dreamshark

Anyway, the Kingfield one is. Inspired by

lydamorehouse 's CSA post, I started thinking about Farmers Markets and looked up my local one (which couldn't be more convenient - walking distance from my house). Sure enough, open with "some restrictions." I biked over there yesterday and discovered that it was practically empty of customers, and yes, the summer crops are starting to come in. They have removed all the extra clutter - food trucks and the big covered table area where people were supposed to sit to consume their food truck purchases while listening to local musicians playing for tips. This left a huge open space in the middle. It felt a little barren, but utterly un-claustrophobic. There were also fewer farmer booths than usual, but enough to do the job. I got $20 worth of shiny fresh produce, starring a jewel-like tub of small, bright yellow summer squash and a huge handful of tiny scallions. I also grabbed a bunch of coriander (which Richard loves) and another of mint (thinking of Lyda and how much fun she had with her mint).

Somehow the bunches of herbs you buy in Farmers Markets always turn out to be dismayingly large once you get them home. What WAS I going to do with all that mint? I guess I'd better go back and reread Lyda's post again.

I used some of this bounty along with a new Trader Joe's find: vegetable based pizza crusts. The broccolli/kale one is just okay: more of an edible plate than anything else. But I really like the cauiflower/corn meal one. Riced cauliflower everything is all the rage right now, but doesn't really have much flavor. It's the hint of corn meal graininess that makes this one. At the very least, it makes an inoffensive and low-carb base for all the goodness you want to pile on top if it. The winning combination turned out to be a ton of vegetables plus about half a pound of ground turkey sauteed with onion and Worcester sauce. (You didn't think I was going to go all vegetarian did you? I like vegetarian food so much better with a little meat added).

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From:

spiderplanet

I do like the idea of farmer's markets, but I don't remember having much luck at them. Cantaloupe in May is not from a farm in Minnesota, I'm sure of it.

Perhaps you will inspire me to try again. Did you feel like most of the produce was actually local?

dreamshark

"Did you feel like most of the produce was actually local?"

Yes, absolutely. This is a very small farmers market, and I don't think they even accept vendors with out of state produce. Most of the vendors seem to be either Hmong or earnestly organic farmers. And later in the summer there's that guy from Shakopee with the incredibly sweet sweet corn.

I particularly like the Hmong farmers, who tend to plant some unusual vegetables you don't see elsewhere. My absolute favorite is a tiny summer squash shaped like a flying saucer. That crop hasn't come in yet (I asked) but the yellow squash are there.

Edited Date: 2020-06-22 05:15 pm (UTC)

It is called either "Pattypan squash" or "Flying Saucer squash." I like calling it "Flying Saucer squash" better.

I will give it a shot!

carbonel

The Richfield farmers market is also open, and I've been there twice. There are hand-washing stations, masks are required, and only a limited number of people are allowed in at once.

The first time I bought rhubarb, kale, and tiny scallions. The rhubarb became a rhubarb strawberry crumble and rhubarb muffins. The kale became kale chips. All of these were new recipes for me, so I call them a win. (The scallions are still unused; I haven't figured out what to do with them. Maybe an omelet?)

The second time, I walked through but didn't end up buying anything. I was tempted by the Breadsmith offerings, but I've been baking my own bread. And who knows what next will bring?

Are scallions actually something different from green onions? The ones I bought were also tiny, but maybe just because it's early in the season?

Anyway, I like to have green onions around to use in sandwiches or mix into tuna salad. These little ones work particularly well for that. I also thrown them into green salads of all kinds. And yes, I had some in an omelet just this morning.

I think they're the same thing, though they come in different varieties. Sometimes the white section has a more noticeable bulb. These were tiny, and I assume they were young.

I don't usually put onion in tuna salad, but the scallions are milder, and might be interesting.

bibliofile

Another vote for "same thing". In British terms, also called spring onions.

I like them in egg salad, with a little celery and pickle relish. Same idea as with tuna salad? They're also good in some Asian food, e.g. pad thai, or cucumber salad.

I have some now for a recipe I want to try, but I can't recall which recipe offhand.