Bennington Farmer's Market, Vermont

I went to the Bennington, VT Farmer's Market today. They are open on Saturdays and Tuesdays. You may remember when I tried to go in November and it didn't work out.  I love Vermont so much. I went to the anti-hydrofracking concert at The Egg a few months back, and they mentioned how Vermont had a ban on hydrofracking. That's a good thing, since it seems like easily one of the most beautiful places on earth. It would absolutely break my heart if anything were to ever happen to that state to diminish its natural beauty (also there doesn't seem to be any gas deep down there, so it wouldn't seem likely hydrofracking would occur, but its nice their priorities are in the right place). Oh, Vermont, doughnuts, cheese, and produce! How can you not love it completely?

My former coworker has a farm, it is actually called the True Love Farm, and she posted on facebook about the Tuesday Farmer's Market which reminded me about it. It was small and adorable, but I did pretty well.

First up: Crazy Russian Girls Neighborhood Bakery. I bought my husband this adorable mini rhubarb pie. I bought something for myself for the ride home, and to call it a cookie is the world's biggest understatement. It was a cookie, but halfway on the way to a scone. It was filled with cranberries - juicy, tart cranberries bursting with the taste of summertime, and flavorful, crunchy oats. I usually think I am a good baker, and once in a while I find something so delicious I can't make anything that would compare at all - this was one of those moments.

Then from Wildstone Farm, Vermont I got some beautiful zucchinis, cucumbers, and an adorable sunflower (for a dollar and totally worth it - check him out!). I made some amazing Zucchini Potato Pancakes from my Joy the Baker cookbook.

 

From my former coworker at True Love Farm  I got great looking scallions, blueberries, cousa squash , and a little bit of gossip. All around, it was a great time at a little pop up farmer's market in the middle of the week.

I guess I just want to make a point here about the huge amount of farmer's markets we seem to have in the area. For whatever reason, we only ever seem to make it to the Troy Farmer's Market, but really there are so many. There are some in church parking lots, bank parking lots, Urgent Care parking lots, even at the Crossings at Colonie - all over. There is no excuse not to enjoy the best of what summer has to offer, and no lack of access to fresh, local produce. Last year we had a CSA, and sometimes it was difficult to know what to do with everything. I think it challenged us as cooks, and we grew out of the experience, but one of my coworkers said it best - "I pay $20 a week for a ton of kale I don't even want." It can be overwhelming, and ideally you can just make it to farmer's markets and get the same product only customized to your tastes and desired quantities. That's where the mid-week market really helps out busy people (or people who love sleeping in on Saturday mornings). 

One more thing I might add, that while Daniel loves tours for all the unhealthy things - Tour de Hard Ice Cream, Soft serve ice cream, doughnut, bucket o' lard, pile o' grease - how about Tour de Spinach Salad, or better yet, Tour de Farmer's Market? There are enough in the area to keep a lot of people busy for a long time.