Thursday is the day that our local farmer’s market opens up, offering a variety of special treats from Lancaster Country, PA. This week, the Amish couple that I’ve grown so fond of brought homemade rootbeer, fresh potatoes, beets, tomatoes, and oh, yeah, Whoopie Pies.

I also did a quick shop at the our local co-op food market, and bought some fresh sausage made from naturally raised pork as well as organically grown swiss chard from a nearby farm. I scored some local fresh goat cheese, too. Have I mentioned how much I love my food co-op? It’s a wonderful place to shop if you like fresh, organic and local foods. I even managed to snitch some slightly wilted lettuce leaves from out of the compost bin, which our baby guinea pigs can enjoy — a big bag of greens for them: FREE! And to make it all even better, my favorite blend of organic, fair-trade coffee was on sale for $6.99 per pound. Usually I just buy whichever kind costs the least: but this time, I was able to buy the kind I like best AND have it be the best price in the store. A great haul!

So tonight, here’s what we ate. For appetizers, we had brown rice crackers (ok, these were not local, but they were organic) with goat cheese and raisins (not local, yes org.), and slices of apples from our recent Pick Your Own adventure (not organic, yet they’re local).

The main dish was swiss chard, of the most beautiful colors, pork sausage, and home made oven baked & broiled french fries. The fries came out quite delicious. I don’t know what kind of potatoes they were, but they were white, crisp and sweet, tasting a lot like sweet potatoes.

(”Here, sweetie, look at this beautiful, colorful swiss chard that we’re having for dinner,” said I, which roughly translates to “Look at this exotic and highly poisonous weed which, incidentally, tastes like rotten garbage” judging by the facial expression on my four-year-old’s face.)

And the very best part? WHOOPIE PIES for dessert. YUM! (I have no idea what is in these, nor do I know what the nutritional facts are… but the Amish lady brings them every thursday, and I’m not going to ask.)