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TagsBY SUSAN ALAI
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
It’s time to stop procrastinating and start shopping your local farmers’ market. Summer is in full swing and the bounty of Jersey produce and other edibles is astonishing.
Piles of peaches, mountains of tomatoes and enough fresh and snappy cucumbers to satisfy the most veggie averse toddler await at the markets that dot the state from Bernardsville and Morristown to Millburn and Maplewood, to name just a few. Click here for a complete listing throughout the state.
My local favorite is the Sunday Morristown farmers’ market (because it’s convenient and bustling with vendors) which sets up shop at 8:30 a.m. and goes strong until 2 p.m. Get there early though as some favorites, like corn, are apt to sell out.
Dress can be anything from height of the season shorts and T-shirts to Sunday best as the local churches empty out and those who cherish this time of year arrive as if by auto-pilot to collect the brightest and the freshest.Guitars strum, conversation burbles about and the squeals of long sequestered friends and neighbors make it feel more like a block party than the weekly trip to the frozen tundra of the supermarket.
One recent Sunday it was less like suburban New Jersey and more reminiscent of a charming town in the South of France. There’s even the popular Pickle Licious stand where pickles and olives have their fans lined up patiently waiting for a treat. Shoppers arrived by car, by foot and by bike.
Many were carrying or guiding small children and many others had their best friends, the four-legged kind, on leashes, the better to meet and greet their canine pals and await the friendly attentions of many a shopper. The most astute dogs know to keep their noses to the ground for any stray dropped edibles.
This particular market has evolved from one devoted largely to produce and flowers (the better to set the dinner table) than one where you can assemble your entire meal. Barnegat resident Jim LaPrete visits several markets during the week and for the land-locked folks of the northern and central counties, that means it’s possible to plan the night’s dinner around swordfish steaks, Little Neck clams and fresh, meaty scallops. The folks behind the counter generously ladle ice to keep your purchase fresh and they’re plenty willing to offer suggestions on how to cook that fish. There’s no website yet but he’s in the process of creating one.
LaPrete’s sister Kim helps with the weekly bread and sweets allotment with her Baker’s Bounty of Linden where shoppers can find thick crusty loaves of brick oven baked olive and semolina breads as well as plenty of handmade Danish pastries, cookies and seasonal goodies. Baked goods are additive and preservative free.
If you have the forethought to bring a cooler, that’s even better. But these days most folks try to remember to fish a canvas bag out of the back of the car and cut down on the amount of plastic bags they collect.
There’s more to consider at these many markets. Valley Shepherd Creamery of Long Valley has become the prom queen these summer days as its staff of pleasant young folks offer up small slivers of their exquisite cheeses to sample.
Try their rich Manchego, sheep’s milk cheese or cheddar for taste sensations that will make you forget the blocks of orange stuff you settle for come January. You might pay 15 bucks for a half pound of their product but oh what a cheese it will be. And you’ll remember to eat it in parsimonious bites that prolong the pleasure until you can get back the following week.
Griggstown Farm and Market has been a welcome addition to the assortment of flower and vegetable purveyors. You can pick up dinner by purchasing one of their antibiotic and hormone free chickens for around $10. Or make an even easier dinner plan and try one of their chicken pot pies. Price is $12.50. Just pop it in the oven and in less than an hour, with a salad made of fresh greens and tomatoes, your table will be set. At the end of the day, it will feel like a vacation on a plate.
A lifelong Jersey resident (minus two years in Maryland), Susan Alai is a freelance writer and the former Lifestyle Editor of The Star-Ledger. She was part of the features department team which won the Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Award for General Excellence in 2000 and was a second place winner in 2001 from Missouri for the Home & Garden section. She’s a fan of New Jersey produce, farms and restaurants and knows the state’s best kept secret is what a great place it is to live. Susan is a graduate of Seton Hall University and lives with my husband in Morris Township. You can reach her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .