Farmers market finds

One of my favorite weekly activities during the summer is going to the farmers market. Freshly picked local produce just tastes so much better than anything that could be found at the big grocery stores. And let's not forget local eggs and cheese. Buying a tomato at the store during the summer is just wrong. I am even starting to see more and more gluten-free baked goods being offered.

Usually I would be tending my own vegetable garden, with tomatoes started from seed, cared for since March, along with several other vegetables and herbs. But with the move this summer, I decided to let it go this year and it almost brings me to tears to see my veggie garden full of overgrown weeds. Gardening became my passion once we bought a house and had more space than we knew what to do with, but now....I guess we could all agree that gluten-free is my thing.

Tonight, armed with my farmers market (& gluten-free) finds I made a roasted beet salad with golden and red beets (above), and a caprese salad (below).

For the beets, I used golden and red beets. I cleaned and trimmed the beets, wrapped them in foil and cooked them for an hour at 375'. When they finished, I unwrapped them carefully and rubbed off the skins, chopped them in 1-inch chunks and let them chill in a bowl, in the fridge, for 30 minutes. I then tossed with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar and freshly ground salt and pepper. Easy and delicious. Z finished her plate, which coming from her is quite compliment. Or maybe she was just eager to see how the beets would effect her pee.

For the caprese, it is extremely simple....I chopped up various tomatoes (the black cherry ones were my favorite), tossed them with some olive oil, a splash of white balsamic, freshly ground salt and pepper and tossed with fresh mozzarella and fresh cut basil.

I love a fresh, local summer salad. Hopefully by moving to the South I can enjoy it for more of the year.

What is your favorite thing to make with your farmers market finds?