Newburyport Farmer’s Market Finds

Sunday 7/19 dawned clear and bright, and with nothing in front of me to do but as I pleased – the first thing that popped to mind was a visit to the Newburyport Farmer’s Market. My trip was fruitful, yielding not only some great food finds, but also a chance to make new acquaintances and catch up with some old ones.

The best two food finds came from the same booth – Middle Earth Farms from neighboring Amesbury. The same place I found such marvelous garlic scapes in June, heirloom tomato seedlings (which are doing very well!) and on Sunday I saw just what I needed to make the chowder I had planned with the Atlantic Striped bass we had caught the night before. Some wonderful fresh Italian onions……

….. and fresh red potatoes. I loved that the dirt was still on those potatoes, and that the tender skin was just peeling back a bit – these certainly weren’t any potatoes that had been treated with sprout-nip !

And make the chowder I did, with those onions, potatoes and that Striper that I swear caught us more than we caught it. No finesse was involved when during slack tide at 11:30 at night (we almost always have good luck at slack tide) the fish grabbed my mackerel.  Rob reached my rod first – tripping over the dinner hamper in the dark – but the rod wouldn’t come out of the holder for a while, Mark was hollering instructions, and without a spotlight on it was a good thing that fish made it’s way to us. It’s a fun way to eat fresh local foods, but I was glad we were able to pack it in for the night!  My fish chowder and fresh fish stock recipes coming soon…………

And speaking of eating locally, which after all is what the Farmer’s Market should be about, manning a booth at the market was local Newburyport Photographer  Jon-William Brown.

I first met Jon while showing him some real estate in Newburyport and was happy to see him again. He is currently firmly involved with Transition Newburyport ,  a local chapter of the Transition Network – a grassroots approach to leading a more fulfilling, socially connected, sustainable, resilient and self-reliant community. A supporter of the Greater Newburyport Local Food Network as well as a fan of the Farmer’s Market, Transition Network is very commited to promoting local food awareness and buying more locally grown produce, eggs and meat.

And beyond the food focus at the market comes the artisans. And boy, was I pleasantly surprised by a special potter who had her turn at the market this week………

Meet Melynn Allen Pottery, an artist from Ipswich who had a beautiful display of pottery with such gorgeous glaze work and porportions that I stood transfixed (imagining all sorts of food I would serve on those beautiful creations) until I heard a pleasant hello from Melynn over my left shoulder. We had a pleasant conversation, after which I forgot to take more photos of her work, but she will be back on a rotating basis. When I got home I told Rob if he ever wants to buy something for me, for whatever reason or occasion, all he needs to do is contact Melynn!

And finally, the picture of the day, because there are always funny things at the Farmer’s Market……..

I’ve whined a lot about all the rain we’ve had this summer – but I never suffered as much as this cauliflower!

For more information on the Farmer’s Market and the activities, as well as to vote for it in the Love Your Farmer’s Market Contest, please visit their website at:   Newburyport Farmer’s Market