The Marietta Square Farmers Market and its more than 50 vendors are open from 9 a.m. to noon every Saturday morning. The market offers shopping for people with health concerns from 8 to 9 a.m. All vendors are required to wear masks, and everyone has hand sanitizer available for customers. There is a hand sanitizer station at the entrance to the market, as well. The market is at 41 Mill St. You can find more information at mariettasquarefarmersmarket.com.
Italian sauces from Frik & Frak Artisanal Sauces
We’ve long been fans of the Italian sauces from Frik & Frak Foods, based in Plantation, Florida, and Marietta. We really appreciate it when a jarred sauce is just as good as (if not better than) our own homemade. Our favorite is the Holla vodka sauce, but there’s also Pizza Night, with garlic and fresh basil; spicy Handsome Devil, with Calabrese peppers and garlic; KISS (Keep It Simple San Marzano); and a classic marinara called the Sauce. Fans know to get to the market early in order to get favorite sauces. Owner Frank Connor said they usually sell out of Handsome Devil in the market’s first hour each week. The sauces also are available online.
$10 per 12-ounce jar at the Marietta Square market, $9.99 at frikandfrakfoods.com. Also available at the market: $18 for two jars, $25 for three jars, or $32 for four jars.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Paw and nose salve from Big Daddy Biscuits
You can’t miss the tent at the front of the market, where people and their dogs stay socially distanced while waiting to buy bags of Atlanta-based Big Daddy Biscuit’s three regular flavors. Will it be turkey-bacon bites this week, or grain-free peanut butter? Maybe a holiday seasonal treat? Because owner Lauren Janis knows pups cannot thrive on treats alone, she also has created a line of dog care products, including flea deterrent, rosemary/sweet orange pet soaps and her newest brainstorm, paw and nose salve. Janis said she realized pups needed something to protect their paws and noses from cold and heat. It’s deeply moisturizing, so it helps with cracked pads. And, the ingredients, which include beeswax from Hometown Honey, organic calendula and lavender, shea butter and almond oil, help with soreness, too.
$7 per biodegradable pushup tube. Available at the Marietta Square market or at bigdaddybiscuits.com.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Fennel from Pinewood Springs Farm
Jeff Anthony and Rodney Gabriel, of Pinewood Springs Farm in Stockbridge, have been bringing their produce to the Marietta market since 2014. Their booth always is filled with eggs from their flock of chickens, as well as some of the prettiest (and, sometimes, most unusual) vegetables at the market. This time of year, they suggest you consider purchasing a bulb or two of fennel, with its beautiful, lacy fronds. For some, this is an unusual vegetable, but, for those who particularly enjoy Italian cooking, it’s a staple. Fennel seeds make their way into spice mixtures for Italian sausage, and the sweet crunchy bulbs — with their mild licorice flavor — are delicious when sliced thinly to top an arugula-apple salad (garnished with some of those chopped fronds), or when used in our favorite recipe, as stuffing for a butterflied and rolled pork loin. We’re not fans of licorice, so we turned up our noses at fennel for a long time, but, once we tried this preparation, we were hooked. Sliced fennel bulbs also are delicious cooked with Italian sausage (to play up that fennel flavor) and tossed with pasta, or turned into a chilled spring soup.
$4 per pound. Available at the Marietta Square market. Information on Pinewood Springs Farm: pinewoodspringsfarm.com.
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