By Sue Davis
For The Salisbury Post
There is great anticipation at the Salisbury Farmers Market this week.
Local cucumbers and squash are just a week away. The cool, damp weather has slowed pollination, but nearly every vendor is saying next week. Lettuce and greens will continue to be available into mid-June.
Add strawberries to salad
Salads made from fruits and vegetables you pick up at the farmers market are both healthy and colorful. Start with either a single variety of leaf lettuce or a mix of lettuce varieties. Hand wash and tear the lettuce. Don’t cut it with scissors or a knife. Place the lettuce in the bottom of a salad bowl. Add radishes, spring onions, freshly sliced strawberries and a little feta cheese to the bowl and toss. Just before serving, shake vinaigrette dressing or light creamy dressing over the salad.
Try roasted cauliflower
Here is another dish you might try. Roasted Cauliflower is amazing. Break the florets and toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Place oiled cauliflower onto a baking pan and roast at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes, or until they are lightly brown and tender.
This week is one of the last weeks local growers will have flowering plants and vegetables to plant in your own yard. This is prime planting time. If you have limited room for planting, remember its OK to add a green pepper plant or a squash plant to one of your flower beds. Plant some vegetables you enjoy right along with zinnias, marigolds and petunias. Other things you will find at the farmers market this week are strawberries, meats, pasta and baked goods.
– Correll Farms continues to have a wide variety of lettuces. They also have cabbage, cauliflower. Because many customers asked for a wider selection of Asian vegetables and specialty vegetables you will find daikon radishes, Napa cabbage, bok choi and Swiss chard.
– Cress Farms, Eagle Farms and Miller Farms have lettuce, strawberries, onions, and cabbage. Duard Cress was missing from the market last Saturday. Rumor has it he was on the tractor preparing for fall crop planting.
– As I walked through the market I noticed an array of herbs available from Dawn’s Greenhouse, Country Garden Greenhouse and Bluebird Acres Farm.
It’s a great time to select one or two herbs to plant near your kitchen. Dawn’s greenhouse has a nice selection of kitchen gardens and lettuce pots.
One of their young customers cradled her lettuce pot as she left the market. The first salad from that pot will be a special event.
– The Bread Basket and How Sweet It Is continue to surprise buyers with loaf breads, pastries and pies and tarts.
– Posh Pasta and Cakes has homemade pasta. Try a sauce made with Landis Gourmet Mushrooms over the pasta and a salad along with her tomato, herb, and cheese bread for dinner.
She also has a selection of homemade toffees.
– For your meat needs, stop by Wild Turkey Farms or T&D Charolais Beef. Wild Turkey Farms has pork, poultry, and sausages. T&D Charolais Beef offers locally grown beef products. The Bread Basket and Wild Turkey Farms have free range eggs.
For more information about the farmers market, visit www.salisburyfarmersmarket.com. The farmers market is located in downtown Salisbury at the corner of South Main and Bank streets. It is open 7 a.m.-noon on Wednesday and Saturday.