Family reunions, fireworks, ice cream, backyard cook-outs and picnics at the beach--are you ready for the Fourth? The market will get you in a festive mood. You can pick up cheeses, pickles and sauces, smoked ribs for the barbecue, grass-fed beef, crisp lettuce and cucumber from the field and tomatoes grown in local greenhouses. Pain d’Avignon will have plenty of hamburger buns and hot dog rolls. Coastal Vineyards will offer a variety of white wines made from grapes cultivated on their eigh...
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The market has been pitching in with culinary classes at Highfield Hall, highlighting market produce, cheeses and seafood.  Last week’s class was led by Susan Ryan Ackell, a catering chef and one of our market team, and Lori Caron, of Salty Lou’s Lobsters. The class featured juicy fresh corn and lobsters - a traditional pairing - and an excerpt from Ocean Adventures. This movie, by Jean-Michel Cousteau and narrated by Robert Redford, includes scenes of Lori’s partner, Rob Martin, lobste...
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The season’s first field tomatoes made an appearance last week, along with their solanaceous relatives, potatoes. Though tomatoes may be more charismatic, some of us look forward at least as much to local, newly dug spuds. Tripp Farm, a new vendor from Westport, had both for sale, as well as other summer vegetables.

At last, recycling is coming to Main Street. One of the recycling containers has been placed at Peg Noonan Park, and at 12:30 this Thursday, there will be an inaugural bottle-fli...
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Here’s the thing about farmers’ markets: they’re all about weather. The past weeks, hot and rainless, have been harder than usual on salad greens—so you mightn’t see as many delicate lettuces as you did last summer when rain, clouds and cool temperatures prevailed. On the other hand, all that sun we’ve had lately is ushering in corn season in a hurry. Don’t be surprised if you find the first ears of corn at our market this week; come prepared with a roomy bag.

Of course, our weat...
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Thomas Jefferson, founding father and author of the Declaration of Independence, would have been right at home at our farmers’ market. In his garden at Monticello in Virginia, he grew more than 250 varieties of vegetables and 170 varieties of fruit. Long before Michael Pollan came up with the mantra Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants, Jefferson was writing about eating little animal food, and was especially keen on peas. With the July 4th weekend approaching, why not take a leaf out of J...
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