Molto bene, amici!

Molto Farmers Market has been seeing some licensing trouble lately that has caused them to move to a temporary spot in an empty parking lot. But that hasn't stopped them from providing farm-fresh produce to community foodies, cooks, and chefs. I haven't seen a lot of the usual vendors since their temporary relocation, so I hope once the market moves back into their regular facility they'll all come back and I can restock my kitchen with dates, pistachios, and locally roasted coffee beans.

Over the years, farmers markets have been slowly creeping up around town. I know one doesn't expect a desert oasis like Vegas to have a huge farmers market scene, but it surprisingly is a lot larger than most people know. It may not be as large or bustling as somewhere like, say, the San Francisco or Orange County areas, but the trend is starting to take root and is even becoming more sustainable year-round. To name a few, there's Las Vegas Farmers Market--which as multiple locations and days of operation during the week, Fresh52 Farmers and Artisan Market--Sundays 8:30am to 2:00pm in Silverado Ranch, and Molto Farmers Market (aka Bet on the Farm)--Thursdays 11:00am to 1:00pm inside Mario Batali's dry-aging facility on 7485 S. Dean Martin Dr., Ste. 106.

I love cooking with farmers market produce because it kind of becomes a game of "what can I make with this?" and really lets you get creative with the ingredients you have on hand. For instance, the other day I bought some really gorgeous, ruby red tomatoes at Molto and when I cut into them, I saw that they perfectly red from inside to skin. We don't normally buy all our produce from the farmer's market because my family is challenged with feeding--at minimum--one ravenously hungry 17 year old boy who literally has a wrestler's-sized appetite and cares more about quantity than quality, so we usually get our produce in bulk whenever convenient. I was content with eating the tomatoes with just a bit of sea salt, but my parents wanted to try it differently. 

So I made a caprese salad with some of the basil we also purchased at Molto, adding mozzarella pieces and drizzling some olive oil over everything. And I saw that we had leftover Peruvian purple potatoes from last week's trip to Molto, and even though I didn't know what else to do with them, I boiled them til tender and cut them up and threw them in the leftover olive oil, basil, and tomato juices from the caprese salad. 

I don't normally get do an experimental, play-it-by-ear meal at home because of my brother's eating schedule, so it was a treat to be able to do whatever I wanted with these veggies. Since spring is coming up soon,  I think it'll be a good time to maybe take a drive down the Southern California and see what their local produce has to offer. 

More farmers market goodness after the jump...

Fingerling potatoes from California Family Farms.

Oyster mushrooms

Dates from the Date Farm!