Produce from the Farmer's Market

Over the weekend, we visited the new local Farmer's Market and picked up this beautiful produce. Farmer's markets have generated a lot of buzz over the last few years and have fast become an important part of the movement toward eating local, sustainably grown organic foods. While it is easy to dismiss such a movement as a fad, a short visit to one of these culinary gatherings will quickly convince anyone interested in food that they just make good sense.

Farmer's markets are chock full of the freshest ingredients one can obtain for the kitchen. Just look at these crisp white turnips with the bits of soil still clinging to them and the pristine bok choy that has obviously not travelled halfway around the world to reach the consumer.

In so many communities around the United States, small farmers are providing a variety of wonderfully fresh food directly to consumers. These foods are seasonal, which means they will generally taste better than foods grown out of season in foreign countries. As most good cooks know, the quality of your cooking is only as good as the ingredients you use, which means that fresh seasonal produce is a must.

These peppery turnips inspired a fall Shepherd's pie in which the turnips found their way into both the filling and the mashed potato covering. Here is a photo of the turnips sauteeing with other aromatic vegetables in the skillet:

Shopping at farmer's markets is a wonderful way to support local farmers and obtain the very best foods for your family. To locate a farmer's market or other source of locally grown foods in your community, visit Local Harvest and type in your zip code: http://www.localharvest.org/