From the Farmers' Market

My visit to the market this past weekend wasn't quite as fun as the week prior, mainly because it was super chilly and raining. The weather here has been seriously erratic this spring!

Anyway, I ended up with some great, seasonal finds...

lettuce x3, green onions, asparagus, tulips, strawberries, turnips, spinach

While I'm not typically the hugest salad fan, as they can feel a bit too much like 'diet food', I can't get enough of them during the spring when the lettuce is so fresh and crisp. We've been rinsing the leaves, throwing them all in the salad spinner, chopping them up, and then storing them in the spinner for the week to ensure quick and easy meals. I've also been keeping one or two varieties of tempeh on hand to sautee up quickly and add in, which has made my salads much more satiating!

I'm also loving these tulips, which I just trimmed a bit from what's shown in this picture and kept in the container. I've felt a special kinship with the farmer I bought these from since last year, when I was short on cash and he sold a lovely bouquet of flowers to me at a big discount, just because he knew I loved them. Clearly he was a smart business man, since I've gone back countless times, both because of his beautiful flowers and the kindness he showed me. I also like him because he sells flowers in random containers. It's often empty tennis ball cans (which leads me to wonder where all the balls go), but this past weekend it was Voss sparkling water bottles. I just like that he uses these random things and actually lets customers take the flowers home in water.

In terms of what we're making this week with our finds, I've covered the lettuce and, once again, the strawberries have dutifully served as delicious snacks and are long gone. We made lunches for the week that included whole wheat pasta and marinara sauce with the turnips, spinach, and asparagus (such a treat!), along with the last bits of basil and kale from last week. I've also been adding green onions and some of last week's tomatoes to our salads for some extra flavor.

Sadly I don't think I'll be able to make it to the market this weekend, since I'm running my very first 5k race bright and early Saturday morning. So, unless it's rained out, I won't have an update for this weekend, but I may sneak over to the Wednesday market, which starts up this week, to grab a few goodies either this week or next. Whenever I make it there next, I'll let you know!