Corvallis Farmer's Market Escapade

Saturday has finally arrived. And once again, I was able to indulge in a few favorite pastimes. After watching the new episode of Aarti Party (my favorite tv cook since her days on The Next Food Network Star), I made my way downtown to the farmer's market. The abundant produce is a feast for the eyes. The pie cherries were glowing little gems while the blackberries enticed with their gleaming, dark flesh. The smells were divine, as well.  I could smell sun-kissed strawberries before I could see them through the throngs of people trying to get their paws on a few berries.

Last week I was surprised by the mounds of zucchini and cherries. Today, I was pleasantly taken aback by the abundance of blueberries. Also making an appearance are bushels of green beans. I do not know how many varieties of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes I saw. Some were green and striped, others were varying shades of red, and many pints of tiny, golden orbs.

Chili peppers have arrived at the market! One of my favorite vendors, Springhill Organic Farms (our go-to kale vendor), had a variety of pepper I have never seen before called padron peppers. Here is a little article about padron peppers and a few nice pictures. The sign at the stand described them as a Spanish tapas pepper. They were an interesting shade of green, about two inches long, and had an interesting shape. Hopefully I will get to try them. I did leave the stand with a couple of serranos. Yum!

Every week I have been stopping and looking at the produce at the Corvallis Saturday Market Community Table, where small producers can sell their produce on consignment. Today, I purchased a small bunch of rainbow chard for $1. I have never tried chard but every year I return to the farmer's market, my eye is drawn to the chard. The green, leafy portion of chard looks similar to a number of leafy greens, like collard or mustard greens but the stalks of chard can come in a multitude of colors. My chard has yellow, red, and cream colored stalks. My plan is to create dolmas - grape leaves stuffed with rice, nuts, and spices - instead of using grape leaves I will use chard.

I bought one more giant $0.50 zucchini from Wonderful Garden. My plan this week is to make a 1/2 batch of zucchini muffins, fajitas with zucchini, and zucchini pancakes or fritters.