Dane County Farmers’ Market
Here in Madison we have several very good Farmers’ Markets. I usually go to the West Side Community Market held in the shadow of the DOT building. But Madison is known for its large Dane County Farmers’ Market held on the Capital Square in Madison. This market is so bizarre that I’ve always had a difficult time making myself go. The vendors line the sidewalks around the Capital and everyone in Madison shows up to walk, zombie like, clockwise counter-clockwise around the square. Whenever baked goods are encountered the crowd bunches up, forward momentum ceases…it is just ridiculous! Our first visit was frustrating because we didn’t know about the counter-clockwise rule…we were like innocent fishies swimming upstream against the current, oblivious to the status quo.
But because I’m looking for rabbit (so I can make the Conejo Colorado that Homesick Texan blogged about last week) we went downtown to the Capital Square Market. I did see some fresh ramps that looked good and I bought a rack of lamb from Sylvan Meadows Farm and an ostrich tenderloin from Golden Dreams Ostrich Farm. But no rabbit. My favorite moment was when a quartet of musicians played Springtime For Hitler.
Tonight we had a spinach salad with smoked pork jowl lardons, eggs, and grilled ramps. I dressed the salad with a black currant dressing that balances a sweet fruitiness with a tart top-note from the white wine vinegar. Due to my extreme laziness I refused to chop herbs and shallots so instead I added some Sunny Paris seasoning blend from Penzeys. It’s a lovely blend of purple shallots, chives, green peppercorns, French basil, French tarragon, chervil, bay leaf, and dill. here’s the recipe:
Black & White Dressing
2 tablespoons black currant jam
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon Sunny Paris seasoning blend
salt
Throw all of this in the blender and pulse until well blended. Enjoy.
comments
10 Responses to “Dane County Farmers’ Market”
Leave a Reply
mmmm smoked pork jowl lardons! i wish i was eating at your house tonight. i think we’re gonna be even lazier than you and order chinese.
of course I didn’t see you at the market, but it wouldn’t have been like looking for a needle in a haystack!
oh well, maybe another time!
Funny that you should mention the zombie thing. My wife and I are recent arrivals to Madison, and went to market for the first time this last Saturday. We too, swam upstream for a while–and then finally gave in…
You’re hunting rabbit! So am I…good luck! (And what a strange market indeed!)
Amanda…I know what you mean…we’re like Homer Simpson…mention pig jowls or pork lardons and we both start moaning and drooling!
Andy, wasn’t that a crowd? I hope that it gets better once summer is here.
Lisa, let me know if you find the wabbit…even Whole Foods doesn’t have it.
Dan, it just goes against my nature to shop that way…argh! But welcome, welcome to Madison…feel free to send me an email if you have any questions about the area…etc. Where did you move from?
Glad to read that you are Westside Community market regulars.
I’ve written the short-version comparison of the Westside and downtown markets here:
http://www.waxingamerica.com/2007/04/spring_is_here_.html
Vanessa, do you have a Piggly Wiggly near you? Some of the stores up here carry rabbit on a regular basis. (But not all of them)
I could be wrong, but I don’t think we have any Piggly Wiggly’s down here.
There is a place on Whitney Way that might have rabbit though, can’t remember the name but it’s near Odana and Whitney.
There might be a Piggly Wiggly in Waunakee and the place on Whitney Way is Artamos…I’m going to give them a call. Thanks Andy and Erica.
Barry, I’ll stop by and see you on Saturday.