St. Paul Farmer's Market: opening weekend!

Despite a slight drizzle, the peeps were out at the St. Paul Farmer's Market this weekend. Along with many old favorite vendors, there were a few new guys, too, most notably the fantastic gelato stand. They were already out of maple bacon gelato, but we plan on going earlier next week to get a taste. The salty carmel was fantastic.

The beautiful bounty this week included gorgeous spinach, green onions, and bean sprouts. Along with bacon, eggs, and local honey--all found at the market, as well--we made a kick-a** spinach salad.

Here's the recipe:
What you need:
1 lg. bunch fresh spinach
2 cups bean sprouts
2 lg. chopped scallions
3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1/2 lb. of bacon
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste

What you do:
Oven-crisp bacon (bake at 425 till done), reserve 3 Tbsp. of bacon fat. In a small sauce pan on medium-low, start with the reserved bacon fat, whisk in red wine vinegar, ketchup, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, honey, salt, and fresh ground pepper.Crumble bacon and add to the pan, toss to coat, and then toss the dressing with the spinach, scallions, bean sprouts, and eggs. Add more or less scallions, eggs, and bean sprouts to your taste. Will serve about six people.

Looking very forward to seeing what we can find and create at the market all season long!