The Suburban Soapbox

A week ago, Landon and I took a little field trip to a farmer’s market that I knew existed for years but just never veered off the main road to check out.  In my search for ramps, I decided it was worth the two-mile trek off MY beaten path to see if they could deliver the goods.  Needless to say, I was THRILLED when I walked in the door and saw everything they had to offer….even RAMPS!

This market is incredible and contained tons of local goodies: produce, honey, dairy products, baked goods….the list goes on and on.  I could have spent a small fortune in this place.  Everything was so fresh and seemed as if it had just been harvested minutes ago.  Each item is displayed with the name of the farm it arrived from if it was grown somewhere other than their property.  I love knowing where the food came from and how it was harvested, it feels great to know what I’m feeding my family and the method used for growing the food.

When I walked into the market I could smell the strawberries, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a picture without Landon trying to grab the display so we moved on.  He loves his berries and hasn’t learned the fine art of practicing restraint when seeing something he wants to eat.  We’re working on that.

He liked the spinach too but since we were just checking things out on this day we passed on it.  It looked wonderful though!

We ended up coming home with a few very delectable goodies: ramps, homegrown carrots, pickled radishes and CHOCOLATE MILK!

The ramps were used in a Ramp, Asparagus and Fontina Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust.  I didn’t document the recipe because by the time I perfect it and post it ramps will be out of season.  I will, however, create another Quiche to share the brown rice crust recipe because it was fantastic!  The carrots will be roasted with olive oil and tarragon this week as a side dish.  I’ve been eating the pickled radishes (which are AMAZING!) right out of the cute little jar but I plan to use some in a tuna salad this week.

The chocolate milk….out of this world.  It’s whole milk so I have to limit myself but I, frankly, could drink the whole bottle. 

Landon loves the carrots just as they are.

I can’t wait to see what arrives at the market as the weather gets warmer.  We will definitely be frequenting this place, next time I want to buy some of the grass-fed bison and one of their homemade pot pies! 

If you want to visit a wonderful farmer’s market that focuses on fresh, organic food you MUST drive out to Willow Creek Orchards on Stump Hall Road in Skippack, PA.  They even offer a “Farm Friend Club Membership” where you can either pay $65 for your member benefits or $30 plus 2.5 hours of work at the market or in the homestead gardens per month.

Member benefits are:

• 5% off dairy, 10% off all other products in the market
• Discounts on all events and workshops
• Invitation to advance, members only pick your own events
• Monthly potluck and recipe swap on the farm
• Yearly member’s day events
• Complimentary Longview Center for Agriculture shopping tote

More information can be found at their website: http://greenerpartners.org/