I went to the Regional Market last weekend, making sure to get there early to beat the crowds and giving myself lots of time to browse around. There has been a lot of talk recently about the state of the Regional Market. The last time I went (before we moved back to Syracuse), it was later in the day and I felt overwhelmed from the crowds and that made it hard to focus on what I was looking for. This trip was much more pleasant and I came away with a much better feeling about the Market.

It is true that some improvements could be made, but it’s really not difficult to come away with good local produce. Jennifer lists the best organic stands in her post above. I like to buy organic, but for me, buying as local as possible is key. And it’s fairly easy to pick out who is selling the local produce and who has the wholesale stuff.

I ended up bringing home a huge bunch of basil, some plump tomatillos, giant blackberries, sweet corn on the cob, and my special find of the day, fresh cranberry beans!

I wish I had made note of who was selling them. I just recall that it was a woman. I noticed the pods and recalled a recent entry on Tigers & Strawberries about horticultural beans (another name for cranberry beans) and recognized them instantly. This is definitely one of the benefits of reading food blogs. I probably wouldn’t have looked twice at the beans had I not previously read about them and I would have missed out on something tasty.

The photo above is of the beans right after shelling, with a little bit of the pod in the photo so you can also recognize them at your farmer’s market. Unfortunately, the beans lose this coloring as they cook, so you have to enjoy the red hue while raw.

I simmered the beans in chicken broth with tomato paste and minced garlic. Once they were tender, I added in some swiss chard (organic and also from the Regional Market). The broth, tomato paste and garlic had cooked down enough to form a thin sauce (I’m pretty sure I added some basil and oregano and black pepper at this point). I tossed in some al dente cooked whole wheat Bionaturae gobbetti pasta (purchased from the SRFC!) and finished it with extra virgin olive oil and shreds of mozzarella di bufala from Lombardi’s. Verdict: yummy!

Unfortunately you can’t really see the beans all that well in the last photo, but they are there and they added a great flavor to this simple dish. They had a fresh note that dried beans just don’t have (which is not to say anything bad about dried beans) and melded well with the sauce and greens. I’ll be on the lookout for these again and maybe next year I’ll be able to grow some of my own fresh beans in a container out on our porch.

I should also mention that the Bionaturae is my new favorite whole wheat pasta. I think the Ronzoni Healthy Harvest is pretty good too, but the Bionaturae definitely has the better texture and flavor.