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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Gearing up for summer and your local farmer's market

My neighborhood farmer's market started up again last week. Hooray!! Hubby and I were happy to see our favorite butcher/farmer, our favorite pasta guy (omg his wild boar plin is TDF), bakers, fruit and veggie peeps.

With farmer's market seasons starting up again (or perhaps yours never stopped, in which case I'm totally jealous), I thought I'd put together a few outfits perfect for strolling your way past the stalls of vendors and farmers. If you don't have a farmer's market near by, no worries. These outfits would be lovely for many a summer outing - picnics at the beach, reading in the sun.

Market Outfitting #1

Ok, I couldn't resist putting the caranday up here again. (There's a red one in size 4 on ebay here right now). But a floaty cotton dress meant for summer seems so picture perfect for the farmer's market. As you pick out your fruit and veggies, don't forget your sun hat!
farmer's market 1



Market Outfitting #2

How about going casual with a lovely floaty top and shorts? Keep it relaxed with your canvas slip-ons (kept interesting by the stripes). Don't forget your reusable tote to bring your farm-raised goodies home.
Farmer's Market 2


Market Outfitting #3

The last outfit captures some bohemian elegance by hopping aboard the maxi dress trend with a fab hippie vibe. Finish it off with a natural rope belt and some colorful earrings and shoes. If cooking isn't your thing, you can still hit up your farmer's market for goodies like local honey, artisan made soaps and jams, plants for your garden, or a wonderful crusty baguette and cheese to bring home for a light snack :)
farmer's market 3


Finally, with the advent of farmer's market adventures, I thought I'd leave y'all with some recipes we enjoyed this past weekend after visiting the farmer's market. I find the goodies at the farmer's markets always prompt me to try out new produce or meat varieties and new recipes. Steamed clams are a perennial favorite of ours, but the standout of the meal was the asparagus, avocado, pea vine and tomato salad my hubby whipped up. Hope you enjoy!

Steamed Clams
Adapted from Allrecipes Clams Italiano Recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 piece diced bacon
2 cups dry white wine (we use Trader Joe's Charles Shaw chardonnay)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional, vary according to taste)
salt and pepper
36 clams in shell, scrubbed (we just bought a big bag... maybe 3-4 lbs?)
1/2 lemon

Directions
1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook with diced bacon for a few minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook briefly.
3. Stir in wine, and season with oregano, parsley, and red pepper flakes.
4. Place clams in the wine mixture. Cover, and steam until all the clams have opened: discard any that do not open.
5. Serve family style in a big bowl. Squeeze a bit of lemon over the top for brightness.
6. Serve with slices of crusty baguette for dipping into the tasty broth! Or serve over linguine

Asparagus, Pea Vine, Tomato, & Avocado Salad
Recipe courtesy of my hubby - he's guessing on the amounts since he winged it

Ingredients
6 large spears of Asparagus, blanched and cut into small rounds
1 Avocado cut into cubes
3 cups Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 C parsley chopped
1 C chervil chopped
1/2 C pea vines chopped

Dressing ingredients
1 T Lemon juice
2-3 T red wine vinegar
1(ish) tsp mustard
black pepper to taste
3 T olive oil

Directions
1. Toss tomatoes with salt & some sugar to juice em out. let sit for a bit.
2. Toss in asparagus, pea vines, parsley, chervil, and dressing. Let sit for a bit.
3. Mix in avocado. Check salt, pepper to taste. Serve!

4 comments:

Jess said...

That tomato salad looks divine! How long do the farm markets normally last for? End of the summer? Great outfits, I love the one with the shorts.

gck said...

Yummy yummy! Your recipes look delicious. I need to get to the markets and start hunting for garlic scapes. I was at Ballard and Redmond a few weeks ago and there wasn't a ton of produce. Looking forward to the summer!

Debbie said...

I love all of your outfit ideas, especially #2. I really need to get over to my farmer's market more often! :-)

Jamie - Thrifty Threads said...

Such cute outfits -- I would wear them all in a heartbeat. And the food looks absolutely delish! I love local produce and farmer's markets. I do live in the Garden State, after all : ). I just joined a CSA and my first order arrives on Friday. Can't wait to see what comes!

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