Farmers Market Season
Farmers Market Season
and a contest for the best one
Farmers markets across the country are in full swing now, at the height of the harvest season. Vendors tables are stacked with summer’s best produce—the corn and the tomatoes that we wait all year to eat. Except here in Alpine, Wyoming. The farmers market here has no vegetable growers. Yes, you read that right. A farmers market without a single farmer selling vegetables. There are excellent dairy and meat options, some prepared foods for sale including mini cheesecakes and kettle corn, and a couple of tamale vendors but not one fresh vegetable.
So we Alpine residents travel for our veggies. Jackson, Wyoming has many market options and the Jackson Hole farmers market on Saturday mornings on the town square is the main event. But the very active Slow Food in the Tetons chapter offers a Wednesday evening People’s Market at the Center for the Arts as well as the less visible Slow Food Farmstand at the edge of the parking lot where the movie theatre is on US-89 on Thursdays and Fridays.
Sometimes we travel further. The Idaho Falls Farmers Market is approaching 30 years of connecting farmers with consumers who care and who want to know where their food comes from. It is an extraordinary venue, stretching along the walkway above the Snake River and the falls that give the city its name. With nearly 200 vendors, the market has something for everyone—crafts, prepared food from falafel and acai bowls to barbecue and pizza, and local art—in addition to an abundance of fresh vegetables, fruits, and flowers.
The 2023 America’s Farmers Market Celebration is taking place right now across the United States. Funded by the American Farmland Trust and their subsidiary, the Farmers Market Coalition, the contest awards $15,000 in prize money to the country’s favorite farmers markets for development projects. Voting started on June 19th and runs through September 18, 2023.
The contest divides our country into five regions and Idaho and Wyoming are grouped in the Pacific category. The two top Wyoming contenders are Cheyenne and Laramie. Idaho markets are ranked fairly high right now in the competition—the Moscow market and the Boise market each have more than 1000 votes and the Nampa market is close to that. I have been to the Boise market and it is very good—but not nearly as scenic and dynamic as the Idaho Falls market in terms of the variety of vendors in a unique and pleasant setting. I’m voting for IF this year and you can cast your vote for your favorite market right here.
Sadly, the Alpine farmers market is not winning the contest this year but maybe by the next Blue Supermoon it will be in the running. We just need more vegetables.
Here is a recipe for a very easy mushroom tart that uses puff pastry so it comes together very quickly. Find the mushrooms in the woods, or rely on a vendor that grows them for you, like Al’s Mushroom World at the Idaho Falls Farmers Market.
Easy Wild Mushroom and Herbed Ricotta Tart
1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup minced shallot
Half a pound or so of wild or tame mushrooms
(I used four little baskets of foraged chanterelles, and cultivated yellow oyster, pink oyster, and Lions Mane from the Al’s Mushroom World stand at the Idaho Falls farmers market
8 ounces ricotta
One egg, beaten
½ cup of mixed chopped parsley and thyme (reserve a tablespoon for on top)
Salt and Pepper
One tablespoon grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Roll out the sheet of puff pastry on a sheet of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour until it is about 11 x 13 inches. With a paring knife, score half an inch from the perimeter all along the four edges. Inside, use a fork to pierce the pastry very well so it doesn’t blow up like a bowler derby as it bakes. Bake the scored and pierced dough for 15 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and when it is cool enough to touch, gently press in the pierced interior so that there is a rim around the tart and a depressed center to fill.
Melt the butter in a sauté pan and add the minced shallot when the butter is hot. Prepare the mushrooms by brushing any bits of forest debris with a pastry brush. The cultivated ones will be perfectly clean but check them for a stray bug. Trim the woody ends of the mushrooms and gently tear or chop the mushrooms into pieces. When the shallot is starting to caramelize, add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the mushrooms wilt a bit.
Combine the ricotta, the egg, the minced herbs, and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Mix well.
Spread the ricotta on the pastry and top with the mushrooms. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan. Bake for 15-20 minutes and top with the reserved fresh herbs before serving.