Hi Everyone! I hope you all had fabulous weekends. The weather was simply perfect here in Central NY. 75 and sunny. I have a lot to share - but first, welcome to my new weekly feature "Market Mondays". For the next six months Market Mondays will be in full force. Unfortunately I live in the north so my Farmers Market doesn't run weekly into the winter months. But we won't think about winter now!
So.. the premise of these posts will be featuring yummy goods we purchased at our local Farmers markets, and a recipe (maybe more than one if you're luckly!) that incorporates some of the items we bought. This weekend was a little crazy, we went shopping at some local shops following the market and got some amazing gifts and finds (I'll post those under a separate post).
I absolutely love our market and the town it's located. It's in Hamilton NY- home of Colgate University. The shop on the end, with the rainbow flag, is our new favorite organic market which is directly across the road from the farmers market.
The market is really large, here is one strip of it:
Fountains in which you will always find a child jumping into fully clothed! There are two fountains, so they will run from one to the other.
Here are two of my favorite vendors that we buy from weekly
Both of these vendors are just so nice. They are both old school farmers and just simply some of the nicest people you will ever meet. The entire market is just full of super nice people all wanting to talk and answer questions about either their produce, breads, meats, jams, jellies, candles, soaps etc.
We also did get to see the potter (there were actually maybe 3-4 there this past weekend) but well, her items were gorgeous but simply way out of our price range.
Because of us going shopping afterward to some fun shops - when we came home we were just putting everything away and I didn't get a chance to take a picture of all of our goodies. But we got lots of yummy treats and the ingredients to make my first Market recipe post.
K actually made it for the cookout we had yesterday at my parents:
BLT Potato Salad - taken from Cook's Country July 2012 edition.
Everyone was commenting yesterday of how amazing it was and before you knew it the entire bowl was devoured!
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 Cup white wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper
8 slices of bacon
3/4 Cup mayonnaise
7 Scallions, sliced thin
2 TBS dill pickle relish
1 romaine lettuce heart (6 ounces)
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 Cup coarsely chopped fresh chives (these came from our front yard- we have SO many chives)
1. Place potatoes in large sauce pan and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Add 2 TBS vinegar and 2 TBS salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, 12-16 minutes. Drain, move to bowl, and toss with 1 TBS vinegar. Allow potatoes to cool for 10 minutes
2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in 12 inch non stick skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 6 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel lined plate; set aside.
3. Whisk mayonnaise, scallions, relish, remaining 1 TBS vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper in large bowl until combined. Fold in potatoes, reserved bacon, lettuce, tomatoes and chives. Serve.
If you like potato salad, definitely give it a try from ingredients you can all get from either your own gardens or your local farmers market. Buy and support local!!
