The Write Ingredients

St. Paul Farmer's Market

I know I've written about the market before, but this time I'm dedicating an entire post to my favorite farmers market. Located in the lowertown part of downtown St. Paul, I find the market much more manageable, with much better products, than the Minneapolis Farmer's Market. The unique thing about the SPFM, is that anything sold there, must be grown or made within 50 miles (I can't find anywhere that states this, but it's well known. If you can prove it, please leave a comment). That means in May, the produce selection is slim, but in October the tables are loaded with everthing from second round lettuce, to canning tomatoes, to brightly colored squash.

I met J there yesterday, as she was on a quest to find a Jarrahdale pumpkin. We found them at one of the stands, and learned (to our relief) that the flesh is bright yellow, and not the gray-green on the outside. We didn't want to image a gray-green pumpkin soup. But I did pick up a couple of baking pumpkins for pumpkin soup.

I also picked up a huge head of cauliflower, for only $2. I could have gone larger, but where would I store it? Still no basil, or I should say, no basil again, for the season. I'll have to depend on the weak plants in my garden for the winter supply of pesto. But I did pick up a bunch of cilantro to try out a cilantro pesto. I'm not sure how the flavor will differ, but I'm sure it won't be bad.

I'm looking forward to the witner market, that's starting on November 3. Produce will obviously be limited, but there will still be meat, cheese and eggs available. My weekly trips will probably turn into biweekly trips. I'm just glad they're open year-round.

PS: Check out the size of these cabbages. Now, that's a lot of cole slaw!!