Tour of the Markets-Minneapolis Farmers Market, Minneapolis, MN
Another Saturday brings another market exploration! This week did not disappoint! As it is still early in the growing season, many of the smaller markets do not have quite the abundance of offerings, so I decided to head to the heart of the big metropolis of Minneapolis, MN.
Whether you are a big city lover or avoid traffic like the plague, there is a certain amount of charm about a fresh market, carefully placed between a 6 lane free-way and the pipes of an industrial park. It felt like the hustle and bustle just melted away, and you were standing in the middle of a country wayside. And not only the market itself, but people from all walks of life gather for this, dare I say, celebration? It felt like (and smelled a little like) I walked into a fair ground. Let me not get ahead of myself….
When you come to the Minneapolis Market, parking is a wonderful handshake agreement and act of faith with the car next to you. I kid, there is a perfectly laid out, and surprisingly spacious, lot given the downtown location, with very safe and defined parking. I happen to arrive at peak hours when the overflow parking was getting quite creative, and the nice woman in the car ahead of me said ‘everything goes’ on market Saturdays with a chuckle. Well, you only live once I guess, so I grabbed my bag and headed in!What met me right away was the overwhelming smell of flowers. I don’t know that I have ever been in an outdoor market with such a fragrance! Not only were there baskets to greet you, but fresh cut flowers, small starters to plant, and herbs galore. What became apparent quite quickly was how many greenhouses also came to this market, as their plants were quite a bit ahead of what I had expected. This only aided in the delicious smell and my brain was running the whole time with creative inspiration! The flowers were perfect! Despite how these photos look, it was a little chilly on this morning, and still early in the season. It’s hard to be in a negative mood when you are walking through a football field of beautiful flowers, and I found myself as no exception-this was my happy place. Even the people seemed to have a friendly glow around them, as they talk about plans for what project they are going to do or who they are buying flowers for.There was not just one large sheltered enclosure, but several, and each boasting a different display of goods for sale. It seemed to go fairly uniformed in left to right from the place the plants were in the ground-dirt/seedlings, to young plants, pots, cut flowers, herbs and vegetables, to your packaged produce and hand made goods. Generally speaking, that is how I saw the 5 or so building structures. Moving down the row, I found myself walking among the produce. The first thing that struck me was the huge abundance of beautiful and really ripe produce, and it took me just a bit to place why something felt off. Then in occurred to me. Coming from a smaller town, I tend to rely on the local farmers market to bring the seasonal offerings and made goods, but typically still have my routine store run for my other fruits and vegetables.
In a larger city, this market could often be more of a one-stop shop, as they tend to have general produce above just what’s seasonal or farm fresh. I found this further emphasized when I saw the watermelon, berries, corn, etc. I fully support this and understand the rationale completely, it was simply an observation, and re-iterated to me to put my best journalism smile on and make sure I asked more about my particular ‘challenge’ ingredients to make sure I was in line with the season.
That was a welcomed observation, and I met some wonderful people! It’s always charming to me when people (must be a Midwest ‘nice’ thing) use directions in stories such as ‘just down the road’ or ‘right outside of town’ to describe their farm about an hour away in the country. It was fun to be familiar with these locations and had some great interactions, even having common denominators with many. The fresh, seasonal offerings did not disappoint and I had my fair pick of any of the produce I could possible want. I was trying to look outside of the box, but this time of year was fairly limited with just what Mother Nature has to offer, if I’m sticking to my rules (seasonal, showcased in the dish, and outside of my typical comfort zone cooking). But, make sure to read through (or skip if I start to ramble…no hard feelings 🙂 ) to the end to see the ingredients I did target and recipes created! It was a DELICIOUS week!A few structures further down, there was a really great selection of ground offerings, but not your average produce. This structure included a lot of mushroom varieties, dried produce, and medicinal herbs and creations. I’m half regretful that I did not take a more adventurous stab at mushrooms. This year so far, I’ve dipped my toe in the arena of shiitake and oyster, but otherwise am a pretty loyal ‘bella fan. Maybe this is my personal nudge for a future week. Spoiler alert on this-while not my ingredient of the week, the gentlemen that I bought these dried peppers from talked for a bit about their cycle of produce, and how they go about drying for future plans. It was quite interesting, and got me thinking about the longer shelf life and creative opportunities of much of the produce I’m coming across, and thinking about the future, utilizing today’s abundance. Interesting, and very thought provoking, and spurred some deeper thought for a near future blog….The markets aisles opened up to the central plaza, where a live band was greeting all the guests, and venders were spread about everywhere. It felt oddly nostalgic, as something Norman Rockwell would be proud of. The plaza was framed with a huge warehouse that was home to a local flower company, and while they had many flowers imported outside of our seasonal finds, they had such an overwhelming amount of gorgeous finds it felt as if I was walking through a garden in full bloom (correction, only if that garden was located in Iceland. The coolers were refreshing, but limited my desire to spend too much time here!). It was hard to resist not redecorating my whole house with fresh arrangements! A farmers market just isn’t complete, in my opinion, without local dairy products. The Minneapolis market held up to the bargain and showcased a few different stands with local creamery products.
I was pleasantly surprised to also find a few booths specializing in gluten-free, keto-friendly, vegan, and other allergenic sensitive bakery goods, pastas, and made products.
The plaza side of the market had a different vibe around it entirely. While the produce and plant side entailed arm to arm traffic and trying to not get whacked in the face with a tall plant hanging over a shoulder, this side felt like I should kick off my shoes and put a flower in my hair. As I felt my head start to bob and my walk changed a bit to the rhythm, I strolled slowly through aisles of hand made crafts and goods, engulfed in the feel good vibes.A very interesting conversation of the day surprisingly highlighted wedding season-who would have thought?! I typically equate markets with the kitchen, but this lovely pottery woman spoke to this being her largest season, as people buy sets for wedding gifts. What a great idea! Just hopefully those newlyweds share your taste…There was no way I was walking out of this market, with the waves of everything from local coffee, kettle corn, fresh fajitas, and donuts, to salmon burgers, egg rolls, smoothies (ahhh, can you tell just writing this makes my mouth water!) without a bit of sampling As is usually the issue going to fairs and markets with this overflow of options, small bites help to try a little bit of a lot of flavors! As I was leaving, I realized that this was much more of a learning experience and exposure to cultural diversity than simply just finding some produce. Not only did I find what I had expected to purchase coming here for what I would have thought to make, but came across different ethnic seasonings, herbs, and goods that made me think outside of the box. And, added bonus, I met some really great people in this melting pot of culture! I’m very thankful that I allowed myself time to explore this market, and the weather allowed for the full enjoyment outside. As I gathered my goods and headed back to my car, a little smile crept over my face as the very woman who joked about the parking lot being ‘everything goes’ on market Saturdays was wiping ice cream off her child’s face. We exchanged our treasure hunt findings and good wishes, and I was on my way-another great market tour for the books! (and yes, my car was safe and sound, right where I left it 🙂 )
My first ingredient for this week is chives. The reason I chose chives is twofold-one, obviously a largely in season vegetable that provides some versatility. But two, typically I’ve used chives as an added herb to accentuate a dish, but not as the main star itself. I was not even sure this was possible with their flavor, but wanted to give this a go.
Each of these recipes have a comment section and I’d love to hear your thoughts, and if you feel inclined to share/follow Goddess of Garlic on Facebook, you will see these as I post them throughout the week:
Asparagus was my second choice, because it is so prevalent right now. If you are anywhere near a farmers market in the Midwest (or a farm, or looking at a farm, or thinking about a farm, or…), you have a huge amount of asparagus in your refrigerator. And while there are SO MANY things you can do with asparagus, sometimes it’s easy to get caught in overthinking, and just throw together another batch of cream soup, or bacon wrapped bundle. I tried to think outside of the box, and if you take a peek through my recipes, you will see many more recipes using asparagus as I experimented!
Mint was my last ingredient. I’m not new to mint, but also not had lots of experience cooking with this at the forefront. I’d have to admit, I feel like this took a bit of the back burner for my attention over the week, as I tried a few fails (you’ll see in the smoothie recipe-silver lining, but actually started with a soup). But, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that, not only did I find a way to use this herb that I never would have, it also pushed me to like, and I hate to admit….enjoy PEAS?! I would call this a success, and a recipe I will keep in my pocket for the future.
This was a very fun week of the Tour of the Markets, not only physically exploring but also the kitchen experiments. I’ve received some feedback already as recipes trickle out-I love it!!! Please feel free to reach out anytime with feedback and/or suggestions!
I post the recipes on the website, and share them on the Facebook page, as well as Pinterest and Instagram. Not only is this a culinary learning for me, but also a technology wake-up call that I’m not as inline with my generation as I think! Please have patience as I work through these and I will try to be diligent about my follow up.
