Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market... or, how I discovered that I love fresh veggies

Mom would be amused.

When I was a kid, I hated vegetables. Salad was some iceberg lettuce, maybe a carrot stick or two if I was feeling particularly adventurous. I'd eat veggies if they were of the corn or potato variety (that low-carb craze was never gonna catch on with me). But green things? You must be kidding.

Until I discovered the Dupont Circle FreshFarm market. There's something exciting and fun about spending a Sunday morning wandering through the stands, seeing what's fresh and in season, discovering new vegetables I never knew existed (purple cauliflower?), maybe sampling a taste of a bright yellow pepper or a deep ruby cherry, chatting with the farmers, and crafting a menu for Sunday dinner based on what looks best.

Like a couple of weekends ago... when I snagged some sweet sugar snap peas, fresh mint and cilantro, a baguette, and mango sorbet. Dinner that night? I snacked on cheese, olives, that baguette, and Provencal olive oil, while cooking up sugar snap peas with mint, couscous with cranberries, cilantro and walnuts, and salmon with mint and cilantro. And some of that sorbet for dessert. With a glass of a crisp riesling, a fantastic summer dinner.

Or last week, when I grabbed some white peaches, raspberries, and blueberries... and had homemade smoothies for breakfast every morning.

Mom's coming to visit in a few weeks, and I'm hoping to find lots of fresh green things to cook. But I don't want to shock her too much -- I might have to pick up some corn and potatoes so she doesn't wonder who this veggie-loving imposter is, pretending to be her daughter.

Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market
20th Street, between Massachusetts and Q
202-362-8889