Mint, Squash and Oriental Eggplant on Hand at Farmers Market

The Pikesville Farmers Market has you covered if you're ready for some culinary pick-me-ups.

Today at market, located in the parking lot of , Farm Girls Produce has fresh-clipped, flowering mint—great for making tea.

"Just boil water, put in a few leaves and you have your tea," said Anna Detwiler, who works the Farm Girls stand.

Her brother, John, suggests that it tastes best when you add ice.

Butternut squash is also at the stand for the first time today.

Here's how Anna Detwiler cooks butternut squash:

• Slice squash in half
• place cut-side-up on a cookie sheet
• Coat butter on top
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Farm Girls produce is grown on the Detwiler family farm near Lancaster, PA.

Shopper Ida Kopp of Pikesville chose some beets and tomatoes from the stand.

"This is a very good idea, and [there are] very good people doing it for us," Kopp said of the market.

John Hilker of Rabbit Hill Farms drives to Pikesville each week from Spring Grove, PA.

The Oriental eggplant, a smaller, thinner version of eggplant, was an eye-catcher, and new this week.

"The skin is very tender, and tasty," he said. But, unlike regular eggplant, "you have to use them quickly," he said.

Barbara Watts of Pikesville shopped for donut peaches at McCleaf's Orchard stand.

"I bought them last week and they're really sweet," she said. Donut peaches are smaller and are shaped differently than regular peaches, and today McCleaf's offers three kinds: regular, yellow and white.

Watts recommends eating them as-is. "Just wash and eat," she said.

Soon, the market will add a meats vendor from Reisterstown to its weekly lineup, said Jessica Normington, executive director for the .

The chamber-sponsored market, coordinated by Nick Attias, is held each Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the parking lot at , 1630 Reisterstown Road, in Pikesville.