My favorite sound in early spring isn’t the cheerful chatter of birds, tho that’s nice, but rather the clack-clack of wooden Portland Farmers Market tokens being counted into a ziplock bag for me at the info booth. I never have cash so I always start my market morning with a handy swipe of my debit card—the tokens make me feel like I’m getting all that wonderful stuff for free, except, um, I’m not.

My first market shop was this past Saturday, and while I felt bad about missing opening day, I felt righteous as I huddled against the highly unpleasantly driving rain and did my shopping.

Yet all was not dreary, the food is fantastic and makes me so happy. And the market has expanded, too! I’m curious to see how the extra space plays out once the crowds return – I will love being able to stroll rather than rugby-scrum the aisles in June.

My lettuce, though not really from the farmers market--for illustrative purposes only!

My score? I start with my ritual breakfast of a crab cocktail from Linda Brand Crab (hey, where’s the friendly guy with the good blond highlights? Hope he’s back later this season). Then I bought:

-       Coppa roast from Tails n Trotters, (plus a couple small pieces of pork butt that are in the freezer awaiting my command. I swear that the fat does taste like hazelnuts, which is the main food source for the hogs).

-       Nettles from the Osmogaia guy, which turned into a shockingly delicious soup with some spinach and a potato.

-       Young and lovely lettuce from him too, that I dolloped with the following pretty green dressing (I didn’t measure, so use your improv skills):

In a mortar and pestle or food processor, mash an anchovy or two, about a half a small clove of garlic, some grated lemon zest, lots of salt. Add some lemon juice, then start mashing in some ripe avocado – I used a half a medium one to make dressing for 4. Once you get a thickish puree, start working in a bit of buttermilk. When you have a nice ranch-dressing consistency, taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and lemon and a shake or two of hot sauce. If you have nice tender herbs such as parsley, chervil, chives, or dill, you could throw in a sprinkling of them, too.

Okay Portland.  Ready, set, and go get them before they’re out…