At the Warner Farmer's Market

On Saturday I visited the Warner farmer's market. Although my CSA share for the week was completely adequate, I figured I could always use more veggies, whether for myself or to give to friends or family. This is what I discovered.

At the Greenhill Collective Farm stand (see Greenhill Collective Farm) I found lots of treats, including homemade pizza flatbreads

And lettuces, salad mix and herbs. I purchase a flatbread, two heads of lettuce and a bundle of oregano for $9. Beautiful.

They also had tomato plants for sale. 

Next door I found homemade pet treats! Because our fury friends deserve good, wholesome treats too. 

Then I stumbled on the Kearsarge Gore Farm stand (see KGF). Lots of goodies here, as you can see listed on their board: 

And here, the veggies all lined up. Looking good. I also found some guy to hold my baby while I shopped (aka Bob Bower). Here I bought swiss chard, kale, two bundles of garlic scapes for $9. Sweet deal. 

Elsewhere around the market there were homemade organic soaps, honey, and herbs. There was also live music and a warming community atmosphere. I don't know about you, but this experience is much preferred to that you get at the supermarket. Just sayin'.

Now, for another meal inspired by local ingredients. This time I made a pasta dish because I had an idea for an herb pesto type deal as a pasta sauce, since I had just picked up parsley and oregano at the farmers market, and I have basil plants on my deck. I collected the ingredients to be used:

I basically just shoved eyeball amounts of parsley, oregano, basil, garlic and lemon into a blender and covered with olive oil. I let that all come together and added parmesan cheese. So the sauce was done. Super easy. Sauces or pestos like this are an excellent way to use lots of herbs, which is great because it is the season for herbs!

Next I sauteed some veggies I had gotten from the grocery store. Onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. It's too early to find onions and tomatoes at the farmer's market really. I will work on either choosing not to use what is not in season or finding as local as possible. The tomatoes, for instance, came from a greenhouse in Maine and were organic. I know Greenhill Collective Farm has mushrooms, so I definitely need to check that out. 

Anyway, to that mixture I added diced garlic scapes. Garlic scapes grow out of the top of the garlic plant and are tasty, crunchy and, obviously, garlicy. 

Next I tossed in some delicious swiss chard from the farmer's market. Super healthy and delicious.

I then added the whole wheat angel hair pasta that I had already cooked as well as some quinoa for protein. Finally I stirred in my sauce. It is always a good idea to stir warm pasta in with the sauce as soon as possible because the pasta will absorb the saucy goodness.

The final product:

Another great thing to do with herbs is make homemade baked herb french fries. So easy! Just slice a potato, mix it with olive oil and your herbs. Here I used parsley and oregano, as well as some black pepper, cayenne pepper and garlic powder.

Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until they are crisped to your liking!

This afternoon I get my second CSA share. Looking forward to it!