Tour of the Markets-Menomonie Farmers Market, Menomonie, WI
Being an avid farmers market connoisseur, there are a few criteria that stand out to me. First, how far vendors come to participate. This tells me a bit about the crowd that comes and the surrounding areas. The second is the frequency of the market itself. It’s not uncommon to have a Saturday morning market, but you can usually tell a strong agricultural region when there are one, if not more, mid-week markets, and how those markets also look.
Menomonie, you did not disappoint! This trip was on their Wednesday market, and I was quite surprised to see just how full the pavilion was!
The produce looked so perfect, as if it was almost photo shopped. Everything was immaculately washed and displayed, and each vendor was so welcoming.
While there were many vendors, I was impressed also with the variety that was present. While many of the tables had similar produce, it was very apparent there were specialties of each farm and were prominently displayed.
Row after row showed many varieties of each produce, and enough that I wondered how they could possibly sell it all! I arrived early and was told this market became quite busy as the day went on and usually that was not a problem. Wow!
Spoiler alert, I had to choose cucumbers. With this many spread out so beautifully, my brain started racing with all of the ways to use cucumbers that are outside of my knowledge base. As I set out on this journey and established rules for myself, I was not going to use ingredients that I was already comfortable with. As I likely eat a cucumber 5 days a week in a salad, I felt this may be cheating. My vow-I will use this in a way I never have before (see recipes below).
This is about where the journey started to become challenging for me. While I was told this would be a great mid-week market, I was not expecting quite the abundance of produce! Everything was represented! My regret was not bringing a bigger bag.
I had a very interesting conversation with a gentleman here about various types of onions. As I work through this journey of exploration, I’m learning a lot along the way. Typically, yellow is best for all purpose, red for eating raw, and white for prepared salads and cooking. Depending on the type of cuisine you are making and preference of flavor, this is flexible and I’m sure debatable, but a good general rule of thumb. I was just trying to remember the old wives’ tale of biting a toothpick to keep from tearing up when chopping….
As I rounded the corner, I was greeted with the beautiful sound of local musicians! As a perfect sunny day would have it, this was completed with a few tiny dancers. Fabulous!
The entire time I was exploring the market, this is the closest the line ever got to empty enough to take a photo. Not only one, but two eggroll stands were present, and clearly this was a big attraction for many!
Coming around to the other side of the pavilion, I was met with vendors of homemade good. There was a nice variety of candles and incense sticks, as well as jewelry, soap, and many others.
Not to leave your dinner table incomplete, there were many options to finalize your meal of bruschetta, fresh grilled veggie sandwich, or just a nice wedge with your salad. Hearty, stone-ground bread in many different types was a great addition to this mix of offerings.
It was wonderful to see the added care and attention to local, handmade, and economically friendly. Most of the people I came across were very aware of their plastic use, entertaining reusable habits, and displaying how their produce or goods supported those beliefs. Way to go Menomonie!
Delicious goods of not only jams and sauces, but different types of fruit butters were available in many varieties!
And saving one of my favorites for last, I love to finish my tour of any market by walking through the rows of flowers.
While many vendors had their own bouquets, there was a fairly centralized location at the back of the pavilion, allowing you to grab your bouquet on the way out.
These bouquets were extremely impressive, and my bouquet lasted for a very long time! There are few better ways to have a mid-week (or any day of the week!) excursion than to ride home with the smell of flowers filing your vehicle.
Overall, this was one of the better markets that I have been to and would highly suggest a drive over if you are in the area! The people were very friendly and welcoming, and the produce was second to none. The pavilion offered a fun atmosphere as well as protection from the elements should there be any, and with two days a week of this size, it is a must visit.
For this week’s challenge, I had a hard time picking vegetables that were out of my comfort zone, so instead I added the additional challenge to use familiar foods, but only in techniques that were not my normal knife and cutting board. No basic salad bar chopping here….
My first ingredient is the carrot. I hate waste, and vowed to use the entire carrot, greens and all. This posed a challenge in itself as the greens can become quite bitter. Alas, after a few funny adventures and puckered faces, the following recipes came out absolutely deliciously!
Pork Bahn Mi Salad with Pickled Carrots
The cucumber is another that was going to give me a run for my money. I’m quite familiar, but usually with a simple chopped, raw cucumber. Knowing that there is a lot of versatility with this vegetable, I was excited to get started.
I thought this may be my toughest ingredient, as I don’t usually cook with fruit, but it ended up being one of the most fun! I was blessed with a low sweet tooth (blessed might be a strong word-hand over those chips and salsa and I’m a goner-trade off might be more accurate), so do not often use a lot of sugar in my cooking. With fruit, I find sugar is often a needed ingredient-go figure, right? With this challenge, I was determined to find complementary flavors that brought out the sweet of the fruit without using sugar, or using the fruit to tame the spicy of another ingredient. We had a lot of fun trying these out and it was perfect timing to act as appetizers over my mom’s birthday (Happy birthday Mom!).
Beet, Blueberry and Basil Sauce over Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese
Blueberry Jalapeno Relish over Brie
Thank you for following along on this journey and I hope you are able to enjoy some of the recipes and learning experiences with me! Half of the fun of this adventure is the smeared ingredients all over the counter and burning pan on the stove as I scramble to guess what I’m doing, but the other half is hearing from all of you and interacting with those I cross paths with! I’d love to hear your feedback and welcome anyone new to join along-if you have others that may enjoy these posts, please share!
I post recipes often on the website, and update those posts on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest if you would like to receive updates as they are uploaded.
Thanks again for tagging along on this journey!
Hannah (your fearless culinary visionnaire)
