Farmers Market: Eat locally grown produce

When looking to purchase local, seasonal vegetables and fruit, I head straight to the farmers market. I am fortunate to live in a town that hosts a farmers market on Sunday afternoons. If unable to make that one, there are markets held on other days in the neighboring towns. Small nearby farmers often offer heirloom varieties not found in conventional stores. In addition, many of them use sustainable farming techniques and are organic.

Whenever we travel, we seek out a farmers market. Whether it be the outstanding Burlington, VT weekend outdoor market or the markets on the streets of Italy - the fruits taste sweeter, the vegetables appear more colorful, and they smell wonderfully aromatic.

One of my favorite farms is the Flats Mentor Farm in Lancaster, MA that has many non-conventioinal varieties of vegetables not found in the typical marketplace. Among my favorite items: red amaranth, yu choi, and chinese broccoli. http://www.flatsmentorfarm.org

Bringing a wicker basket to place your purchases into is a beautiful way to transport your finds. However, cloth bags work just as well too!

Farmers market bounty includes: kale, dinosaur kale, red leafy lettuce, boston lettuce, corn,

 yellow cucumber, summer squash, okra, onions, heirloom tomato, mint leaves, parsley, and cilantro.