Farmer's Market in Reston

When I am house or dogsitting, one of the first questions I ask is "is there a farmer's market nearby?" Most of the time it comes even before the directions and conditions of the house. For my new assignment in Reston, I was very happy and excited to learn that there is a farmer's market on Saturday morning. This helps me with the food transport because most of the time my food bag is bigger than my suitcase, and since my duty started on Friday evening, I'd be fine with shopping and exploring the following day. The fact that this farmer's market had a website was a plus - in my experience, markets with wensites tend to have a higher number of vendors with a larger variety (www.restonfarmersmarket.com)

Saturday turned to be a lovely morning, so as soon as I was awake, I was ready to go explore. With the amount of cars and slight traffic turning into Anne Lake, I knew there'd be more than couple of stands... As soon as I found a parking spot and got out of the car, I saw a large lot covered with tents, and ran down the steps to the sights and smells of the produce and products.

My tendency is always to walk around first because you never know what you'll find later. In addition to the fresh produce and flowers, which I am used to seeing in smaller farmers markets in the area, this farmers market had fresh cheese, a number of baked goods (mostly for those with a sweet tooth), ethnic sauces, frozen cases of buffalo meat, crafts, jewelry, and photography. In addition, it was organized in an area by Lake Anne, so you stroll by the water and enjoy the day. I was pleasantly surprised to come across a non-chain, neighborhood cafe with live music, a second story bookstore, and a drugstore diner (yes, that is the best way to describe it - you enter through a drugstore, and order at the special counter, but the best part is, in addition to the typical egg and cheese sandwich, scrambled eggs. etc, they have the mexican-style breakfasts: breakfast burrito, huevos rancheros, etc. From all my travels in the West, this is what I crave for over the weekends, and when I'm having a good time. Having tasted a number of things at the farmers market, and noticing the rain clouds' approach, I decide to pass with a wow to return for a leisurely breakfast very soon. On the way back, I look at the photos at one stand, chat with the Peruvian guy about his unique crafts and glassware, and of course pick up the items I scouted on the way in: fresh snow pea shoots, heavenly peanut sauce, to die for goat ricotta, and the tangy "Let's Chaat" sauce. I also give in at the vegetable cookie stand (both the sweet potato and the lima bean cookies are great, just give it a try!), and find apple pies that resemble a big empanada at the stand with a variety of cakes. My bag is full, my tummy is hungry and I am excited about the flavors I am about to encounter, so I climb up the stairs fast, and almost run into the car. Once at home, I know I have 3 winners:

1) Goat ricotta - if you like goat cheese you must must must try this one. It is so creamy, sweet (not sugar sweet, just milk sweet) and fresh, I want to eat it off the tub... Fortunately, there are some great rosemary seasalt crackers in the pantry, so I dip and eat with my eyes closed and can't stop the "mmm, mmm, mmmmmmm......" sounds comming out of my mouth even though I am alone at home.

2) The yummy ginger sauce - for a fast and delicious salad try this: any kind of green mix (mesclun recommended, and of course I had to try the new pea shoots I found), carrot sticks cut in matchsticks, fresh peas blanched and shocked (or frozen peas washed), grilled chicken cut into cubes... and this yummy yummy, creamy peanut sauce... I'll be honest, as I was putting together the salad, I kept dipping baby carrots into the sauce and eating them because I couldn't wait for the meal. Then once the salad was over, I had to put another handful of peas in the leftover sauce not to let it go to waste... It was that good!

3) For dessert, as I was making coffee for the apple empanada, I noticed the goat ricotta tub sitting next to the "Let's Chaat" sauce and realized I still hadn't opened the jar. I was very satisfied with the salad, but was still craving the creaminess of the ricotta... So, as the coffee kept brewing, I couldn't stop myself from reaching for a plain cracker, smearing it with the ricotta, and topping it off with the "Let's Chaat" sauce... One more time, I was in the "mmm, mmm, mmm" world... (the following night, I also tried the sauce on grilled chicken and that was yummy as well, especialy if you make sure the chicken is hot and juicy) I was so happy that I decided to postpone the apple pie to a later coffee hour.

In the end, when I warmed up the apple empanada, it was a very good companion to the coffee, but I think the above 3 are my top 3 picks from the Reston Farmer's Market. Now, my biggest regret is not having bought more of the goat ricotta (about a pound maybe?) and the ginger sauce. Will I be able to wait another week?