Once the strawberries hit the Market, a cavalcade of color follows. Raspberries ripen in two or three weeks after strawberries; then blueberries, blackberries, Marionberries, and any other delicious berry our farmers grow.
 
All the Fresh Vegetables
Tomatoes, rhubarb, English peas, sugar snap peas, snow peas, pea tendrils, asparagus, spinach, collard greens, chard, broccoli rabe, Chinese broccoli, lettuce (romaine, butterhead, red leaf and green leaf), radishes, beets, cucumbers, eggplants, lemon cucumbers, leeks, spring onions, spring garlic, garlic bulbs, and garlic scapes.
 
You're not in culinary wilderness if you have never heard of, let alone tasted, garlic scapes,the flower stems of immature garlic plants. The Market's Cha New Life vendor sautés them in butter. If you run an Internet search, you'll find a growing following for this variation of garlic, which you're likely to find only at farmers markets.
 
Buy your rhubarb while you can since the season will soon end. Rhubarb freezes so easily that you can have rhubarb for most of the year. It's as simple as washing, trimming, cutting and freezing. For directions and pictures, please see http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1375/how-to-freeze-rhubarb.asp .

 
Because of its tart taste, rhubarb makes good pies, cobblers and crisps. Many people combine rhubarb with strawberries to even out the tartness. In the last years, rhubarb has been edging away from jams and pies and moving into the wider culinary world, showing up in ice cream, sorbet, and even pickles. Lisa Dupar, who gave the chef demo at last week's Market, serves a delicious rhubarb sorbet and some unforgettable pickled rhubarb at her Pomegranate restaurant.
 
Herbs
Mint, cilantro, dill
 
Flowers
The Market flower  stalls explode with color and beauty. Last week, the flower vendors brought the first delphiniums of the season. Along with peonies and bearded irises, delphiniums with their tall blue and purple spikes make the showiest of the spring flowers. 
 
Our flower vendors can provide the flowers for your special events. Last year and already this year, they've helped Market shoppers plan flowers for weddings and other events.  

 

Shellfish and Meat
Oysters and clams fresh from Hood Canal; grass-fed beef
 
Bread and Pastries
Bread, pie, cobblers, bagels, cookies, bars and all things good
 
Honey
Local varieties of honey along with beeswax candles
 
Prepared Foods
Dim sum and pad Thai; award-winning barbecue; ice cream treats; frozen soups; and specialty chocolates. For all you Hermosa Mexican Foods fans, Hermosa is scheduled to be back at the Market later in June.
 
Plants and Crafts
Our artisans make your shopping experience a more interesting one.
 
Where Are the Cherries and Peaches?
We Market shoppers are at the same time a patient and an impatient bunch. We wait all year for the first local produce to come to the Market, and then we can't wait for the berries, the cherries and other fruits.
 
During the first few weeks of the market, we're often asked, "Where's the fruit?" The answer is that it's all on the way, starting with berries in mid-June.
 
The Washington cherry harvest usually begins mid to late June. That's why the cherries we've been seeing in the grocery stores are from California. We expect to see cherries at the Market around June 24, but even the growers know that those dates move with the weather.
 
The stone fruits, apricots, peaches and plums, start coming to Market in July, followed by pears and apples in August.