Just as farmers rise early, it's not a bad idea for shoppers at farmers markets to rise early also. On the first Saturday Farmers Market at Van Vorst Park, much of the stock had sold by the noon hour. But the three vendors, Asprocolas Acres, Hoboken Farms, and Made with Love Organic Bakery, still offered enough fresh selections for shoppers to pick out items for a delicious lunch.

The vendor from Asprocolas Acres noted that he left the farm at 4:30 in the morning, a time when the latest Friday night revelers would have been making their way home. Though the market officially runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., he was in Jersey City setting up the tent and unloading produce by 6:30 a.m. The early morning shoppers nabbed the fresh blueberries from the farm; but there was still locally grown radishes, lettuce, and kale later in the day. Since it's still early in the season, the fruit and vegetable selection was rounded out with additions such as tomatoes, grapes, and nectarines from out of state. Locally grown produce, such as watermelons, sweet corn, peas, peaches, and pumpkins, will all make their appearance as the season progresses. Containers of herbs and flowers lined the sidewalk and added additional color and fragrance as shoppers perused the stand. The herbs are grown on the farm, while the flowers come from nearby growers.

Next to Asprocolas Acres, Hoboken Farms' tent offered mozzarella cheese, breads, and an array of fish, chicken, and beef. Owner Brad Finkel of Hoboken has been running his business since 1992. He explained that the fresh mozzarella tastes so good because the milk curd comes from a small farm in upstate New York and has three times the butterfat than curd normally used. It makes for a luscious final product so flavorful they end up selling literally a ton a week.

Hoboken Farms only uses bakers and meat sellers from New Jersey. "We try to make it as local as possible," Finkel said. Besides selling their mozzarella at Whole Foods, Finkel sells his goods exclusively at farmers markets, up to twenty a week. "It feeds my soul," he said. "There's no better way to get a sense of a neighborhood on a day than when the town's people come to buy food." Having sold at the same farmers markets for almost twenty years, he's seen the growth of children to teens, from teens to adults, and then as adults bringing their own children to the market. For Finkel, the cycle of the seasons, arriving at the markets in spring and leaving in fall, is a natural and rhythmic way to live life.

Continuing down the line, the third tent was Celeste Governanti's new organic bakery, Made with Love. It's clear right away that Governanti shares the same passion about her new line of work.  She made the leap to owning her own bakery just this year after having worked in the fashion industry for thirty years. Earlier this year she began her recipe development and then started selling via the web. She will sell at ten local markets this summer. She explained that everything is organic and also local when possible. She uses local dairy and as local fruit comes into season she plans to create more fruit tarts and pies.  Pointing to the large cookie bursting with chocolate, she mentioned that the chocolate also comes from an organic, fair trade plantation in Ecuador. The array of delicious treats, packaged, by the way, in cellulose rather than plastic, includes all manner of cookies and non-yeast breads. There are even tasty treats for dogs. Governanti offered a sample of the Good Morning Sunshine breakfast cookie; it had a refreshing citrus flavor full of orange zest, raisins, and almonds. The sunny name and flavor seem to match Governanti's warm disposition.

After surveying the offerings it was time to decide what to get for lunch. We chose to make a pizza with the focaccia bread and mozzarella from Hoboken Farms. We picked veggies from Asprocolas Acres to add on the pizza and to put together for a side salad. And we rounded out the meal with bread and dessert from Made with Love.  Finkel, from Hoboken Farms, explained that the bread we chose comes from Dom's bakery in Hoboken, one of the only coal-fired ovens left in the city. It has a chunky tomato herb sauce on top.  We picked up two of the locally grown ingredients from Aspocolas Acres for the salad, lettuce and radishes. And we bought a couple of zucchinis to add for the pizza topping. The coconut cookies from Made with Love, looked like a refreshing dessert. Since we couldn’t resist the jalapeno cheese bread either, we picked that up as well.

Back from the market, lunch preparations soon commenced with the slicing of mozzarella and vegetables. The radishes were a spicy, bitter addition to the salad I normally wouldn't have thought to grab at the grocery store. And the first sampling of mozzarella, creamy and melting in my mouth, made me understand its popularity. We layered the cheese and veggies onto the focaccia crust and baked in a toaster oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. Looking at it in the oven, it was hard waiting until the white cheese has turned golden brown in spots before taking out. 

The end result was delicious. The thick crust tasted rich with it's coal fired, olive oil origins. The combination of tomato sauce, zucchini, and a few thin slices of radishes for kick, came together for a rustic, flavorful pizza. The crisp, fresh lettuce salad was the perfect accompaniment. We also munched on the jalapeno cheese bread. The hotness of the jalapenos hit the taste buds first and the white cheddar came into clearer taste moments after.  At the end of the meal, the coconut cookie, chock full of shredded coconut, was the perfect sweet treat to finish with.  This farmers market foray just might become a new Saturday lunch tradition, though perhaps next time I'll try to rise a little earlier to have a choice of the complete offerings. Anticipating the Good Morning Sunshine breakfast treat might be just key needed to get me going.