Seasonal Eating

On the first day of spring there was snow on the ground and ice on my windshield.   It has started to warm up since then so I am thinking, longingly, about warm sunny days strolling the Farmers’ Market.  Tomatoes, basil, peaches, corn on the cob.  Wait, no, wrong season.  That will be here soon enough – Thursday, June 6 is opening day – but right now we’re still finishing up winter.

If you’re not familiar with the concept, seasonal eating just means that the best time to eat something is when it is actually in season.  We aren’t so in touch with this in the 21^st century because our produce flies in to us from all over the world and something’s always “in season” somewhere.  Even if that means our asparagus has taken a few flights and many days to get from the field to our plate.    Believe me, our great great grandparents would love the variety at the supermarket.  But there’s still nothing as delicious as produce that’s eaten when it’s supposed to be.

 I was recently at the Flemington Winter Market and one of the farmers had three items for sale.  Only three! - Carrots, kale, and tiny turnips because that was all that was growing in his fields in February.   But he looked at me and said “these carrots will change your life.”   And they sort of did.  Crunchy, juicy, and sweet they were reminiscent of a supermarket carrot but turned up to eleven.   The turnips were a revelation as well.  We ate most of them raw on the car ride home.  If you want to catch the Winter Market, there will be one more this year on April 21.  For more information  https://www.localharvest.org/hunterdon-land-trust-farmers-market-M23072

Or if you would like to stay home and mix up something that will brighten up your life here are two citrus recipes.  Although it comes to us from California and Florida, citrus is at its peak right now.

First, a blood orange margarita from SmittenKitchen (one of the best cooking blogs around)

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/02/blood-orange-margaritas/

And if that’s not enough, a recipe for lemon curd which is delicious on ice cream, in tarts, on pancakes, scones, pound cake, or just a spoon.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-curd-recipe/index.html

Enjoy.  Spring really will arrive and then summer.   Tomatoes, blueberries, sweet corn ……

Barbara Meigs Hughes

Madison Farmers’ Market Coordinator

Email: Farmersmarket@rosenet.org

The Madison Farmers’ Market is sponsored by the Downtown Development Commission