Farmer's Market

It's finally June and the farmer's market has opened.  I went to the market in my town last weekend and got so much cool stuff.  I haven't been to a farmer's market in several years and the last time I went I was underwhelmed.  It seemed like there were more craft stands than produce stands.  I like crafts as much as the next person, but they aren't what I'm going for.  So I tried out a different market this year and was much happier.

I was open to getting whatever they had there, but I was hoping to see lots of fresh strawberries.  I've been really wanting strawberries ever since mine got eaten by birds.  Fortunately, I was not disappointed.  Almost everyone had strawberries for sale.

These nice ladies let me take a taste so I knew I was getting really good stuff.  I could have gone crazy and bought way too many.  I controlled myself though and brought home three baskets like this.

Aren't they pretty?  Fresh picked berries like these go bad a lot faster than the berries you get from the grocery store so I knew I had to use them up right away.  Luckily for me, that wasn't a problem.

First, I made a strawberry shortcake using some of the leftover lemon thyme cornbread from the other night.  It might seem a little weird to use cornbread in strawberry shortcake, but it really works out great.  The cornbread is a little drier on the second day so it soaks up all the yummy juices from the sugared berries.  The lemon in the cornbread is a really nice compliment to the berries.  Plus, I got to practice my fancy plating skills and slice it into pretty wedges like this...

I still had berries left that I needed to use up so I decided to make jam.  Most jam recipes call for a ton of fruit and I only had about 3 cups so I decided to just make a really small batch.  I made a variation of the Strawberry and Lavender Jam from Canning For A New Generation by Liana Krissoff.

This stuff is so good!  Unlike a lot of jams it isn't too sweet so you can still taste the fruit.  The lavender adds just a little something in the background.

Strawberry and Lavender Jam

I only made a third of the real recipe so these measurements yield about 1/2 a pint of jam.

3 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried lavender or heaping tsp fresh

Mash the berries with a potato masher.  I like to leave it pretty chunky.  Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until mixture is thickened stirring often.  Let cool slightly and ladle into a jar.  Store in the fridge.

Last, but not least, the farmer's market also had several fresh flower stands and places to buy plants and herbs to plant in your garden.  I resisted buying anything new for the garden, but I didn't come home empty handed.  My boyfriend bought me this lovely bouquet.

This type of flower is called Sweet William and in Victorian times it symbolized gallantry.  Sounds good to me!