Darien Farmers Market: Not Just Vegetables — Try the Bagels, Flowers, Baked Items, Meat, Prepared Foods

Sure, there are plenty of Connecticut-grown vegetables, fruits, berries and mushrooms at Darien Farmers’ Market.

But the once-a-week gathering of nine vendors also has sourdough bagels, flowers, cut flowers, plants, pasture-raised Angus beef, pork, poultry, breads, pastries and other baked items.

Darien Farmers’ Market is open this year every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Old Kings Market (formerly Goodwives Shopping Center), at 25 Old King’s Highway North.

The vendors come here from farms and bakeries as close as Norwalk and Westport and as far as Oxford, Windsor, Roxbury, Niantic and South Glastonbury — but they’re all in Connecticut.

While you’re there, you can pop into Stop & Shop and pick up whatever you just ran out of, or head over to Darien Cheese & Fine Foods for something you’ve never heard of that will become your new favorite food. Aux Delices is right there, too, and you’ve got to try the ginger scones.

What’s Fresh Now

Speaking of fruits and vegetables, here’s a long list (with short descriptions) of what’s in season in early July, here in Connecticut, according to the online Seasonal Food Guide, which gives you a new list twice month:

(We’re not saying you’re going to find all this in the farmers’ market or even this month in the supermarket — but this is an optimal time to look.)

Arugula, basil, beets, black eyed peas, blackberries, blueberries, bok choy, boysenberries, brambles, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, chard, cherries, chili peppers, chives, cilantro, collard greens, corn, cucumbers, currants, garlic, gooseberries, green beans, green onions, ground cherries, kale, kohlrabi, lamb’s quarters (it’s a leafy green), lavender, leeks, lettuce, melons, mint, mushrooms, mustard greens, onions, oregano, parsley, peaches, peas, peppers, purslane, radishes, raspberries, rhubarb, rosemary, sage, shallots, shell beans, snap peas, snow peas, sorrel, spinache, sprouts, strawberries, summer squash, sunchokes (a/k/a Jerusalem artichokes), tarragon, thyme, tomatillos, tomatoes, watercress and Zucchini.

If you’re curious about some items on the list, go to the website for brief descriptions.

List of Vendors

• Badass Bagels (Westport): sourdough bagels

• Gazy Brothers Farm (Oxford): vegetables, herbs, flowers, and plants

• Newgate Farm (Windsor): small fruits and berries, greenhouse, cut flowers, and baked goods

• Ox Hollow Farm (Roxbury): hormone and antibiotic-free, pasture-raised Angus beef, pork and poultry

• Riverbank Farm (Roxbury): certified organic vegetables, herbs, fruit, flowers, vegetarian prepared foods, and seedlings

  

  Photo from Darien Farmers' Market website

  Something else you might put on your table …

• Seacost Mushrooms (Niantic) Local gourmet mushrooms

• Smith’s Acres (Niantic):

• Wave Hill Bread (Norwalk): Artisanal breads and pastries, made with organic and whole grain ingredients

• Woodland Farm (South Glastonbury): Apples, pears, berries and other seasonal fruit