Farmer's Market Salad

I haven't really had the opportunity yet this summer to hit the farmer's market. Last weekend I really started to get the itch to go as all the fruits started appearing en masse at the grocery store. So I planned to devote this Saturday morning to the market. Despite my overwhelming excitement, I slept in (so I probably missed all the good stuff), and only managed to drag myself out of the apartment after downing a cappuccino.

I love the farmer's market. Especially in the summer. Especially when it's 68 degrees and sunny. Especially when it's overflowing with fruits and veggies and flowers and bread and cheeses and jams and honey and everything else under the sun. It's not only that I'm getting fresh delicious things, but I think I also feel a sense of well-being because I'm helping the local farmers. I'm sure that some of the stands are not small farms, but no matter, I always come away from the market with more bags than I can carry, a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a glowing feeling.

Today was a perfect day for the farmers market (you may have guessed that it was 68 and sunny with a light cool breeze). I finally arrived close to 11, a little late by the farmer's market standard, but there was certainly still a ton of fresh goodness to pick from. I started with cherries, which must be in season because every stand had an overflowing amount of them. I grabbed my little pint and went to pay. The gentleman asked me if I wanted the pint basket and I said no and he thanked me and threw in a couple more handfuls of cherries into my bag. This is why I love the farmers market! Everyone is friendly, no pushing or shoving, everyone walks away smiling. I paid $3 for a sizeable bag of cherries, and last weekend I paid a RIDICULOUS $10 for cherries that didn't taste nearly as good.

My morning continued...we lapped the market and took a break in the shade once I had finished. I had bags filled with blueberries, cherries, strawberries, lettuce, eggs, herbs, tomatoes, all sorts of goodies. It's safe to say that I was incredibly content at that point...there are very few things that make me feel as happy as either an incredibly well stocked fridge or having bought all the things to stock my fridge with deliciousness. It's the best feeling to open the door or walk into the kitchen and have all sorts of fresh options to choose from for a snack or to make a meal.

I arrived home ravenous and asked Jeff what he wanted for lunch. To which he replied, with his standard reply, "what d'ya got?" (yes, he was an english major). I realized I didn't actually really have any food for a meal. I bought lots of things to complement a meal (veggies and things), but after thinking for a minute I realized that I could make a pretty darn delicious salad with all the ingredients in my bag. So I offered a salad with fresh berries and goat cheese and pecans. I didn't think he'd bite (literally ... figuratively), but I think he was hungry enough, so he was in.

I went into the kitchen and started making the salad, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, goat cheese and pecans. Easy and simple. I rummaged through my bags to find something else, and I pulled out the basil and chopped that up and threw it in too. But the real breakthrough came when I decided I wanted croutons too, but the only bread I had bought was a cinnamon raisin bread (for french toast tomorrow, yummmmm!). Of course that would work! It's a fruit salad anyway! So I made some cinnamon raisin croutons to top it all off..oh boy, that was good stuff.

I just added olive oil, salt and pepper to dress it with and dug in. Unbelievably fresh and delicious, it's amazing what fresh ingredients can do. The strawberries and cherries were so incredibly juicy and sweet, their juices kind of mixed with the olive oil to make more of a berry vinegrette. oh dear, it was good. The perfect way to top off my morning. This may have to be my new Saturday morning tradition, go to the market, buy a bunch of yummo ingredients and try throwing them all together...hopefully they'll all be as good as this one.

(June) Farmer's Market Salad
I'm just going to list all the stuff I used, obviously you can use as much or as little as you want. Plus the whole idea is to buy whatever's there and make it. But if you happen to have all these ingredients on hand, it's a pretty darn great salad.

Blueberries
Cherries
Strawberries
Goat cheese
Pecans (toasted in a dry pan for a couple of minutes...NOT BURNT!)
Lettuce
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Basil (mint would be good too)
Cinnamon raisin croutons (see below)

For the croutons, the best way to do it (I think) is to use the ends of the bread (especially if you're making french toast with the rest of the loaf, because you won't use the ends). Cut up the ends into bite size pieces, and heat up some butter (or olive oil, but I used butter since it's a sweet bread) in a pan over low heat. Add the bread and let cook for a couple of minutes until one side is golden brown. Toss around in the pan and add more butter if necessary until all sides are golden brown. Add to salad. Dig in and enjoy!!