Fun at the Farmers Market
I love fresh fruits and veggies – like almost obsessively so. As summer comes on, most people get excited about the pool, the beach and summer travels. I love all those things, too, but I get REALLY excited 
about fresh strawberries, blueberries, peaches and tomatoes.
This love is fostered at the NC State Farmers Market right here in Raleigh. It is within a 20 minute drive for most people in the area and provides fresh, seasonal, North Carolina-grown fruits, vegetables and so much more.
If you have never been, let me introduce you.
Located at 1201 Agriculture St., the State Farmers Market is a convenient location just outside of downtown Raleigh. Bring some cash, though many stands now do accept credit cards, and bring some bags for all of the beautiful things you will buy. (I often go with my parents, and we tend to send my Dad back to the car with frequent loads and heavier things so we can keep shopping for more.)
The fresh stuff is in a long, open building, with stall after stall of fresh veggies, fruits and more. You can
even find some local vendors like La Farm Bakery, Annelore’s German Bakery, The Cookie People, and Yah’s Best Salsa. They also have plants for your garden, or gorgeous fresh cut flowers for your home.
There is also a smaller enclosed building that features stalls with cheeses, nuts, unique bottled sodas and old fashioned candy, along with gift items.
There are also 3 restaurants at the market, so you can make a day of it. There is the Market Grill, serving breakfast and lunch, the State Farmers Market Restaurant, which serves country cooking for breakfast and lunch, and my personal favorite, the Seafood Restaurant, which is open for lunch and dinner, serving Calabash style fried seafood.
The market is open year round and highlights different produce when in season. In fact, today is Blueberry Day, and they are offering a free sample of a blueberry dessert, ideas on how to use the berries in your summer cooking and of course, oodles of blueberries to take home with you.
Peaches have just begun and will continue as long as the crops are 
coming in. Sweet corn is also in it’s early days, and soon big juicy cantaloupe and watermelon will be in.
The best part of our Farmer’s Market is the free samples! Nearly every vendor is eager to have you sample their products and answer any questions you may have. I have asked for cooking tips on some of the stranger items I have found and they are more than happy to recommend methods they have tried.
The prices are also very reasonable. On my recent trip, I got strawberries, blueberries, peaches, cucumbers, baby tomatoes, big tomatoes, a bunch of fresh flowers and a big hunk of ginger root all for about $40.
Are you wondering what we do with all of that wonderful bounty? Since my trip to the market last week, there are 4 peaches left. Some of the peaches and strawberries were eaten on morning oatmeal, some 
went on top of French toast and the rest were eaten by them-juicy-little-selves. Tomatoes go quickly in this house, baby tomatoes go with breakfast eggs, in lunch boxes and into tossed salads. Big tomatoes go on sandwiches, like a BLT or tuna melt. The cucumbers go into salads, are eaten on their own or turned into Quick Pickles, which brings me to today’s recipe.
There are many different refrigerator pickle recipes out there, but this one is based on simplicity and basic staples in your pantry. The key is crispy pickling cucumbers, usually Kirby cucumbers which are the perfect size for pickling. It really is best to get market fresh cucumbers for this process because they aren’t coated in wax and are still fresh and crispy.
So, get yourself to the Farmer’s Market and give this recipe a try!
AuthorMelissa JoyDifficultyBeginnerWash the cucumbers well and slice into rounds. I left the skin on for color and texture, but sample your cucumbers first to make sure the skin is not bitter.
Slice the sweet onion into 1 inch pieces.
Crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife.
Layer the cucumbers and onions into a full size mason jar, placing the garlic and fresh dill throughout the jar as evenly as possible.
Bring the vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil in a small pan. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Cool the liquid before adding it to the jar of cucumbers.
Add filtered water until the cucumbers are covered.
Put the lid on the jar and store in the fridge. You can eat them at any point, but I like to wait 24 hours for maximum pickliness.
They can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks, assuming they aren't eaten immediately.
Ingredients
Directions
Wash the cucumbers well and slice into rounds. I left the skin on for color and texture, but sample your cucumbers first to make sure the skin is not bitter.
Slice the sweet onion into 1 inch pieces.
Crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife.
Layer the cucumbers and onions into a full size mason jar, placing the garlic and fresh dill throughout the jar as evenly as possible.
Bring the vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil in a small pan. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Cool the liquid before adding it to the jar of cucumbers.
Add filtered water until the cucumbers are covered.
Put the lid on the jar and store in the fridge. You can eat them at any point, but I like to wait 24 hours for maximum pickliness.
They can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks, assuming they aren't eaten immediately.
