At this time of year, the Portland Farmers’ Market display at both Deering Oaks and Monument Square resembles a flower show rather than the source for locally grown vegetables and foods. Yes, there’s some local food to buy: canned food leftover from last year; meats (mostly frozen); cheese; some dairy and the great boon in hoop house greens–an essential for the off season. The rest is the leftover storage crops, many of which are getting long in the tooth: woody carrots, potatoes stubbed with ears and blemishes, pretty dull looking cabbages and old beets that take forever to cook.
Crystal Springs in Brunswick is one of the best markets in Maine
But if you want plants in pots—including herbs– and local flowers, there’s much to be had. Yet, about the only spring vegetable now is rhubarb—easily found. But where is the asparagus? Most farmers in our area say that the stalks are only a few inches high. But when you go to other parts of the state, inland farmers now have asparagus because they have slightly warmer growing conditions.
This week the only item I bought at the Portland market was eggs—these from Alewive’s Brook Farm—whose eggs are lush with deep yellow creamy yolks.
It wasn’t until I reached my second stop in the farmers’ market route, the Crystal Spring Farmers’ Market, part of the Brunswick Land Trust on Pleasant Hill Road in Brunswick, that my shopping bag started to fill up.
By 9:30 the temps were nearing 70 degrees and given this pastoral farm setting it was a marvelous place to be. The market was packed with shoppers. And there’s so much to buy. Six River Farm, for instance, had asparagus and I luckily secured the last bunch.
Over 40 vendors at Crystal Springs
Lots of meat and fish vendors (no fish allowed in Portland) at this market and plenty of baked goods (also in short supply at Portland), too. I love the popovers from the Farmer’s Daughter, whose other baked goods are pies and breads (including the best English Muffins) are home style classics. Other bakers include Bowdoin Baking Company who makes my favorite cookie, Melting Moments. This is a great heirloom cookie rarely seen in bake shops. It’s a shortbread dough usually made with confectioner’s sugar and butter. It’s sandwiched with strawberry jam.
Of course everyone lines up to buy Zu Bakery’s rustic hearth-baked breads. And Hootenanny bakery has wonderful breads as well including excellent bagels.
Rarely for me I sprung for a $20 chicken–a pastured organic chicken at $4.75 per pound. It was a fine chicken but not all that special for the price. I much prefer the natural chickens ($1.99 per pound) that I get at the nearby Topsham butcher, Bisson’s, whose birds are nearly as big as condors averaging 8 pounds; they have great flavor. But then I found big bunches of lovage and tarragon from one of the farmers. I used the herbs to stuff the chicken cavity, and that added great flavor.
