With each new season, an excitement fills my kitchen that I find hard to describe.  I love it!  Different seasonal ingredients, new dishes, different cravings, and new ideas pour in.  For me, and many like me, it is such a joy to savor the seasonal produce and foods around us.

Year round, and especially in the spring and summer, I find a lot of joy in shopping at our area Farmers Markets.  I am lucky to say this has always been a part of my life.  Growing up, many Saturdays started with trips to the Dixie Classic Fair Farmers Market.  I truly believe this has helped ‘shape’ my interest in food and cooking.  Today, I still go there regularly, and even see some of the vendors that have been there for over 30 years!  We are so lucky to have many other markets in Winston now, such as the Krankie’s Coffee Market on Third, Old Salem Cobblestone Market, and Reynolda Village Market on Fridays, to name a few.  I hope you will get out there and support them this season.  If you find these markets daunting, let me know and I will meet you there, gladly.  I welcome this recent food boom, and all the good they do for our community, farmers, and the benefits we, as consumers, derive from the fresh, whole food!

As the markets abound with seasonal spring goodies, I will offer a Farmers Market Special over the next several months.  From pasta dishes with spring produce, soups, and seasonal favorites like my Vidalia Onion & Pimiento Cheese Pies, I look forward to perhaps introducing you to some new items.  I hope you will test your taste buds with me!  Be sure you follow my blog or like my FB page so you will know when and what is being offered.

So, water your new grass seed, get your market bag out, and get your garden space ready, it is going to be a beautiful spring!