Summertime and the livin's easy...

Happy Summer!  And welcome to my first blog!

This is my favorite time of year!  All the local farmers markets are just beginning to open up, and not to mention the abundance of strawberries!  On Saturday morning, I had a crew at my apartment ready to go check out one of my favorite farmers market, the Waltham Farmers Market.  I love to have company to go to the market with and maybe stop for an iced coffee after.  This farmers market is great because not only is it on a Saturday morning, which is fantastic, but it has great vendors.  Just to name a few...Dick's Market Garden, Bart's Farm Stand, Smith's Country Cheese,  and Caledonia Farm.  This week at the market the most abundant fruits and veggies were strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, radishes, and various herbs.  And as always, breads, cheeses, and meats.  The strawberries looked so good that we started eating them before we bought them.  I also bought the ingredients to make one of my husbands favorite dishes, cheeseburger salad.  A refreshing meal on a hot summer night, and it worked out that we had our first heat wave this week.

I highly recommend going to Smith's Country cheese and trying the gouda, both spreads and hard cheese.  And then maybe buying some bread to go with your cheese.  If you are having company over your house during the weekend, they will be pleasantly surprised.  They also sell one pound packages of hormone free ground beef, but you need to get there early because my mother will buy as much as she can.

This week, I also made a visit to one of my favorite farms, Springdell Farm in Littleton MA.  It is quite a ways from Boston, but it's worth the drive.  They sell beef, chicken, and pork (all grass-fed), as well as fruits and vegetables.  I went there hoping to buy some of there italian sausage, but they were out of it.  So they talked me into trying the breakfast sausage.  And when I say "talked me into it" all she did was mention that they had breakfast sausage.  There was no twisting my arm there.  I ate it the next morning and I'll more than likely buy it on my next trip there.  There were also many vegetables to choose from.  I bought some rhubarb, hoping to make a strawberry rhubarb pie in the near future, as well as red onion, spring onion, and garlic to toss in my salads throughout the week.

Recipe of the Week:
Cheeseburger Salad
By: Pampered Chef

1 small red onion, divided
2 tomatoes (I use one because my husband does not eat tomatoes)
3/4 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely diced pickles
3/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp yellow mustard
8 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cut the onion in half crosswise and slice into thin rings.  Cut the tomatoes into quarters.  Set onions and tomatoes aside.  Cook the ground beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink, breaking the beef into crumbles.  Meanwhile, finely dice the pickles.  In a large bowl, combine pickles, ketchup, and mustard and then add the beef.  To serve, arrange the lettuce on a large platter and spoon the beef mixture over the lettuce.  Top with cheese, tomatoes, and onion.  Enjoy!