Photo by The Rustic Bunch
It’s here! Spring. No, really. Even though it seems we are getting a slow start, it’s time to start dreaming about fresh, local produce and big bowls of salads. I wanted to share what you can look forward to this spring at the West Reading Farmers’ Market.
• Grab morels from Primordia Mushroom Farm. Arrive early for their variety packs. They sell out quickly. Also, the pioppino mushrooms are so whimsical they look like something an illustrator of a magical fairy garden book would have drawn up and are just as tasty.
• Freeland Market’s sausage selection is ready to change with the season. Hold your breath (it won’t be long) for ramp sausage, wintercress and the possibility of wild mustard or mushroom sausage.
• B & H Organic Produce has vegetable seedlings to get your own garden started. Tuck kale and herbs into your flower beds or porch planters. Try a new vegetable, the ugly root vegetable, celeriac. I used it, with potatoes from Bleiler’s Produce Patch, for a root vegetable gratin.
• Eckerton Hill Farms has bags stuffed with baby greens! Fresh salad season is here! This is exciting. I also picked up a bag of chickweed. Turns out you may have this growing in your yard. I do not. I bought a bag. Grace told me chickweed acts as an anti-inflammatory and can be eaten raw, cooked but only slightly wilted. It has a distinct grassy flavor. Use it in smoothies, salads or as a soup topper. I’m experimenting with making a chickweed tincture.
• There is a new vendor at market, The Cottage Kitchen. Wendy Gollwitzer in the newest fermentor on the scene. She’ll be at a few local markets, check her Facebook page for the scoop.
• This is a no brainer. Grab a bouquet of gorgeous, locally grown flowers from The Rustic Bunch! They will brighten each day of your week until you can get back for a fresh bunch.
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