Shopping at the Farmer's Market

Stephen and I hoped to find out what the Pitt County Farmer's Market would offer us for the week by visiting it early last Friday morning. Only two vendors were there...the grand selection is always presented on Saturday morning. We looked around and made notes about what was in season and returned home to search for a few recipes containing greens, squash, and other early summer vegetables.

We have a long-standing ritual at our house on Friday nights. I plan menus for the week on Thursday night or Friday afternoon and make a shopping list. We typically shop at Sam's Club (Yes, I admit it...we contribute to Sam Walton's empire...) and at Lowe's Foods. After searching for snacks, veggies, fruits, etc., we have a light meal when we return while watching a movie or one of the few television shows that we watch...Numb3rs. Our Friday night ritual now on hiatus, we waited to shop last Saturday morning at the Pitt County Farmer's Market. We found many items that we expected and a few wonderful surprises.

Our first stop was a booth where everything was touted as "organically grown." We bought fresh lettuce, onions, beets, baby zucchini, and summer squash and admired his gorgeous calendulas.

At our next stop, we found crisp mustard greens, sweet potatoes, and a small, crisp head of broccoli. We paid for our finds and went in search of a staple at this time of year...fresh strawberries.