It’s here! Spring. No, really. Even though it seems we are getting a slow start, it’s time to start dreaming about fresh, local produce and big bowls of salads. I wanted to share the scoop from local market vendors at the West Reading Farmers market about what to look forward to this spring.
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- Grab morels from Primordia Mushroom Farm. Arrive early for their variety packs. They sell out quickly. Also, the pioppino mushrooms are so whimsical they look like something an illustrator of a magical fairy garden book would have drawn up. Bonus? They’re tasty!
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- Freeland Market’s sausage selection is ready to change with the season. Hold your breath (it won’t be long) for ramp sausage, wintercress and the possibility of wild mustard or mushroom sausage.
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- B & H Organic Produce has vegetable seedlings to get your own garden started. Tuck kale and herbs into your flower beds or porch planters. Try a new vegetable, the ugly root vegetable, celeriac. I plan to use it with potatoes from Bleiler's Produce Patch for a root vegetable gratin.
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- Eckerton Hill Farms has big bags stuffed with baby greens. Fresh salad season is here! This is exciting. I also picked up a bag of chickweed. Turns out you may have this growing in your yard. I do not. I bought a bag. Grace told me chickweed acts as an anti-inflammatory and can be eaten raw, cooked but only slightly wilted. It has a distinct grassy flavor. Use it in smoothies, salads or as a soup topper. I’m experimenting with making a chickweed tincture.
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- There is a new vendor at market, The Cottage Kitchen. Wendy Gollwitzer is the newest fermentor on the scene. She’ll be at a few local markets, check her Facebook page for the scoop.
RECIPE & PHOTO BY PHOEBE CANAKIS, PHOEBESPUREFOOD.COM
