Farmers Market Opening Day!

Most Bostonians look forward to Red Sox Opening Day. Me, I eagerly await the Farmers Market Opening Day. When farmers truck in from miles away with beautiful fresh produce and flowers. And bakers come bearing breads, cookies and other confections. They sell their pride and joy to city folk like myself who may not have the time, talent or real estate to grow their own. The farmers market I frequent most often is in Central Square, in the parking lot behind Pearl Arts & Crafts. It's every Monday from 12-6. I try not to miss a week because each week something new is in season which sadly means you have to see other things go out of season but such is life.

It's always an adventure going to the farmers market. Since this was the first week, not a lot is in season yet but I was thrilled to see even a few fresh-picked items. Lots of greens are available and some are pretty unusual - chrysanthemum greens, red Russian kale (pictured above) and pea greens (which taste exactly like peas!). Try to find those at your local grocery store.

Also for sale were lots of flower and herb plants both large and small. I bought 4 plants to grow on my window sill—rosemary, thyme, oregano and sage. It's so nice to have fresh herbs in the house. They smell great, they look pretty and they're great to have on hand for cooking.

Two bakeries will be at the Farmers Market all season long. One is Hi-Rise Bakery from Cambridge (pictured above). They make the most delicious cookies. Try the almond macaroons. They melt in your mouth. Breadsong Bakery from Auberndale is the other bakery and their olive bread is amazing. I brought one home and immediately made a turkey, havarti and pea green sandwich with dijon mustard. Heaven.

I will definitely look forward to Mondays for the next 6 months, when I'll be able to go from getting fresh asparagus and greens to blueberries and raspberries to watermelon and corn to apples and butternut squash. I'll keep you posted on what I find each week so you'll know what's in season. I encourage you to patronize your local farmers market. Not only are you supporting the growers, but you're treating yourself to the freshest food available and because it's in season the prices are reasonable. Find out the location of your local farmers market.