Market Report: A season of colorful produce beckons
Shopping a late-spring rainbow at Greater Lafayette’s farmers markets.
Thanks to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
Welcome back to Based in Lafayette’s newest feature, with a look at what’s in season this week at Greater Lafayette’s farmers markets.
By Carol Bangert / For Based in Lafayette
With an abundance of gorgeous produce at the farmers markets right now, I had the bright idea to shop the colors of the rainbow in produce. We’re supposed to eat a variety of colors, right? (And, no, a handful of jellybeans does not count.)
My enthusiasm was running high as I entered the market and immediately came across the reds – radishes, strawberries, beets – and the oranges – carrots. But then I hit a snag. No yellows. Not yet anyway.
I regained some momentum with the greens – so many greens! Broccoli, lettuces, bok choy and kale, scapes, microgreens and herbs … the list seemed endless. Then another hitch. No blues or indigos to speak of. But I did spot some beautiful violets in a beet variety.
My plans may have been thwarted for now, but I will return to the idea of eating the rainbow in a few weeks when we’ll be graced with sweet corn and yellow squash, blueberries and eggplant.
A rainbow in a bunch
So as a place holder, I’m turning to rainbow chard, a recent arrival at farmers market stalls. The spring green sports colorful stalks, ranging from deep red, to pink, orange and gold.
For a long time, I thought rainbow chard was a special variety of Swiss chard, that each seed produced a mix of colored stalks. I would be wrong. It’s apparently a selection of chard varieties cut and bundled together for visual appeal. It’s a successful strategy. It’s beautiful, packed with nutrients and full of possibilities. Chard (rainbow or otherwise) is great added to salads or in a sauté with garlic, salt and pepper. I chop up a bunch of rainbow chard and add it to a pot of spring veg soup in the last three to four minutes of cooking. It adds great color and texture. To store, wrap unwashed stalks in a damp paper towel and place them in an unsealed bag in the fridge. They’ll last about a week.
Snap these up
Sugar snap peas are another new arrival at the markets. These pudgy green pods are a quintessential taste of late spring – trust me, the bag you pick up at the grocery store doesn’t stand a chance against snap peas fresh from the field. If you’re new to snap peas, don’t waste your time removing the peas from the pod. The pod is edible, although you’ll want to remove the stringy membrane along the seam. They are great raw with hummus or just a sprinkle of salt. Serve them raw on a crudité, blanched, sautéed or roasted. In my opinion, though, the less you mess with snap peas, the better. This cool-season crop won’t be around for long, so grab some while you can. Store sugar snap peas in a sealed bag in the fridge. They’ll last about a week, but I’m betting they won’t last that long.
Also spotted at the market this week: leeks and green garlic, the latter described as “a game changer.” I was intrigued by that description but didn’t have a chance to talk to the very busy vendor. I’ll have more on these flavor bombs next week in the Market Report.
Other early June fruits and vegetables at the market include:
Red and green onions
Parsnips
Radishes
Beets
Bok choy
Garlic and garlic scapes
Greens (kale, mustard, arugula, lettuce varieties)
Herbs, both plants and cuttings (Chives, spearmint, oregano, sage, basil, parsley, thyme, catnip, lavender)
Kohlrabi
Baby carrots
Salad turnips
Rhubarb
Strawberries
HOURS AND DAYS FOR THE LOCAL MARKETS
West Lafayette Farmers Market: 3:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, May through October This year marks the 20th anniversary of the West Lafayette market. The market is held at Cumberland Park in West Lafayette with more than 50 vendors.
Lafayette Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, May through October, on Fifth Street between Columbia Street and mid-block to Ferry Street and Main Street between Fourth and Sixth streets.
Purdue Farmers Market: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays, May through October. The Purdue farmers market is held on the Memorial Mall on Purdue’s campus. This market is a concession-heavy market that allows students, faculty and staff to have lunch options in a unique outdoor setting.
Carol Bangert, editor of Greater Lafayette Magazine, has been a regular at Greater Lafayette farmers markets for more than 20 years. From May through October, she’ll scout out in-season produce at the markets and report back on fresh finds and how to use them.
AND, FINALLY …: EXTEND YOUR BASED IN LAFAYETTE SUBSCRIPTION BY CHIPPING IN FOR CASAs FOR KIDS FUND
The 2025 edition of the Subaru CASA Cycling Challenge, a 24-hour event held Aug. 2-3 at the two-mile Subaru of Indiana Automotive test track in Lafayette, will again have a version of Bangert Brothers team there to put in some laps in support to the CASAs for Kids Fund here in Tippecanoe County.
The CASAs for Kids Fund is set up for abused or neglected kids who wind up in the court system and in foster care, offering funding for clothing, bedding, school band instruments, field trip or summer camp fees, dance class, equipment to join sports teams and other things the system can’t provide. The CASAs for Kids Fund gets them that stuff and gets them that much closer to a normal life as a kid. And fundraising tied to the 24-hour ride gets the CASAs for Kids Fund geared up for the next year.
Just like last year, I’ll add a free month to your full-access Based in Lafayette subscription for a donation of any amount to the Bangert Brothers team or team members.
Thanks for generosity of those of you who have already stepped up. Your free month of Based in Lafayette is on its way.
If you’re game, here’s the link.
Thanks, again, to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
I look at those gorgeous pictures of enticing vegetables at the peak of freshness and think, "gosh, I wish one of these was President." Even the orange ones.