Opening day at Collingswood Farmers Market

I wasn't there at exactly 8am - closer to 8:30. By the time I got there the market was already buzzing even with the damp, gray weather. It threatened to rain the entire time I was there, but it didn't. It did begin to rain a little later in the morning, though, so I'm sure the market got some rain.

All of the regular vendors that I had missed all winter were there - Springdale Farms with the cider donuts for my boys; DanLynn Farms had the organic fertilizer for my vegetable garden that worked so well last year, organic scallions, and eggs; Hillacres Pride Farm supplied me with grass fed ground beef from happy cows and a half pound of bacon; Buzby Farms sold me a couple of eggplant ($1 each!) and pepper plants (50 cents each!) that were leftover from their own planting; Sikking Flowers had beautiful fresh cut tulips; and Mind Your Own had my favorite wildflower honey.

Not everything I bought was local - lemons won't ever be local and the peppers I bought were from Florida.

My favorite part of the morning was getting breakfast. Chef Mark Smith from the Tortilla Press had set up a booth and gone to the vendors before the market opened to buy produce to make breakfast with local ingredients. He made quesadillas with broccoli or with leaks and spinach. I had a leak and spinach quesadilla for breakfast, and it was delicious. I can't wait to see what he comes up as more and more local produce comes into season.

I walked away with three shopping bags full of food including some asparagus that I'm going to try to make asparagus guacomole with. If it's a success, I'll post the recipe here.