Monday, May 16

 
Field Trips and Farm Markets

About the only thing I really miss about living in Madison, Wisconsin, is the weekly Farmers Market around the Capitol Square. It's one of the best in the country.

(And I'll be honest here; I miss it only until I've been about halfway around it, at which point I usually exceed my capacity for tolerating the stylers and poseurs who are there more for the experience than for buying stuff and the people who stage neighborhood or college reunions right in the middle of the heaviest foot traffic.)

Nevertheless, I thought about it again this past Friday when my son's fourth-grade class made its annual field trip to the Capitol and UW-Madison campus. The square was relatively quiet in the afternoon, but 14 hours later, it surely would have been humming with early-season producers and serious shoppers.

This is the best time of year to shop the market, especially if you're easily irritated. The selection isn't as great, obviously, but you run into truly dedicated farmers who have produced the season's first radishes and lettuce in their coldframes, the cheesemakers (including Willi Lehner the yodeler), bakers, bee people and jam-sellers and others who can produce through the winter.

The early season also draws out the serious shoppers. Generally you won't stumble over as many dogs, strollers or chatters or bang into as many elegant shopping baskets as you do in the peak of the season, and that's reason enough.

Now, the point of this post: Here's a good farmers' market story from the LA Times (registration required)

Well, the story is so-so. But it has a recipe for a fresh strawberry pie that looks just luscious and not nearly as gooey-sweet as the ones you find at Perkins or places like that.

We're getting California strawberries now, here in Wisconsin, and like many things from California, they look pretty but don't have much juice or flavor. But the recipe comes about six weeks ahead of the Wisconsin strawberry season, and our local berries are just wonderful.
posted by Unknown 8:05 PM