By Contributing Author Sharon A. See
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It’s no secret that I am a farmers’ market fan. For one thing, you just can’t beat the convenience of having all those fresh fruits and veggies all in one place. But, I overdo it sometimes.  I can get carried away and come home with enough food to feed us and the neighbors.

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. I certainly didn’t invent food storage, but through my own necessity I’ve come up with what I think are some really great strategies for preventing spoilage while promoting healthy eating in our home. 

I’ve been told that concern over how to keep fresh fruits and vegetables from spoiling is a reason why some people don’t shop at farmers markets as often as they’d like. I get that. Tossing away spoiled produce is a real waste of money. 
So, in this blog I’m going to share with you some really quick and simple ways to keep your farmers market produce fresher longer.

We asked our farmers to send us their favorite recipes using farmers' market fruits and vegetables—whether it's a favorite "go to" meal, something that they make only when a certain fruit or vegetable is at its peak flavor, or an old family favorite that's been handed down to them. This one comes from Victoria of Laurel Glen Farm in Shelton, CT and it uses summer squash and zucchini, which are both plentiful early in the growing season. This one is super-easy and would be a great side dish or a light meal. They're even good the next morning reheated and topped with a farm-fresh poached egg.

Move over kale chips, kohlrabi is in season! Kohlrabi lands somewhere between a radish and a turnip, but don't be fooled by this odd-looking vegetable. It's a versatile member of the cabbage family and its crunchy, mildly spicy flavor can perk up a variety of dishes. It's also bold enough to stand on its own in a salad, slaw or soup, fried up in fritters, roasted or baked into chips.

These thinly sliced kohlrabi rounds make an excellent "chip" to dip in zesty garlic pesto or in creamy hummus. Who says snacking can't be healthy and satisfying at the same time?

Garlic Scapes are the tender stems and flower buds found on the garlic plant and they are harvested in late Spring/early Summer. They can be sautéed and used over pasta, folded into scrambled eggs or served with mixed greens-just as you would in any recipe that calls for garlic.

This recipe for Garlicky Greens Over Pasta calls for garlic scapes, quick cooking greens such as kale or swiss chard, and olive oil—all of which can be found at the Monroe Farmers' Market this Friday!

Since our cooking demo was such a huge hit at this week's farmers' market, here's the recipe for all of you to enjoy! This is a great use for kale, which is available at the farmers' market for much of the growing season.