For me, spring does not truly begin in Baltimore until the Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar has opened.  Well today was that day and it did not disappoint.  Since I don’t live right across the street anymore, I wake up at 6AM and get myself over to the market soon as it opens at 7AM.  It’s going to become very obvious to you that I hate waiting in lines and my husband is not a fan of big crowds.  We tend to get to places early, especially the Farmers’ Market.  By 8AM the crowd is pretty dense.

On a normal day I take my time to peruse the offerings of every stall but today I had to be somewhere at 10 so only hit up the necessities.  You could literally spend several hours going to each stall with offerings from vegetables, fresh cooked food, jewelry, clothing, antiques, dog treats, candles, body care, baskets, local honey, wine,  and even knife sharpening.

My first stop is always the Blacksauce Kitchen stand to get some biscuits.  For the second year in a row, I was the first person in line on opening day.  Today they were serving biscuits with quick-cured ham and free range egg, braised chicken and grilled red onions, wood roasted apples with arugula & maple rosemary butter.  I always tend to get the vegetarian option unless its a day they are offering biscuits and gravy.  Today we opted for the ham biscuit and the apples.  The roasted apple biscuit was delicious so my husband is lucky that I even shared half of it with him.

I needed vanilla ice cream from South Mountain Creamery for some upcoming desserts.  South Mountain was always my main reason for going to the market because I get all of my eggs and milk from them.  I signed up for their delivery program last winter when the market ended.  Now every other week a milkman leaves eggs and milk in a cooler on my front porch.  It’s so convenient and you can get way more than just eggs and milk.  Visit their website to sign up and see if they deliver in your area.

Coffee, must have coffee.  This might be controversial but I don’t go to the market for Zeke’s Coffee.  I go for Cafe Latte’Da because I like it better.  They roast their beans in house and sell it by the pound and will even grind it for you.  They partner with the Baltimore Bully Crew and 5% of each pound purchase goes to help the dogs.  The best part is that all of their coffees are named after different breeds of dogs.  Pomeranian is my favorite but Golden Retriever is a close second.  I always buy a few bags of coffee and get a complimentary cup of coffee to go.  The cafe itself is located in Fells Point so stop in and get some coffee and a pastry.

Besides the three necessities I picked up some asparagus, butternut squash, and spaghetti squash at some random stands.  Right now there are a ton of flowers, starter herbs, and vegetables seedlings.  I had to resist on taking home a ton of plants today because I don’t want to keep them alive in my house until Mother’s Day.  Plant before Mother’s Day and it WILL frost again and kill everything, I’ve learned my lesson.  I’ll be back for you guys in a couple of weeks.  I have plans to create a vertical herb wall this year so I have lots to do before I can plant.  My husband has taken the lead on our raised garden bed project.  Pictures of all our outdoor work will come at a later time.

If you haven’t been to the Baltimore Farmers’ Market and Bazaar at least one time you truly are missing out.  There is ample parking and it runs on Sundays between April 17, 2016 and December 18, 2016 from 7am to Noon or sell out.  They often have live music performances and cooking demonstrations.  The Gathering Baltimore works with the Hollywood Diner located next to the market and hosts local food trucks.  You can buy your food and eat it inside the diner.  This runs along with the market but from 11AM-2PM to get more of the lunch crowd.  There is basically something for everyone at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market and Bazaar.