due to the protests and a snowy forecast, I couldn’t help but notice a steady stream of her treats fleeing the table. I nabbed the last winged cow cutout for my afternoon coffee, and moved on to see what savory and gluten-free options Silly Yak Bakery and Bread Barn might have.

Silly Yak Great Grains Breads

Gyspy Travelin' Market Winged Cow

Made fresh daily from non-certified organic wheat berries, the Bread Barn loaves tempted with swirls of cinamon or flecks of jalepeno’s and cheese. The Silly Yak products stored in a cooler to the side (and made in an entirely separate yet neighboring facility) were just as tempting albeit rather picked over by the time I arrived. I opted for a couple rice flour rolls for their heft and golden crusts. (They were utterly fantastic the next day toasted with a bit of unnecessary but oh-so-delicious fresh butter and jam.)

Just as the first flakes of that day’s snowstorm began to fall, I found myself admiring Indian Trails Greenhouse display of lush-leaved edibles and blooming ornamentals. An oasis within an oasis, the table brimmed with the dark green leaves of parsley, the thick ruby-red stems of Swiss Chard, along with sweet-scented jasmine and vibrant primroses, to name but a few.

Such breath-taking greenery put me in a weakened state, when I arrived at Snug Haven Farm’s sign for ‘frost-sweetened’ spinach just down the line. Founded in 1897 as a dairy, the farm uses organic methods to raise hoophouse spinach in the winter months and flowers and tomatoes in the summer. Calvin Hageman, patriarch of the farm and clearly a well-known figure at the market (paper invitations to his birthday party the next day went out with nearly every bag of spinach) offered me a leaf to taste. Talk about truth in advertising: the velvet leaf tasted so deeply sweet and green – so spinach – that I bought a half-pound on the spot for that evening’s salad.

Carl of Snug Haven

Snug Haven Spinach

At Don’s Produce the greenery again caught my eye – bags of brightly colored mixed greeens looked like the perfect companion to Snug Haven’s spinach – but their dried sweet potatos ultimately stole the show. Straight-up sweet potato chips – no salt or seasoning of any kind – struck me as a perfect addition for soup or to cook with rice. Another customer snapped up a bag saying her dog just loved them, and I was sold. (Our canine friends, though, enjoyed bison liver crackers from Paws Four, a division of Daval’s Bison Meats.)

No trip to a Wisconsin market would be complete without a bit of maple syrup, and so I found myself at Cherokee Bison Farms’ table. Alongside the syrup and their extensive offerings of bison jerky, roasts, ground meat, sausage, bratwurst, etc., they also sold organic sunflower oil. While it might seem odd at first glance – maple syrup, bison meat, and sunflower oil – Leroy and Cindy Fricke bring it all together. The bison pasture in the sunflower fields after harvest and feast in part on the oil processing leftovers – meal and oil settlings – throughout the year to creates a richly flavored meat their customers love.

Cherokee Farms Sunflower Oil

Cherokee Farms Maple Syrup

As the market wound down for the day, I took one last look around the room. Throughout the morning, my eye kept returning to Garden to Be’s table tucked in a corner. Verdant trays of the certified-organic microgreens they grow and sell year-round to area restaurants might have been temptation enough, but the real draw for me were the Black Spanish radishes. Black and crusty and all roughly the size of a tennis ball, the piqued my curiousity. (I’m a fan of root crops almost as much as leafy greens.)

Garden to Be Black Spanish Radishes

While chatting with co-owner, Scott Williams, after giving in to my inner vegetable geek I learned about their CSA for canners. Members receive a Processor’s Share four times a growing season with all the ingredients one might desire for homemade sauerkraut and kimchi, the perfect pickle, killer tomato sauce, pesto, rhubarb butter, or a salsa hot enough to thaw winter’s frosty edges. I would have signed up on the spot if I lived here.

What I bought:

• Bleu Mont Dairy’s Reserve Swiss Cheese and Cave Aged Bandaged Cheddar
• Gypsy Travelin’ Market Winged Cow Cutout Cookie
• Silly Yak’s Rice Flour Rolls
• Snug Haven Farm Spinach – a half pound bag (that barely made it to the car)
• Don’s Produce Sweet Potato Chips and Salad Greens
• Daval’s Bison Meats Paws Four Dog Treats
• Cherokee Bison Farm’s Maple Syrup – Four half-pints
• Garden to Be’s Black Spanish Radishes

Radishes from Harvestland Farm

Midwest represent! I’m thrilled to have reader Chandra Flack share with us what farmers markets are like in the winter in Indiana. Who says you can’t eat well if you don’t live in CA or FL? We’re calling bollocks.

By day Chandra is a first year medical student at IU School of Medicine. By night she’s a techie, foodie, and geekgirl extraordinaire. She hopes to one day integrate her knowledge of medicine, social media, and healthy eating to focus on preventative care for her patients. Follow Chandra @chandraflack on Twitter.

Farmers Market Update: Indianapolis

by Chandra Flack

It was a brisk 32 degrees this morning as I bundled up in my winter coat to head over to the Indy Winter Farmers Market, an urban market located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis, IN.

Many of the people who live, work, and shop downtown are young 20 and 30‐something college students and beginning professionals, so the market tends to have a youthful feel to it. However, being a diverse urban environment the personality of the market’s patrons is refreshing in its variety, which is characteristic of our city.

Swiss Chard (look, color!) from Good Life Farms

Salad greens

Snow is on the ground and greenery is hard to come by this time of year, unless you’re a fan of evergreens. The weather this morning is a perfect indicator of why I think the best way to enjoy a winter farmers market is to first adjust your expectations. The food simply isn’t going to be as flashy when we have to rely on tiny greenhouses and cellar stores of food harvested last fall. Don’t walk in expecting the vibrant reds and oranges and purples that you would see in the summer. Our produce comes dressed instead in subtle greens, whites, and tans.

Also, don’t necessarily expect to leave with an entire week’s worth of groceries. It will, more than likely, be necessary to supplement at the local Whole Foods or Kroger to get acceptable variety in your 5‐a‐day of fruits and veggies.

Schacht Farm

To fully enjoy the experience, its instead best to focus on what the winter market does provide — year long access to high quality meat, eggs, and milk products, as well as a more relaxed chance to form relationships with those vendors that will be selling you your long awaited strawberries, peaches, and tomatoes in the summertime.

Oh, and our market is inside so you get to enjoy climate control and as a bonus, most vendors accept credit cards.

Shiitake Mushrooms and Salad Lettuce from Homestead Growers

Raw Milk Cheese from Sunset Acres (Rockville, IN)

Even though it is late February and our fresh food supplies are dwindling, we do have a healthy stock of salad supplies. Thanks to greenhouses, hothouses, and hydroponics we can still enjoy arugula, radishes, basil, spinach, and many other varieties of fresh greens.

Swiss Chard (look, color!) from Good Life Farms

Broccoli Rabe from Harvestland Farm

One of the more dangerous things about our farmers’ market are the artisan vendors that take over while many of our produce vendors enter hibernation for the winter. Placed conveniently near the entrance you can enjoy samples of artisan marshmallows roasted over an “open fire.” They come in all sorts of tempting flavors like roasted pineapple, chai spice, and of course, elephant ear.

Marshmallows from 240Sweet

Marshmallows from 240Sweet

If sweets aren’t your thing there are plenty of other options. There are an unbelievable amount of baked goods, my personal favorite being freshly baked bread. After trying out a crusty baguette with baked‐inn parmesan and garlic or the flavorful, nutty sunflower bread, you’ll never be able to go back to Wonder bread.

Sunflower Bread from Brotgarden

Every week I am reminded that I need to purchase the supplies to make looseleaf tea so I can try one of the many varieties that Peace Leaf Tea has available. The tea flavor is fresh and vibrant, leaving me with absolutely no desire to overly sweeten with sugar and honey. It is delicious all on its own.

Apples at the Indy Winter Farmers Market

Looseleaf Tea from Peace Leaf Tea

Indiana farmers’ markets have two main signature items. In the summertime it is corn — lots and lots of corn. In the winter, its apples. Because many orchards sell their apples on‐site during the main fall harvesting months, you’ll actually have an easier time finding apples at the farmers market later on in the winter. While slightly past their prime, they still have a crispness that is unmatched by supermarket varieties.

Ultimately, the farmers’ market (winter or summer) is a chance for me to spend time with my two most favorite things in life: people and food. Although some weeks are more plentiful than others, I enjoy knowing that I am contributing to my local economy and feeding my body food that is both delicious and healthy. I am a relative newbie when it comes to local food consumption, but I was hooked the moment I saw Darya’s first SF Farmers’ Market Update. I couldn’t wait to visit and share what we had here in the Midwest. We may not have quite as much variety as they get in sunny California, but I am still quite satisfied with our community’s effort to focus on locally produced, high quality food.

My purchases this week:

• Apples from Grabow Orchard
• Salad Lettuce from Homestead Growers
• Radishes from Harvestland Farm
• Eggs from Schacht Farm