I went to the farmer’s market today. This is not my favorite place. As a chef, I know it should be. The food is beautiful. But I panic, every single time. My mind spins with what looks best, what do I want, where’s the best place to get it, will the stroller fit inside the booth, are people mad at me for having a stroller, do I have enough cash…? This is what my mind does at the farmer’s market.

But my kid and I were sick with colds all week and a very long Saturday was staring us down so I said, let us go to the farmer’s market!

We got a great parking spot, I jogged down Ocean avenue and peeped the beach while Ian peeped all the dogs being walked. Then we found ourselves at the market.

 

 

I started to freak out a little. Then I gave myself permission to not buy a single thing if I didn’t want to (this is another source of stress for me because as a cook, I really want to buy EVERYTHING). I think I saw the cabbage first (“You can buy the cabbage, Mandy. It’s okay. It will keep for a long time, you don’t need to use it right away…”). Once inside the stall, I spied some beautiful golden beets, then cucumbers, then tomatoes, then cilantro. I bought it all, at which point Ian started demanding a “nack” so I hunted down some cheese samples. Those went over big, so I bought a hunk, then thought, “CORN.” I quickly found said corn and lo and behold, it was in the same stall where I’d bought everything else, except for the cheese.

 

 

Most of this went into the salad. The tomato still needs to ripen, the cabbage and kale are destined for soup, and the cheese is all Ian.

 

Golden Beet & Raw Corn Salad

Serves 6

3 golden beets, roasted and chopped

6 ears sweet corn

1 lime

1/4 white onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 small heads romaine, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400

Clean and trim beets. Poke a couple times with a sharp knife, then bundle in foil, and put on a baking sheet also covered in foil (beets like to bubble and the juice is sticky). Bake for 40-50 min or until tender. Let cool then slip off the skin and chop into bite-size pieces.

Cut corn off the cobb and mix with lime juice, onion, and cilantro. Add cooled beets and stir to combine. Toss with romaine and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Super clean, super tasty. I like to “dress” this salad with fresh guacamole and hummus, and add a big slab of bread to dig into, since I’m having salad for my meal and all…

I put cilantro sausage in husband’s salad for extra protein, and other successful additions have included black beans and shredded roasted chicken.

How do you feel about the farmer’s market? Like, really.