But the beautiful sight of fresh, plentiful food in its natural state is the source of many cooks' inspiration. On Martha's Vineyard, as in a growing number of communities across the country, the Farmers Market is the surest place to find an abundance of the finest, freshest ingredients available--unprocessed and unpackaged--beets with greens still attached, watermelons with smudges of organic soil still clinging to thick, striped skin, bundles of just-cut herbs moist with that morning's dew.
For reasons ranging from culinary to nutritional to ecological, an increasing number of cookbooks extol both buying local organic foods and cooking foods in season--which can be tricky when purchasing groceries in a supermarket stocked with onions shipped from Walla Walla, peppers grown in Mexico, and asparagus delivered year-round from Chile or California. But shopping at the Vineyard's Farmers Market takes the guess work out of choosing local and seasonal food. All the produce is fresh and island-grown.
There is no comparison between ultra-fresh and travel-weary vegetables. The bitter flavor and limp texture of an industrially raised cucumber is no match for the revitalizing crispness of a local variety. Sweet corn starts to lose its sugar content, its full flavor, and endearing toothsome quality the moment it's picked, so freshest is always best. And tomatoes, bred hard and square for shipping purposes, lack that dribble-down-the-chin, delectable sumptuousness of the real thing.
And so on down the line--eggplants, potatoes, lettuce, peas, and everything else--all lose more of their color, texture, and taste the farther they travel and the longer they sit. Produce grown organically as well as locally, has nutritional advantages as well. Organic vegetables tend to be richer in vitamins and minerals than those raised in inorganic fertilizer, and they aren't treated with toxic chemical pesticides or herbicides.
Ecologically speaking, locally grown food doesn't require the use of gasoline for long-distance transportation, while organic farming on the island promotes better water quality in the Vineyard's streams, bays, and harbors.
"Organic farming is healthier for the island's environment, and for our customers," says Rebecca Miller, who operates North Tabor Farm in Chilmark with her husband, Matthew Dix, and their three children. "It's a question of responsibility, for each other and the planet. For our family, there's something even a little bit spiritual about organic farming."
But there is another element to the Farmers Market experience that gets less press--the aesthetic component that helps induce that occasional culinary "aha" moment.
It is hard to stand in a frozen foods aisle, surrounded by muzak and neon lighting, contemplating plastic bags filled with vegetables--raised and packed who knows where and who knows when--and be struck by a genuine desire for smooth and delicious cream of broccoli soup or for the tastiest chowder you can possibly concoct with fresh seafood and right-out-of-the-ground potatoes.
Such hankerings come a little easier at the Farmers Market, standing outdoors accompanied by 20 farmers displaying their fresh wares piled high on tables and spilling from bushel baskets--the widest selection of salad and braising greens, a dozen varieties of potatoes ranging from yellow to purple, summer squash and winter squash, melons, broccoli, cabbage, onions, corn, and much more. This is a place where shoppers can relax while trading gossip and recipes.
There's a festive, almost carnival atmosphere to shopping in the field behind the old Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury, that transcends the food. The Cattle Drivers provide country music on the guitar, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin. Browsers snack on baked goods, coffee, and fresh-squeezed juices available at the non-agricultural stands. Some stalls offer home-baked bread, while others sell locally made, herbal skin and bath products, island-spun fiber arts, hand-made beeswax candles, and fresh flower arrangements.
The Farmers Market is the perfect place to spend a Saturday morning, strolling among the wares, talking to the island's farmers about what's growing well this year and what's not--seeing, touching and smelling the food--and asking out loud, "What do I really want for supper tonight?"
Charlie Cameron is a freelance writer who lives on Martha's Vineyard.