Many of our prepared food vendors rent kitchen space which has become harder and harder to come by these days with so many folks carving out new careers in food during the pandemic.
Imagine Jenny Fernandez' (of Aya Hummus) surprise when the owner of the kitchen space she was renting called to tell her there had been a structural collapse and she was shut out of the kitchen. Right before a weekend of markets!
It took Jenny several weeks to find a new certified kitchen space to rent and to then get a new health department permit but she is very happy to be back in the hummus game. She is bringing her Ayurvedic sweet potato hummus napped with massaged kale pesto. So uniquely delicious.
By now, I hope many of you have discovered the perfection that is Painted Goat's feta cheese being sold at the SOVA Farm tent.
There are so many ways to use feta cheese, but this time of year it is particularly refreshing in salads as in this smashed cucumber salad with za'atar and feta.
Or in this super cooling grilled watermelon and feta salad. Feta melts beautifully when cooked or baked as in this David Tanis recipe for baked Greek shrimp with fresh tomatoes and feta.
Hodgins Harvest Mushrooms is at the market this week and they will be cooking up some Black Poplar mushrooms, also known as "The Bacon Mushroom," around noon.
Mushroom farmer Aaron Davis says: "I'll be using our simple "Cook 'Em Crispy" recipe that we hand out on fridge magnets to customers." If you miss the demo, here's Aaron's recent blog post about crisping their fanciful mushrooms with details that don't fit on a fridge magnet.
Also, the Poke Motion truck is back from its various wanderings to bring you refreshing, protein-packed poke bowls each second and fourth Saturday of the month. Buy market ingredients for your home-cooked dinners, but treat yourself to a bowl or two for a well-deserved post-market lunch.
A perfect way to use some of the fresh cherry tomatoes coming in from Fort Hill Farm or the heirlooms that can be found at Orchard Hill Organics.
The knife sharpener is back this week to solve all your "dull blade" needs.
See you at the market!