It’s that time of year again. The Boise farmer’s market has been open for 3 weeks and I am in heaven. In case you don’t know I’m a confirmed farmer’s market addict. I search them out as travel attractions when ever we vacation. Just ask my husband about the time I picked him up from the Bend airport and “just happened” to stumble upon the bend market on my way there. 
The key to market shopping in the early spring is to get there early. There’s fresh produce but it can be sparse and goes fast. If you want a good laugh imagine me running around the house trying to hurry everyone into the car. “If we don’t leave now there will not be any baby bok choy!!!” Yes, I really am that crazy about my farm fresh produce.
In the spring and summer my favorite cooking style is to keep it simple. Most spring produce fresh picked out of a garden or farm is so light and tasty it really doesn’t need much help. Not to mention that frees me up to spend more time in the garden, at the park, hiking the foothills, writing this blog, etc. For the vegetable portion of lunch after the market I like to make a simple dip and serve it with a big bowl of the latest fresh vegetables.
All Purpose Farmer’s Market Dip
- 1/4 c Plain Yogurt
- 2 T milk
- 2 T Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise) or Regular Mayonnaise
- 1 t Honey
- 1/2 t Vinegar (Your favorite type)
- 1 Medium Clove Garlic Crushed (Feel free to add more )
- 1 t Dill (Fresh or Dried… I killed my dill plant last year so it’s all dried here)
- Fresh parsley (To taste and optional)
- 1/8 t Salt
- Smoked Paprika to Taste (This makes the dip and is well worth hunting down. It adds a smokey good baconish taste)
- 1 Crisp Cooked slice of bacon finally diced (Optional, I’m experimenting with using this instead of the smoked paprika since my youngest is allergic to paprika. Yes you can be allergic to anything!)
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Let sit long enough to wash the vegetables and cut into sticks if needed. Better over night… but I never plan that far ahead.
I’ve currently used the dip with the following spring finds:
- Baby Bok Choy (My Favorite!)
- Carrots in sticks (Some markets have carrots if the farmer winters them over)
- Raw asparagus (Tastes kind of like snow peas with a stronger overtone.)
- Baby greens
The nice thing is this basic meal can be used all spring and summer. It’s always changing based on the vegetables in season but the basic steps are the same. Feel free to customize the dressing with your favorite herbs. I recently discovered I had 3 bottles of dried dill in my spice cabinet… so there’s going to be a lot of dill eating in this household. (Sorry dear.)
Thank you to Eat. Drink. Better. for featuring this article in their Farmers Market Fare.
Thank you to Kelly the Kitchen Kop. This article is in the Real Food Wednesday Blog Carnival.
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I’m that wacked about farm markets, too! We have very few (actually down to only one now) organic farmers, so I get up early just to get first pick of all the good stuff. Yours has been open for 3 weeks?! Lucky! Ours doesn’t open for another 3…
Thanks for joining in on the RFW carnival!
Kelly
Thanks for the baby bok choy tip- I never thought t eat it raw- will def try that. You could use cumin instead of smoked paprika. Is your son allergic to other peppers? (maybe you could use chipolte)
Yum!! I like to make a simple ranch with sour cream, dill, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper. I like a little basil or italian seasoning in there too sometimes. I’ve never tried smoked paprika – I need to try some of that!
When I want to make it more of a dressing and less of a dip I usually add some olive oil and vinegar instead of mayonaise. Down with polyunsaturated fats!
I got a CSA share this year, so I won’t be at the farmers market nearly as much. I think I’ll still have plenty of fresh produce!