Eugene Saturday Market and Farmer’s Market are conveniently located right next to each other. So whenever we go to market to sell our art on Saturdays, we explore the farmer’s market as well as the art market. Inspired artwork, handmade goods, delicious homegrown foods, and fun music blend beautifully to make for a rich experience each Saturday.
You all know how much I love farmer’s market! It feeds me deeply- beyond my belly. The colors, the scents, the life… feeds my soul and leaves me feeling full and nurtured.
I wanted to share some of the farmer’s market with you all through pictures. Some things we brought home with our trade (how grateful I am for our bag of fresh produce each week!) and others were just seen and enjoyed with our eyes and noses!
Spring beets! Full of nutrients! I love their rich color when I chop them and the way they dye my hands. The greens went into today’s batch of soup and the beets will be used for making a batch of fermented beet kvass drink.
Vibrant green lettuce.
Baby turnips.
Freshly-dug potatoes.
Oriental pak choi.
We stock up on collards each week! Can you believe that Jeff and I tried collards for the first time this winter? We love em’, we’re hooked, we eat them all the time (and have been planting lots of them in our garden!)
More varieties of lettuce.
Spotted some basil this week! Some came home with us. Jeff believes basil goes perfectly with fish. What do you think basil pairs nicely with?
I’ve tried these baby onions before, but they were so tough no matter how much I cooked them. Do any of you have suggestions for them?
Bright green parsley.
Broccoli florets.
and more.
Somehow, wherever I am, I always seem to gravitate towards lavender. There was dried lavender and lots of lavender starts.
There is a very exciting new addition at farmer’s market this year- dried beans and grains! How cool is that? It’s a very important addition to creating a local food system. They have a variety of lentils, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, black beans, grains and flours. I spoke with them a few weeks ago about buying in bulk. Opens up a whole new world of local possibilities!
Basil starts and starts of all kinds. Lots of them.
Oyster mushrooms.
Wild-harvested mushrooms. These are winter chantrelles.
Burdock root.
Brightly colored daffodils.
Spring mixes of bright flowers.
Beeswax, beeswax candles, and honey. Just thinking of the smell makes me say “mmmm!”
….And I tried something new! Jeff and I shared a lunch that had fermented fiddleheads (an edible part of a particular type of fern) in it. Have you ever tried fiddleheads? They are delicious! (Now I need to learn how to identify and wild harvest these.)
Farmer’s Market was filled with vegetables, herbs, dried fruit, eggs (from chickens, ducks and geese), grass-fed and pastured meats, raw honey, plant starts, mushrooms, dried lavender, beans and grains, blueberry plants, fruit trees, raspberry plants, flowers, nuts, bonsai trees, dried peppers…. and so much more!
We are blessed to have such a large farmer’s market with so many local farmers who work hard to provide their community with nutritious and delicious food from the earth.
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There is an amazing amount of color and local abundance at the farmer’s market this time of year. What goodies are you enjoying from your April farmer’s market? Have you tried anything new lately?
Thanks Patti! I love hearing from you!
I can relate to your basil passion! 🙂
Just loved this post!
Fiddlehead ferns are abundant in northern California and I know several foragers who believe they are amazingly tasty, although I’ve never eaten them myself.
Basil?? Why I can eat basil with ANYTHING! I could wear it like perfume!! Basil, basil, basil—how do I love thee, let me count the ways!
Thank you for sharing the lovely photos—-I’m always blessed and inspired.
Carlanda- So happy for you! Exciting!
Carys- A-ha! Thanks for the tip! I appreciate it!
Heidi- Thanks for reminding me how delicious grated beets are on salads!
Jessica- How do you like to prepare the fiddlehead ferns?
Trish- I’m not sure where else they grow? Let me know if you find out.
Michaele- Does Omaha have a good farmer’s market?
Frosty- that fiddlehead combo sounds delicious!
Aja- That’s wonderful that you are part of a CSA. Dandelion picking sounds like a fun way to celebrate!
Lara- I can’t wait for you to be there either!!
Ooooh! Such eye candy! I can’t wait to make it to the market this weekend!
Oh my! What abundance! Yes, we are also about a month away…our CSA will start and so will the markets. I LOVE fiddlehead ferns, but I have not had them pickled – yum! This Sunday is May Day and in celebration, I hope to go dandelion picking 🙂
Howdy…
Fiddleheads are stellar. Where I live in Canada they will be very abundant in two-three weeks. I think they are fantastic with a little curry powder and feta cheese. Lookes like a wonderful market.
Much love
We are still maybe a month away from our farmer’s markets opening. Really, really nice photos! We do local farmers markets and also travel to Omaha for theirs at least once in the summer.
Your farmer’s market photos are just lovely. Such a wonderful abundance of food and provisions. I have never heard of fiddleheads!Do we have that type of fern in England I wonder?Would very much like to try them!
Much love,
Trish
We’ve got fiddlehead ferns here too, delicious! My parents have them growing in amongst the regular ferns, they look very similar so the fun is in the hunt! 🙂
Hello Taryn
iv never herd of Fiddleheads im amazed i love reading about new things to eat ..and we love beetroot or redbeet we call it here gratted up and put in to salad yum love raw vegetables so do the children so much better for them to!! all those beautiful colours from farmers market look devine!
Happy Easter to ya ! Heidi 🙂
oh, wow!
i’ve been housebound the past couple of years due to health issues and have missed the market — it’s wonderful seeing all the bounty via your post!
i think your tough baby onions might be baby leeks — are the leaves flat and strappy instead of hollow? if so, only the white part will every be tender. the green part is lovely in stock, though, or you can slice the lower parts crosswise and razor thin and add to stir fries if you don’t mind a bit of fibre.
such gorgeous burdock roots!
thank you so much for sharing the bounty!
carys
this post feeds my soul too! can’t wait for the same lifestyle, hopefully this year. as soon as we can sell our house, we are on the way to grants pass area. aaahhhh!!!! love you! carlanda