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A Trip to the Farmer's Market

My spring and summer weekend routine usually includes a trip to the farmer's market. Buying local organic produce, getting outdoors, finding recipe inspiration - what's not to love?

The produce is beautiful. Big piles of perfectly stacked vegetables inspire me to try new things, cook from scratch more often, and use ingredients that are in season locally.
I can't help but spend at least few minutes in the flower section. If I stay there long enough I usually can think of a good reason I need to buy at least one.
The home-grown, loose leaf tea blends lined up in jars make me feel like a little kid in a candy store. I allow myself to try one new tea each week.
Not everything here is about appearances. For instance, this "P-Nut" stand is one of the most popular vendors at the market, complete with it's greasy industrial clip holding the sign. The peanuts are amazing!
And my favorite farmer's market stand of all is this one. What is it, you ask? Well I'm not exactly sure. Basically, it's plants... huge, random plants, all tangled and clustered together into a little tiny tent. All of the plants feel like something straight out of your grandma's house, something that she's been nurturing for years. But if your grandma's house looked like this tent, you might worry that your grandma maybe needed a hobby besides the plants. I can't ever see the person running the stand. They're in there somewhere. It's probably nice and cool in there, like hiding out in a fort.
Right now, strawberries are in season at the farmer's market. Peak strawberry season only lasts a few weeks per year, and the flavor of a vine-ripened strawberry that was picked just hours ago has a totally different taste from the strawberries you buy in a grocery store. So this time of year, I buy all the organic strawberries I can get my hands on and pack them away in my freezer like a squirrel stashing nuts. But before I start cleaning and freezing them, I always eat at least an entire basket of strawberries using this simple recipe:

Fresh Balsamic Strawberries:

• Clean and slice a pound of fresh ripe strawberries, then toss them in a bowl with a tablespoon of sugar until they're coated.
• Then, add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar - (yes, really, vinegar! ) and stir until it's evenly distributed.
• Refrigerate for about an hour and serve! Also, try topping the balsamic strawberries with a dash of black pepper. I know this sounds like the strangest combination of ingredients ever, but it's truly delicious!

-Brigitte