Well, I may not have much to report from the garden but I’ve been taking full advantage of the labor of others through Liberty’s farmer’s market. This year the Historic Downtown Liberty organization took over management of the market from the city and their promotion has really paid off.
I’ve shopped the market for as long as I’ve lived here and I’m pleased to see its revitalization. The selection and quality of its produce had been disappointing the last few years. Fewer farmers were showing up and it seemed like everyone grew the same tomatoes, potatoes and corn. Not any more.
Here’s some of what I picked up on Saturday:
Fresh basil and Red Toch garlic that has already been turned into gorgeous walnut pesto and frozen for this winter. I’ve never made pesto much before because I found it intimidating. All that olive oil and cheese made it high fat and I don’t usually have pine nuts on hand.
After doing a little research, I realize you can just wing pesto, the ingredients don’t have to be exact. Use walnuts or almonds or whatever nuts you have on hand. If you’re a garlic head like me, throw in that extra clove of garlic. Go lighter on the oil and cheese and soup up the recipe with tomatoes.
I’m so enamored with pesto that I went out and bought 3 more plants on Saturday to grow my own. This should keep me pesto happy through the fall and give me enough to freeze more for the winter.
Also from the market are sweet low-acid tomatoes, great in a salad and BLT’s; more green beans than two people can eat in a week, and a mild pepper for dipping in hummus and salad toppings.
Organic eggs from pasture-raised chickens.
Spicy radishes.
Cucumbers, onions, 
rhubarb, romaine lettuce, zucchini and peaches all came home with me too, but I put them away before I thought to take pictures.
Plus a first for our market was the availability of pasture-raised organic chicken and 10 pounds of pork chops, tenderloins and spare ribs from pasture-raised pigs. I’m looking for
ward to trying them out in the coming weeks. Maybe I’ll finally up the cooking quotient on these pages.
The growing season is a little late this year, so there isn’t much corn yet, but there is plenty of other produce to fill our plates and keep me out of the supermarket produce section for many months to come.
