farmers market

Local and scavenged produce is filling up the fridge, and ferments of various sizes, dates and smells are taking over the kitchen. There is still a box of cucumbers sitting on the floor, four heads of cabbage waiting to be made into sauerkraut, and about a pound of scallions waiting for who knows what. Tomorrow is going to be a big soup and sauce making day. I also hope to get those heads of cabbage into a crock.

I didn’t bring home any vegetables from the farmer’s market today. I picked up some more goat cheese from Nature’s Way, some pork sausage from Grassy Ridge and some raw honey and eggs from Honeybell Farms Leland, NC (7 miles). I used most of last week’s honey when I put up some pints of blueberry jam – no local sugar – and I needed more eggs for my lunches. Jim Janovetz from Honeybell is new to the farmer’s market this year. He sometimes has duck eggs but was sold out this morning when I came to his table.

Although I didn’t work at the Black River Organic Farm table this week, Kristin, Lynn and I hung around there like the farmer’s market groupies that we are. The table was busy as always, but Kristin managed to get to the table and pick out some corn and a tomato.

When we got home from the market, I made up a quick dinner to take with me to work (a hard-boiled egg, a container of gazpacho, some Stoneground Bakery sourdough bread, and a chicken-garden tomato-lemon cucumber-goat cheese sandwich), and fried some potatoes for mine and Kristin’s lunch.

Tonight from work I brought home an unclaimed CSA box, a couple very overripe pears, a squishy lemon, and yet another quart of cherry tomatoes from the co-op garden. Yes, tomorrow is going to be a very busy cooking day as I try to figure out how to preserve this overflowing bounty for the lean days of winter. This diet has possessed me with its adventure, and I have no intention of giving it up in three months like the rules say. Time to change the rules…