my farmer's market dinner

Oh man, that was delicious. It was like a gourmet meal. And a majority of the dinner we just ate was made from farmer's market goods. Here's what we had:

A hearty salad of sunflower greens, watercress, oyster mushrooms, carrots, and sunflower seeds with homemade lemon-ginger dressing and thai basil flowers

• Sunflower greens (tender little leaves, see the image at right) were from Evolutionary Organics of New Paltz, NY
• Watercress, was not from the farmer's market but sold at Fairway supermarket from a local farm
• Oyster mushrooms of various colors (white, yellow, and peach) were from the mushroom guy (Madura Farm). He has an amazing selection of mushrooms (lion's mane, shiitake, hen-of-the-woods). They all have unique qualities and health benefits
• Sweet, early carrots and thai basil were from Phillips Farms in Milford, New Jersey
• Sunflower seeds, lemon, and ginger were from Fairway. The dressing was simply fresh lemon juice, grated ginger, olive oil, fleur de sel (salt), and black pepper

Heirloom tomato, lemon cucumber,
goat cheese, with thai basil

• Heirloom tomatoes (maybe Big Rainbow or Mr. Stripey variety?) and the lemon cucumber (mild, sweet round little thing, see right) were from Evolutionary Organics in New Paltz, New York
  
• Capri goat cheese was from Westfield Farms in Hubbardston, Massachusetts (purchased at Murray's Cheese Shop)
• Thai basil was from Phillips Farms in Milford, New Jersey
• This delicious pile was simply dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

It's amazing what you can find at your local green market, like heirloom and seemingly exotic varieties that you probably won't find in your supermarket. Eating fresh, close-to-home food like this is not only healthy and tasty, it directly supports local farmers and encourages biodiversity.

Find your local farmer's market at Local Harvest.

Read about the importance of biodiversity.

Thanks, baby, for making me a yummy dinner!

UPDATE (Or I should say, correction): I had previously listed "Bulich Farms" as the mushroom provider, it's really Madura Farm. Sorry Mushroom Guy!