Salad a Day: The Farmer's Market is OPEN!

Today was opening day of my local farmer's market! Finally! They only been closed since Thanksgiving but I have missed them terribly.

It's not a huge marketplace. They are situated in a parking lot with a raised transit line overhead. It's only open from 8:00AM to noon on Saturdays. But when I shop there I manage to buy all my produce for the week there and do not have to suffer with vegetables and fruit from faraway places. I hate to think about what must have been done to those strawberries to keep them nice and ripe all the way from the west coast. Now that my market is open my produce will be fresh and locally grown. And way less expensive. So today, instead of showing you a photo of my salad I'm going to show you what I bought to make my salad and feed my family for the week. Vegetable wise that is.

My general routine is to get up early on Saturday and get to the market no later than 8:30AM. When the first strawberries arrive if you get to them after that there are none to be had! And in the heat of the summer early is just more bearable. NJ in August can be more than stifling.

So...today was opening day. Several of the farmers welcomed me back to the market. Some even thanked me. I understand why but really it is me who should (and did) thank them for bringing affordable, healthy food to my table.

Usually my daughters like to go with me but the older was sleeping in as she was out late last night and the younger is sick with a cold. I do enjoy their company, but I also like going myself. Besides it was chilly and overcast this morning so I went quickly and came home quickly. I was home in a little less than one hour and I had to drive there as it's not in my town.

There were lots of farmers selling extra vegetable plants. Tomato plants mostly. Some had herbs. One farmer even had hanging strawberry plants in pots. I bought one of those last year and the birds ate all the berries before I could get to them. That same farmer will soon be bringing his Jersey Fresh strawberries for sale and I'll be happy to purchase them. Today he brought asparagus and hot house tomatoes. Which I bought.

Along with my vegetables I bought some hickory smoked cheddar cheese (delicious in a salad!), white bean spread (like hummus...very good!), eggs, two chickens, breakfast sausage, and a chuck roast. The beef is grass finished. (That means that animal has never eaten corn in a feed lot). Grass finished beef is lean, flavorful, and full of omega3s. If you have the opportunity, try it.

I bought 3 types of lettuce (red leaf, green leaf, Boston), zucchini, Kirby cucumbers, tomatoes, red potatoes, shallots, spinach, green beans, and scallions all for $19.75!

Tonight's dinner is chicken cutlets with parmesan and sesame seeds, garlic sauteed spinach, roasted asparagus, mashed sweet potatoes. All