Farmer's Market 2009

It begins.

As of yesterday, NOAA was forecasting a blizzard for today, the opening day of the 2009 Boulder Farmer's Market. Indeed it did snow last night and was still snowing lightly this morning. But the ground is so warm it's not sticking to paved surfaces, or any surface for too long. Note the snow on the trees in the photo.

I had thought I might not even leave the house today if the weather was going to be as bad as predicted. I knew at least one farmer who let me know in advance she wouldn't be setting up her booth. But let's be honest, what are the chances of me NOT getting down to the market on opening day?

So there I was, just minutes before the market officially opened, walking up the trail. "There's a tent! I see one! And there's another one!" I said to Gerard, relieved to know that at least some vendors made it, and excited at what their presence means. It was visual confirmation that spring had come. The season of plenty had arrived.

Fewer than half the vendors who will eventually make up the market were there today, but most don't even have anything to sell yet. In fact only one vendor, Anne and Paul Cure of Cure Organic Farm, had fresh greens - lettuces, spinach and salad mixes which like the cooler weather. Another, Three R's Farm, had tomatoes, but they've always got tomatoes thanks to their year round greenhouse operation. Our mushroom man was there. He's also got a great indoor operation growing baby bellas, shitake, trumpets and many others. The pickle guys of Mountain Valley Canning were there. They buy cucumbers, horseradish, sugar and spices from the other farmers and make the best pickles and horseradish I've ever had. Reuben, our super nice sprout guy was there, and so were the handsome young bread guys of Udi's Bakery, the rancher of Homestead Natural Beef, and lots of pastry-making women. In fact there was a new one today, a German woman with a very heavy accent who makes absolutely heavenly pastries. "She's the real thing," Gerard said after trying her cinnamon crisp. "She's not just trying to pretend she knows German pastries!"

And of course, the taste of the Boulder market is the "Amaizing Corn Tamale" of which I had to partake. Winter is officially over. It doesn't matter if it's still snowing.

It was so nice to reconnect with everyone. The standard greeting on the air was, "Hey _____, how are you!? How was your winter?" I hadn't seen most of these farmers and food artisans since last fall, and the die-hards (like me) were reconnecting with farmer friends throughout the market. I also saw some other Boulder friends and even a co-worker who had driven up from Golden and ran 17 miles on Boulder trails by 8AM. (He likes to come to Boulder to train and shop the market but lives in Golden because it's closer to work.)

I spent more time chatting and catching up than I did actually shopping, and this is one of the things that makes the farmer's market such a wonderful part of local culture. It brings people together. It's a place not just to shop but to meet new people and strengthen bonds of friendship. It builds community, and community is something Boulder does very well. The market is so popular, organizers are currently working on a complete redesign to try and accommodate the crowds and the ever growing list of vendors.

So my kitchen is now filling with the flavors of a new season just as the flavors of fall and winter are almost at an end. The winter squash are all eaten. I've got a few random jars of ketchup, cherry bomb peppers, pasta sauce and others and probably a little too much pumpkin butter. (Note to self: next fall I need way more salsa and a little less pumpkin butter!) I've got a little frozen fruit left, and a few miscellaneous containers of dry goods. Everything else is gone. Of course there's always an ample supply of bison, elk, pork, milk, butter, yogurt, cheese and eggs. But now the house once again is filled with the aroma of fresh green onions scrambled in with our eggs. We've got crisp, spicy salads, tender baby spinach, zippy red radishes, a wide variety of sweet little sprouts and an abundance of colorful Nasturtium flowers on our plates.

The winter slumber is over and the earth is waking up. Welcome, spring.