Springtime marks welcome return of Ithaca Farmers Market

Ah, Spring, when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of ripe and juicy local produce, and with his friends at the 14850 Dining Report, he visits Steamboat Landing and the legendary Ithaca Farmer's Market.

Spring is definitely here, and as the world awakens around us, what better way to celebrate than by checking out the fresh vegetables and herbs just waiting to come home with you and become part of your next gourmet meal. The folks at Sweetland Farm were on hand promoting their CSA share, an increasingly popular way for communities to support local farms; for an up-front payment at the beginning of the season, shoppers arrange for plentiful supplies of different produce throughout the season. They were also offering on-site sales of fresh greens, and beautiful root vegetables like carrots and rutabagas.

Kingbird Farm joins in with beautiful Jerusalem Artichokes and fresh garlic, plus a variety of herbs ready to season your soups and stews. Kingbird also offers certified organic chicken and duck eggs, and a wide variety of pork cuts and local beef, so it's not hard to imagine planning an entire week's worth of meals in a few strides down the aisle at the Farmer's Market.

Of course, no dinner party could be complete without some hors d'oeuvres, starting with the delicious Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheeses, such as the remarkable Schuyler gouda made with whole cloves, or the delicious Red Meck. Or the tangy bergere bleu from Northland Sheep Dairy.

Alongside your meal, serve a glass of Cherry Knoll's blueberry wine, ranging from sweet to dry to appeal to any palate or accompany any dish. I was very pleasantly surprised at the body of this unconventional wine, obviously blueberry but just as obviously a serious wine. Cherry Knoll also makes a blueberry wine vinegar, with which I can see making a novel salad dressing or marinating duck or lamb.

Leslie Muhlhahn of Just Desserts commented Saturday that local food isn't just trendy, and isn't just about the carbon footprint. "As diesel prices go up and up, the price of trucking food from hundreds of miles away is just going to make it not worth it. Eating food from near where you live is going to be the more affordable option."

But be careful, surrounding yourself with all this food is dangerous. Luckily, several vendors are on hand to provide breakfast or lunch while you shop, including Your Daily Soup's hot oatmeal or ever-changing variety of fresh soups, such as French onion soup or miso.

Asian Taste, operated by the same folks as Wok Village behind Triphammer Mall, offers hot and cold noodle dishes, veggie or meat egg rolls, and veggie and pork buns.

And the folks from Just Desserts offer not only a full range of crusty breads, tarts, and pies, but also the famous Finger Lakes Flatbreads. (These are the same folks from the Queen of Tarts Café on Maple Avenue.)

In other words, if you go home hungry, you're doing it wrong. And there are lots more vendors to visit, with cookware, gifts, artwork, and clothing. Check out ithacamarket.com for a categorized list of vendors.

The Ithaca Farmer's Market is at Steamboat Landing on the lake shore near Route 13 and 3rd Street, open Saturdays 9-3 in April, adding Sundays come May, along with Tuesday hours in downtown Ithaca.