The Bounty in Spearfish Valley

Fresh, locally grown vegetables and fruit are now in abundance in the Spearfish Valley. We visited three local markets open throughout the summer: Running's stand, The Farmer's Market and Gage's Gardens.

At Running's it's hard not to get corn because the stand is surrounded by rows of it and it is so fresh and delicious. I bought a dozen ears for $.50 each. Yes, that's a premium price but it's worth it. I always cut off the top just in case there is a worm in there; the only part of the corn that can be an unexpected surprise. Also in my bag were some Walla Walla and red onions. This is the only local farmer growing Walla Wallas, that I know of, and you can't beat these sweet onions.

At The Farmer's Market, I loaded up on a huge zucchini (my mom calls 'Wallies'), more red onions, a purple pepper, a basket of the sweetest cherry tomatoes, handful of small carrots, some red potatoes as well as two loaves of beer bread from the Wild Goose Bakery in Lead and a dozen of brown eggs from Sturgis. If you have not tried the bread from Wild Goose Bakery, I would highly recommend checking it out. Most of the loaves are $4.00 each. The beer bread is in a round and we have enjoyed it with bruschetta, brie and just by itself.

At Gage's Gardens, I picked up a muskmelon and seedless watermelon from Woonsocket. I have NEVER tasted a sweeter muskmelon. Imagine a cart full of huge melons and when you walk up to it you are greeted by a heady perfume of summer! That's what it smells like -- summer. And the watermelons are also amazing and so RED. I had to get another basket of cherry tomatoes as I had almost finished my first basket from The Farmer's Market, some larger red and orange tomatoes and a perfect peach from Colorado. The peach looks amazing and I can't wait to enjoy it. One more day it should be perfect. I also figured that a peach from Colorado is a better choice than a peach from California! I have to say that the people who work at Gage's are some of the nicest which adds to the whole experience of buying local.

This is the best time for Locavores in the Black Hills!

Local Farmer's Markets

Saturday found us exploring some local markets and veggie stands in the Spearfish area. I know, it is a bit early but it was the first time I had an opportunity to get out there.

We first went to the Good Earth health food store on Main Street. This is a beautiful store with high ceiling and hard wood floors. Being that our son is on a special diet, we are very familiar with the store but this was the first time we looked at products from a local angle. They do not have a website (yet).

I found strawberries grown locally by Moonrise Mountain Enterprises in Spearfish www.localharvest.org/farms/M1609! This was a good find especially since there was only one pint container. I snapped it up. What made me laugh was that these are tiny berries -- most maybe an inch long. Compared to the gi-normous strawberries from Watsonville, CA, these looked liked mouse sized. But don't let their size fool you -- they were sweet and delicious. $3.75 for a pint. I have some of these berries in my garden too but only got about 10. There were a few other items in the produce section that had local growers names on them. This is cool and a good option but I prefer to buy as 'direct' as possible.

Then we headed down to the Farmers Market which shares property with one of the finest microbreweries, Crow Peak Brewery www.crowpeakbrewery.com. I have so much to say about Jeff's fantastic beers (and I am sure you will be hearing about them this summer) but our focus on this visit was to check out the the produce. I was really delighted to find lettuce, tomatoes, Kohlrabi and homemade bread. The lettuce is grown right in town on Ray Runnings (on Evans Lane) land and I saw it being picked this morning. Not sure where the tom's and kohlrabi came from. I'll asked next time. The honey whole wheat bread comes from Wild Goose Bakery http://www.wildgoosebakery.com/ which is the same bakery I got my bread from last week at the Rapid City Farmers Market. I've read on their site that you can order a certain type of bread and pick it up on Market Days. Nice.