The Full Farmers’ Market Returns!
4 June 2011 § 2 Comments
Today was the official Summer opening of the Montclair Farmers’ Market. The NJ Transit Walnut St. parking lot was transformed from gray tarmac into a glorious Technicolor feast for the eyes with vibrant plants, cut flowers and fresh produce to herald the first hint of summer.
The overall mood was one of back-to-school buzz. Old friends were welcomed and new ones made. All my old favorites were there – Sally from the Montclair Bread Company; Vacchiano Farms (who of course, deserve a medal for braving out over the long, cold winter) and Ginger from Tree-Licious Orchards.
Sally, baker and artist, from the Montclair Bread Company
Ginger from Tree-Licious Orchards
There were a few newbies there such as Lulada (delicioso-looking empanadas that I will try next time round) and The Everlasting Garden who brought with them a blaze of fresh-cut flowers grown in NJ – including some glorious peonies.
Jean-Claude Tassot from Tassot Apiaries, purveyor of all things honey
As usual, The Ladies™ snacked their way around: honey sticks from Tassot Apiaries, pickles on sticks from Pickle-Licious and Kielbasy on sticks from Stefan & Sons. To add some variety, Matazzaro Farms dispensed with the notion of serving their sugar snap peas on sticks. Stick or no stick, they were eaten just as heartily.
Another debutante was a woman promoting laying chickens. It was great to get some decent information on how to raise these wonderful little egg machines in the suburbs. The chickens hypnotized The Ladies™ for a good while so I could get some shopping done and dream up a way to convince King Marv that having hens would be a good idea.
Next up was Shore Catch from whom I bought scallops, clams and shark. To accompany our fish fest I bought some eggplant, and garlic scapes from Farmer John (the organic grower). Obviously, there’s not very much local fruit around yet – it is still a bit early, but I did find some beautiful little strawberries at Matazzaro Farms. Now what to do with those garlic scapes – any suggestions please? Pesto maybe – but almond or walnut?
The recipes to accompany this haul will follow later this week — the shark and the scallops are on the grill as I write.
In the meantime, I’ll be working on my campaign to convince King Marv about keeping hens…
The Montclair Farmers Market is at the NJ Transit Walnut St. parking lot every Saturday from 8am to 2pm.
[...] fresh fruit and vegetables with next to no meat or cheese vendors. It was good to see some familiar Montclair Farmers’ Market faces though—Sally from the Montclair Bread Company, John Krueger from Starbrite Organics and of [...]
[...] fresh fruit and vegetables with next to no meat or cheese vendors. It was good to see some familiar Montclair Farmers’ Market faces though—Sally from the Montclair Bread Company, John Krueger from Starbrite Organics and of [...]