copley farmer’s market fare

This is from outside the Aquarium, I went yesterday. It was fabulous and fun.

In Boston, the Copley Farmer’s Market takes over the little “piazza” in front of the famous Trinity Church every Tuesday and Friday. Throughout the summer months, I hope to schedule a small visit at least once a week to restock on produce. My love for all things having to do with Farmer’s Markets roots back to the Martha’s Vineyard Farmer’s Market in West Tisbury. Everyone in my family would pick out their favorite things to bring back to our small summer home on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

My father always managed to get his daily dose of potatoes and I always believed as a child that this was because he was British, and of course, all English people need their potatoes in one form or another. My mother picked out a big bunch of beets to make her beet, orange and avocado salad (sometimes with goat cheese or walnuts and always topped off with a little balsamic vinaigrette). My younger sister of two years, Lily, ran to the Vietnamese Summer Roll stand where two adorable ladies handed out cold rolls of rice paper stuffed with carrots, daikon, cilantro, rice vermicelli noodles, and some protein I cannot remember. It may have been minced pork or shrimp. I can’t recall having my own roll, but I definitely taste tested them over the years. The sauce is a significant factor in the greatness of all Asian rolls, in my opinion. This one resembled both a hoisin and peanut sauce combined…so delicious. The New York Times recipe is extremely close and here is a quick and easy vegetarian video recipe.

Now that I am completely off topic, lets go back to the Boston Copley Farmer’s Market. This is tiny in comparison to the bustling market I went to last week, the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan. The Greenmarket has chef tours and even a Greenmarket Dirt E-Newsletter you can see from the link. After I finish college (Dec 2008), I plan on moving back to New York City and that is one thing I am extremely excited for. The Copley Farmer’s Market has a list of vendors here, that I read up on before hitting the stands. It is interesting to hear why some farms choose to go the organic route and others don’t feel it is necessary to be certified, it seems to be a pricey process. The kale looked beautiful and I chose the curly leaf type from Siena Farms.

Atlas Farm, one of the certified farms, had a few pattypan squash left and I grabbed two with the addition of a zucchini and yellow squash. Cilantro was a last minute decision, and I was ready to go.

Ideally, some beautiful heirloom tomatoes would have been great but there weren’t any beautiful looking tomatoes at the market yet. I can’t wait! Here is the epicurious link I am going to be using for the next few months before going to the market. I am not fully knowledgeable yet in seasonal produce, but hope to be soon. Tonight will be full of cooking and I will be sure to update tomorrow.

Now I am heading off to Barnes and Noble to check out some Vegan cookbooks. Thanks for the lovely ideas everyone.

ciao for the day.

*I have to apologize for my not so great photos, I have been using an extremely old Canon from my father. Soon I will be using a slightly newer Casio but nothing great, just saving up for a new one similar to this.