Farmers Market Update: Spring Treasures
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.
We get the first greens and fresh colors since the final harvest in autumn, but in the spring everything is sweeter and more delicate.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We also have some early tomatoes and ripe, creamy avocados, two of my absolute favorite summer ingredients.
As a last throwback to winter I plan to make a soup with one of these celery roots later this week.
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)