Out and About in Evergreen CO - Farmer's Market

When I arrived in Evergreen last winter I was completely undecided about whether I wanted to make a home here. As many of you know, I went back and forth between the practicality of choosing Evergreen versus the dream of returning to Incline Village (Lake Tahoe), Nevada. Over the course of the winter I would find myself discovering things I really enjoyed about Evergreen. These things became a list that I carried around in my mind as 'Things I Love About Evergreen'.


In April, when it was finally time to decide whether to stay here or move back to Incline Village, I chose Evergreen. Afterwards, I felt at peace with my decision and that list I'd carried in my head began to grow until finally I decided that I wanted to share some of my favorites places with you. So, from time to time, I'll show you some of my favorite things about my new hometown.

During the summer months, June to September, Evergreen hosts a Farmers Market on Tuesdays. It's a wonderful collection of local Colorado farmers, ranchers, bakers, and foodies, gathered to share their produce and products and to further the cause of eating locally.

I've become a huge fan and try to visit each week to try a new vendor and a new product. As a result, I've found brown eggs from free-range hens, locally grown organic produce at reasonable prices, fabulously tasty smoked pulled pork, homemade hand cream made of beeswax and lavender, pickled sweet jalapenos, and local grass-fed beef.

Rather than show you more pictures of the market, I'm going to share what I produced with my food finds. And hopefully, you'll be inspired to visit a farmer's market in your community soon!

~

A great cheeseburger is one of my favorite comfort foods, so I've decided to use my Farmer's Market finds to create a healthy and tasty burger:

I start with an onion bun, which I've lightly toasted under the broiler. (Yes, that bun was buttered. Is there any other way?)

I've added a light bed of bean sprouts and a healthy dose of those pickled sweet jalapenos that I bought at the market.

On the grill I've got the locally grown grass fed ground beef frying. Because this is honestly the best tasting beef I've ever had, I keep the seasonings to a minimum: salt and pepper.

Finally we're ready to assemble all the components. The burger goes on top of the sprouts and jalapenos, followed by a couple slices of Dubliner aged cheddar. The other bun is slathered with real mayonnaise and grainy mustard. The combination of the sweet heat from the jalapenos, the sharp bite of cheddar, and the tang of mustard are wonderful compliments to the savory taste of real beef.

Yummy!