We’re not accustomed to visiting the May farmers market the morning after some (very slight) snowfall, but the morning’s bright blue skies  were enough to encourage us to hop on our bikes and head down to the Midtown Farmers Market. Though old man winter has stretched out one shivering, icy finger in a desperate attempt to hold on to the upper midwest, the smiling faces and ever-increasing produce of the market stand up in defiance, telling old man winter to get lost. Admittedly we were a little chilly from the ride in, but it was nothing hot coffee and even hotter tamales couldn’t set right.

The early spring market is an exercise in patience. The feeling of new vegetables right around the corner is palpable, yet week after week they only seem to trickle in: ramps the first week, lettuce this; can asparagus be that far off? In spite of the occasional disappointment when a sought after vegetable has not yet returned, there is a real excitement for each new arrival at the market. Like old friends returning after a long absence, each new vegetable is greeted with an enthusiastic embrace. By August, when we have ears of corn coming out our ears and enough tomatoes to fill every canning pot in the house, the abundance can be overwhelming. But for the moment, the slow appearance of one crop after the other allows for each vegetable to be given its due appreciation. And besides, after waiting all winter for the market to return, what’s a few more weeks waiting on asparagus and peas?

New this week was lettuce, from Gardens of Eagan. We also picked up a pint of their strawberries, which make a great garnish for oatmeal. And because I can’t resist, especially as we wait for a greener market stalls, I picked up a pound of ground mutton.

The hauls from these early markets are humble to be sure, but this shouldn’t be discouraging. It doubles our resolve to be at the market next weekend: after all, with new arrivals of our old friends each week, how could we even miss one of them?

It’s finally here! It’s been pretty warm in Minnesota for about a month, but that only made the lack of fresh local produce seem even crueler. As of yesterday, the food drought was over with the advent of the Midtown Farmers Market. Martha and I were so excited that we arrived shortly after market open at eight and within a few minutes were enjoying our traditional farmers breakfast of tamales and coffee.

It was fun to see all our friends from last summer back at the market, as well as to welcome some new faces. Particularly promising is the stall for Gardens of Eagan, which in addition to the expected herb and veggie starters already had strawberries. Apparently hoop houses and a crazy-warm April can make this happen. For those who missed the market’s opener, their chalk board promised more strawberries and lettuce next week.

Looking back at last year, all I bought on the first day of the market (May 2, 2009) was a chicken, mutton and salsa — nothing fresh from the ground. Even though this year’s first market was a day earlier, I did a lot better for fresh produce: in addition to the aforementioned strawberries there were ramps foraged from the wilds of Wisconsion by Brett ‘Real Bread’ Laidlaw. There was also spinach available, had we been so inclined. As with last year, I couldn’t pass up a pound of that delicious ground mutton, and we also picked up a bag of spicy almonds from market fixture Barsy’s. This haul of food — already featuring fresh fruits and veggies — bodes well for the rest 0f the summer.

The Midtown Farmers Market is open Saturdays from May to October from 8am to 1pm and Tuesdays from June to October from 3pm to 7pm. The market is located at the corner of Lake St and Hiawatha, across from the YWCA.

The first weekend in May marks the opening of my farmers’ market of choice in Minneapolis, the Midtown Farmers’ Market. Because our national food media is so dominated by California and New York, I had all kinds of high expectations for tender asparagus, fresh peas and other spring goodies. As it turns out, that is unrealistic for Minnesota—we are only now starting to see sure signs that life will return to the fields, but evidently nothing is ready to eat yet. As far as I could tell nobody was selling fresh vegetables unless you count Honey Creek Farm, who were selling plants from which vegetables might one day grow.

Despite the lack of fresh produce, there were quite a few vendors. There was the usual group selling crafts, which I avoid (no offense to them, just not my thing). Brett Laidlaw was there with his real bread which I was very impressed to learn (last year) is all produced in a home oven. At least two vendors, who I didn’t recognize from last year, were selling home-canned produce.  Another bright spot among the new faces was the SalsaLady who was selling four kinds of homemade salsa: mild, green, chipotle and habanero. I’ve complained before about the lack of a good replacement for Jack’s salsa in Minnesota, but I think I may have found it and then some in SalsaLady. I bought a half-pint of the green salsa, but not for being very tempted by the chunky habanero.

Being that this was the opener, there was a slightly more festive atmosphere than usual (although, it’s always pretty festive). There was a petting zoo that featured a rooster who kept cock-a-doodle-doing as well as what I took to be an adult and baby goat. It’s more than a little perverse that upon seeing a cute baby goat the first thought in my mind is, “Mmm… I bet that cabrito would be tender.”

I had also heard that (Minneapolis mayor) RT Rybak was making an appearance to christen the activities. I must have gotten there a little early because he wasn’t speaking when I arrived. As I was leaving, however, I passed a pleasant looking white-haired man who, instead of doing the standard Minnesota greeting of averting his eyes looked at me and said “Hi, how are you doing?” I knew this had to be a politician! (I more or less answered with the standard Minnesota greeting, I’m afraid). Consultation with field guides upon my return home confirmed that this was a Rybak sighting.

Given the lack of fresh vegetables this early in the season, I left with just a few items. I almost always end up buying some form of meat from Chase Brook Natural Farms; in this case I was lucky as I was looking for a small chicken and those were just the kind of chickens they were selling. I am also a fan of the ground mutton from Native Oaks Farm; it has more flavor than ground lamb, none of the textural problems associated with mutton since it’s ground and is priced to move at $4/lb. Lastly, as mentioned before, I couldn’t resist a half-pint of the SalsaLady’s salsa verde.

Not exactly an impressive bounty, but it’s still a bit early in the season. I’ll be back next weekend—cross your fingers for asparagus!