Conversation at the Farmers Market: Sharing a Love of Food

Reader Contribution by Sherry Leverich Tucker
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Just looking through my recipe box: It’s filled with my favorite recipes, shared with me by family and friends. I pass one from a friend in Texarkana, another from my cousin. I pick out one of my faves: Mexican Rhubarb Brownies. This is a scrumptious recipe that combines rhubarb, New Mexico chili powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips. The product is a moist, flavorful brownie that offers another great use for our market fresh (or frozen) rhubarb. A regular customer brought me a copy of this recipe one morning at the local farmers market where my mom and I sell.  

We are always sharing yummy recipes and tasty tips at the farmers market. Do you go to a local farmers market? Well, if you do, I think you will understand what I am talking about. We sellers are usually just as interested in how to eat our fresh produce as we are in how we grow and harvest it! One of my favorite things to point out is that unless you know how to eat your produce, you are probably not going to know how best to harvest it.

Food is a constant topic at our market. Last spring, when we were bringing fresh spearmint to sell, a regular buyer, Debbie, kept coming back for more of this aromatic herb. Finally I asked her, “So, what are you using your spearmint for?” She gave me this recipe: Pretty Water. In a pitcher slice up a cucumber, lemon, grated fresh ginger and add a bunch of spearmint. Fill the pitcher with water and stick it in the fridge overnight. This instantly became a hit with me. Very refreshing.

Others might offer tips, rather than recipes. To relieve his addiction to pesto, one seller shared with me that he uses parsley in place of basil (parsley is available in spring, whereas basil is a summer

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