Dewey Square Farmers Market: Kimball Fruit Farm

You’ve heard in a few of the posts by now that I am a tremendous fan of the farmers market that takes place in Dewey Square, the little plaza kitty-corner from South Station, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I count down the days until it kicks off, swooning at meager offerings of kale or teeny onions, and attend as many times as I can until the close, sometime around November… shedding tears until the following season.

My favorite stand at the farmers market is Kimball Fruit Farm, according to the Boston Public News website, out of Hollis, New Hampshire. They've been one of the anchors of the farmers market since it began a few years ago, returning there every year, and setting up shop on both Tuesdays and Thursdays. The produce has always been fabulous and they pride themselves on their Integrated Pest Management (IPM), low-spray vegetables and fruit that offer the freshest items and the lowest impact on the environment. The gentleman who I've seen working the stand from the very first day that the farmers market showed up at this Boston location has always been a welcome sight,and he eagerly will point out some of his pride and joy that has made it on the truck on whatever afternoon you happen to find yourself wandering around the market.So today, he was kind enough to let me snap a few pics of the items that are being harvested. There were prize-winning heirloom tomatoes popping up at the left of the stand, my favorite of late being a warm yellow heirloom that's as sweet and juicy as it is savory. There are multiple varieties of squash and zucchini: yellow zucchini, globe zucchini (perfect for stuffing with ground lamb, rice and herbs), summer squash, flying saucer squash, among others. Potatoes have also started popping up with beautiful, multi-colored fingerings, waxy potatoes, and I think I saw a few of the Russet variety today. Come around to the other side, and I was lucky to snatch up some yellow green beans. The offerings continue with green string beans, English shelling peas, sugar snaps, turnips, and broccoli. Then there are your standard greens: interesting lettuce varieties, such as speckled trout lettuce, and then you've got your kale, your collards, your chard. Now walk to the front, and there's a whole slew of herbs... watch out on the left for some dill and some pickling cukes (new this week!), and you may be overcome by the bright, plump fruit that they have in spades. Raspberries have come around, and I think we're seeing some of the last of the strawberries for a while (cry cry). There are blueberries, red cherries, and those super sweet black cherries. 

Today, I happily walked around the farmers market, making my first stop, of course, at Kimball Farm, and noticed several chefs walking around, grabbing some of the more interesting ripe finds. I encourage you to also take a walk, i.e., take a break from work, and enjoy some of the many items that the market has to offer.

P.S. At another one of the awesome stands today, I noticed the first sweet corn of the summer! Huzzah! Huzzah!