We are lucky to live in a state that has so many wonderful farmers' markets to choose from AND we are lucky that those markets provide us with many wonderful products to choose from...fresh produce, fresh flowers, cheese, meat, eggs, crafts, wine, beer, ice cream....the list goes on and on. To find the market closest to you or to find a new market you've never visited before check out this list and enjoy!
I realize that fox gloves (the orange-pink flowers in with the purple-green beet greens) are not edible. The random white flowers from my backyard in with the tatsoi probably aren't either. That's because these are bouquets, not salads. And I chose what looked the prettiest to me. It's the only time when you'll see beet greens paired with fox gloves.
I've never been much of one for "tablescaping" - ie making my dining table look better than my normal effort of clearing off 80% of the books and papers on it, then swiping at whatever crumbs I find underneath. However, I have trouble not bringing at least some of summer inside.
I also have trouble restraining myself at the farmers' market. Big bunches of kale, giant heads of lettuce, those beet greens - they take up a lot of room in the fridge. More room than, frankly, I have. Or, if I do cram things into the back corners, they lay there forgotten until they've gone too far past their prime to save.
Now add in to this dilemma that we have farmers' market booths filled with the most gorgeous flowers. . .and I'll buy bouquets, but to really get my fill, I'd end up spending all my grocery money on the flowers not the food.
Farmers' market bouquets solve all these problems. I can buy a bouquet made from stems of my favorite flowers, then stretch it into bright, cheeful decoration to fill the house. The greens stay relatively fresh in the water. I won't forget about them sitting there in the middle of the table.
A morning at the farmers' market fills the house with fresh food and new decorations. The whole house is cheerful. And if the greens begin to wilt, just rinse them, put them in ice cold water to revive, then use them (since that was the whole point, wasn't it?). And reassemble the flower stems back into their own bouquet. Simple.
Read more of Helen's writing at Discovering Flavor.
