What I bought:

 

• English Muffins from the bakery at Rippling Waters Farm
• Cherry tomatoes, small cucumbers and oak leaf lettuce from Olivia's Garden
• Honey and honey-ginger soap from Tom's Honey & More
• Traditional Goat Milk Feta from Tourmaline Hill Farm
• Arugula seedlings from Meadowood Farm
• Rosemary and Coriander seedlings from Pineview Gardens
• Fiddleheads from Uncle's Farm Stand
• Parsnips from Beckwith Farms

What I did with it:

• The honey, the soap, and the 3 seedlings were a gift to a dear friend.
• Rippling Waters' English muffins were hearty and delicious framing up a simple breakfast sandwich with egg and cheese. 
• I was REALLY excited about finding the parsnips.  The over-wintered ones can be so sweet.  I peeled them, coated them with olive oil and a little salt, mixed them with a peeled chopped potato, and roasted them.  They came out of the oven nice and golden brown.  I added some chicken stock and blended them until I had a puree similar to smooth mashed potatoes.  (Separately, I simmered balsamic vinegar for a while to get a sweet reduction, and I cooked center-cut pork chops in a frying pan.)  For dinner tonight the entree was a pork chop on a bed of the parsnip/potato puree with a sprinkling of the balsamic reduction.  I made sure that each morsel I put in my mouth first scooped up a dollop of the puree and reduction.  I had to go back for more.  (See picture below)
• I made my first spring Greek salad with the Oakleaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cukes and feta.  Except for the olives and dressing, it was all local, and fresh fresh fresh! 
• Fiddleheads aren't one of those things that you either love or hate.  I think there's a huge percent of the population in the middle - they think they look interesting, but the texture and flavor take some getting used to, and a lot of people just don't know what to do with them (they are kind of alien-looking aren't they?).  I sauteed them in olive oil with chopped red pepper.  Before they were done, I removed them from the pan and set them aside, covered.  I rinsed some red quinoa (Thank you Yvette for turning me on to red quinoa - it does have more flavor than its tan counterpart...) and followed the cooking directions.  Just before the quinoa was done I added the fiddleheads and red peppers. (See second picture below)

This was the third week of the Saturday market.  I'm comfortable saying that there was a bounty of food once more.  See you at the market!

Paul Gagne
Tasting in Tongues Maine
www.tastingintonguesmaine.com
paul@tastingintonguesmaine.com