Eastern Market

Commentary and Art provided by Sue S, Guest Contributor 

Spring is in the air, and while we thought we were having summer in March, it was really the lamb bringing us Spring. I love  getting back out doors after a winter of grey and cold and while I am a fan of the Eastern Market in any season, there is nothing like waking up to a sunshiny morning and heading on down to the market. If you haven’t been down in a while they have really made some significant changes. In fact this winter they enclosed most of the stalls and brought in heat.  There are also a lot of new food vendors and not just vegetable farmers. For me this is a real coup because I am a believer in buying local and not just local vegetables. 

One of my 2 favorite new vendors is Hampshire Farms from Kingston, Michigan. They sell certified organic beans, grains and flour. I have really delved into artisanal bread making over this past winter and have been purchasing their homegrown, home milled flour.  The Hampshire farm has been family owned since 1896 and has been certified organic since 1998 so they haven’t just jumped on the organic bandwagon. This week the hubby and I had black bean and sweet potato quesadillas, beans compliments of Hampshire.

My second favy is the Corridor Sausage Company in Shed number 3. They make their own sausage, several varieties and at the market are always cooking up free samples so you can try and choose which ones to bring home. My personal fav? The Vietnamese chicken sausages. Usually, chicken sausage makes it to my table for the low fat content not for the taste, but I can absolutely attest, these will blow your mind in pure pleasure awesomeness.  The meat that goes into their sausages are all natural,   hormone and anti-biotic free , using old world and their own cooking techniques.  Never again grocery store sausages!

Visit easternmarket.com for more information. They really have some great people behind the redevelopment plans and have the vision that from my perspective is what makes a great city viable and fun.