Sunday morning at the Farmer’s Market

I’ve often said that I live in the perfect location because I live in the heart of a city but within two blocks of Whole Foods, Acme (a well-run traditional supermarket) and the famous Italian Market.  I’m also only about twenty minutes by foot from the amazing Reading Terminal Market but there’s one more amazing resource – the Headhouse Square Farmer’s Market.

The market is one of several markets operated by Philadelphia’s Food Trust and, unlike most markets in this area, it operates all year round.  The location has been a market for a very long time.  Back in the 18th century, it was close to the docks and nicely situated in a desirable residential neighborhood.  An engraving (show below) dates the original building to at least 1799.

In the 19th century, the market was expanded to its current configuration and while it  has been rehabbed at least a couple of times since then, the current building looks very much like it has for the past 200 years.

The current market was established in 2007 and has been a place where local farmers, fishermen, and artisans have showcased their crafts on Sundays.  It opens at 10am and while it stays open through the afternoon, it’s best to get there before noon because products are often sold out.  The emphasis in on organic and sustainable produce and prices can be higher than supermarkets, but the quality is always exquisite and I don’t think you can find hakurei turnips or yellow oyster mushrooms in a supermarket, let alone the best boneless pork chops I’ve ever purchased or eight varieties of pepper plants.

I’ve been making a ritual of heading to the market on Sunday mornings and today was no exception. First stop was Hillacres Farm for some chicken legs and thighs I’ll make later in the week.  I also stopped at Shorecatch for some fresh flounder and A.T. Buzby Farms for asparagus and tomatoes.  The big catch, though, was at Savoie Organics Farm where I found the most amazing lettuce, along with the hakurei turnips, some zucchini, and kohlrabi. For me, no trip would be complete without a pint of mushrooms from Queens Farm.  This time I got some yellow oyster mushrooms, but all of their mushrooms and greens are great.  I was very tempted by the purslane, an herb I’ve never tried before but even though it was only $3 for a bunch, the size of the bunch was enormous.  I thought it better to leave it for someone else.

All in all, I did a big part of my weekly shopping at the market.  Tonight, I’ll coat the flounder in flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs, and accompany it with carmelized hakurei turnips and something else I haven’t figured out yet – maybe a kohlrabi slaw.  The mushrooms will be a sautéed side the night I make the chicken.  Everything else will appear in due time, but I’ve already had the pleasure of dipping into my stash for lunch.

That lettuce was so tempting, I decided on a salad for lunch today.  Several leaves of that fabulous lettuce, with tomatoes, cucumbers, purple onions, and French radishes (also procured from the market).  The dressing was a bit unusual but it worked perfectly – a mixture of fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, sugar, and chilis.  The fish sauce and chilis add very strong notes that are balanced and smoothed out by the sugar and the vinegar.  It would be easy to covert this to a main course by adding chicken or shrimp, but for lunch this was just perfect.

I’ll let you know later how the hakurei turnips turn out – I’m dying to find out myself.

Recipe – Chopped salad with fish sauce dressing

Ingredients – salad

Red leaf lettuce, chopped or torn into bite sized pieces

Tomatoes, sliced thickly then chopped into bite size pieces

Red onion, thinly sliced

Radishes, thinly sliced

Cucumbers, thickly sliced and quartered

Ingredients – dressing

1/4 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar

2 tbl sugar

2 garlic cloves, reduced to a paste

3 Thai red chilis, sliced thinly

Directions

Whisk dressing ingredients together until well blended.

Assemble salad ingredients in a bowl.

Add dressing to salad.  Mix very well and avoid adding too much dressing.  The dressing is very thin and will puddle at the bottom of the bowl.