A Sight for Sore Eyes

SCAVENGING

The winter that barely was—until Jonas crashed the party—is turning out some surreal foodstuffs at the Yardley Farmers’ Market.

By Susan Forker

Lovely as the unseasonable warmth was while it lasted, the farmers and small-batch growers around here seemed to be savoring it even more than we were. Their summer crops kept growing deep into fall, and the fall’s spilled into winter.

On a recent trip to the Yardley Farmers’ Market, which relocates to the Yardley Friends Meeting in the winter, the inventory was expectedly less than in the summer and fall but no less vibrant.

Gnarled celery root and oversized carrots looked like small creatures hibernating in their baskets. The locally foraged maitake and lion’s mane mushrooms were downright sculptural, while the saturated colors of the lemon and pink oysters were relief from the relentless gray and brown outside. Massive heads of kale and broccoli and intriguing watermelon radishes all seemed impossibly green.

Beyond the produce, there was pure honey, artisanal soap and fresh-roasted Covered Bridge Coffee. I loaded up on Hakurei turnips, parsnips and beets that I used to make a root vegetable dish, along with half a loaf of Wildflour Bakery  Yards Porter pumpernickel, which was devoured by my family. Reason enough, as far as I’m concerned, to return soon.

Susan Forker is the owner and designer of the Doylestown-based joeyfivecents, a line of one-of-a-kind jewelry and accessories.

Photos by Susan Forker