Columbus Foodie

Yesterday was the first time this season I’ve been really excited about getting up early on a Saturday morning, since the North Market farmer’s market is up and about in nearly full force, and since yesterday was the first day of the Worthington Farmer’s Market.

Rte 315 was closed between I-70 and 670, so we had to do a lot of meandering on back roads to get there, but finally arrived at the North Market a little after 9am. It was bustling with more activity than usual – it was sort of hard to find parking (we got lucky at the meters), and Omega had gone through a tray of their wonderful cinnamon rolls in minutes flat (we were lucky enough to get the last one).

So much produce – Wishwell Farms had fresh asparagus and tomatoes (grown in a greenhouse, I think), along with their relish and tomato plants.

Toad Hill Farm had lovely lettuces and salad mix, along with a bunch of other greens.

Just This Farm had green garlic and asparagus, along with free range chicken.

And Combs Herbs (at least I *think* it was Combs Herbs) had RAMPS!! Yes! I thought I had missed out on them for the year, and I was so excited to try them. Yay for ramps!

And new this year is a cheese vendor, Oakvale Farmstead Cheese, with a nice selection of Ohio goudas.

After doing our weekly market shopping, we headed over to Worthington (no pics at Worthington, unfortunately – I accidentally left my camera in the car), where it was super-crowded (even before 10am), partially due to the plant sale they were having. We picked up quite a few things there as well (which will surely pop up in my entries soon, now that I’m able to source local ingredients for my recipes). I even saw Lisa in passing (hi, Lisa – sorry I didn’t stop to talk, but I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation and was in a hurry to meet back up with my husband over by the plant sale).

It was a lovely day for marketing – hell, it was a lovely day in general. If only these temperatures would hold for the rest of the season. I’m already looking forward to what next week brings, especially with next Saturday being the opening day of the Clintonville Farmers Market for the 2007 season. If you’d like a listing of our local farmer’s markets, I’ve assembled one here. See you at the market!