Spicy Inspiration

by

Shellie Mierwald

Early Fall in Central Pennsylvania is prime farmers’ market season, as I’m sure it is in many places around the United States. My husband and I just harvested some of our first yellow bhut jolokias, some beautiful peach habaneros, and our moruga scorpion peppers are coming along nicely. Knowing that this is prime local food season, I took a rare day off from my business at our local farmers’ market, and my husband Dave and daughter Zoe ran the booth for me. I went on a spontaneous road trip to Eastern PA with my good friend Susan to explore and see what local goodies we could find.

We ended up at the oldest continuously run farmers’ market in the United States, the Lancaster Central Market in Lancaster Pennsylvania. This is a year round indoor market that has been in operation for over 275 years. Inside the beautiful red brick building is a teaming, bustling market with 70 vendors where you can find culinary delights ranging from foods from Ethiopia, Knackwurst from a German stand, fair trade coffee, Middle Eastern delights, Amish delicacies as well as local meats, veggies, and even fresh seafood.