The Dirt: What To Get At The Farmers Market This Weekend


May, glorious, May! Though there will be no Rittenhouse market this weekend (due to the Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival), Headhouse Farmer’s market starts back up this weekend, for all you Bella Vista, South Philly, Pennsport, and Queen Village people out there. And you had better be excited about it. Philly’s favorite canning blogger Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars will be on hand sampling some recipes for spring preserves from her new book, Preserving by the Pint. Folks from the African American Museum will be conducting a flowerpot painting activity for the kiddos, and, as always, you can expect truly excellent spring produce, prepared foods, baked goodies, meat and seafood.

So let’s see what’s available, shall we?

Green Garlic – Not to be confused with garlic scapes, green garlic looks like scallions, sometimes with a ruddy blush on the shank (the white part). These immature garlic shoots can be eaten before the bulbs form and they’re a particular spring treat because they don’t require peeling and you can eat all the parts. Chop finely and scatter them with pasta for a fresh, yet pungent, supper, or use them anywhere you might use chopped cloves of garlic for a bright green twist on your favorite recipes.

Rhubarb – Oh yes. Look for early stalks of this spring favorite juuuust starting to appear at markets, and don’t wait until strawberries show up to cook with rhubarb. The sourness of the stalks are just as good matched with last season’s still sweet apples in either a pie or a coffee cake.

Golden Oyster Mushrooms – Beautiful, blue-grey oyster mushrooms have been keeping us company this winter, but several area mushroom producers will have the even more delicate golden oyster mushrooms this weekend as well.

Clipper – Named after a cow belonging to cheesemaker Sue Miller’s son Randy, Clipper is a limited edition offering by Chester County’s Birchrun Hills Farm. Miller ages this alpine style cheese for a year, and its particularly good when the cows switch from hay to juicy spring grass. The increased moisture in their diets makes for a lighter milk, perfect for long-aging cheeses. Like gruyere or emmentaler, Clipper has a dry texture and a pleasant sharpness with a nutty, brown butter flavor. Birchrun will have a limited quantity at each of their markets this weekend – Bryn Mawr, Phoenixville, and Headhouse Square – so get there early if you’d like to try it.

Find something great at your local market? Instagram it and tag accordingly: @foobooz #fooboozthedirt