Farmers Markets make summer special

BEFORE

Summer has always been my favorite time of year. Swimming, floating, tennis, fireworks, long walks on warm summer evenings: I love it all!  (I never allow myself to complain about summer's heat, because I believe that gives me license to gripe about the cold all winter.)

Now that I must eat gluten-free, summer is especially sweet. The area farmers markets are up and running, and the fruits and vegetables are especially tasty this time of year.

This morning I visited the Farmers Market of the Ozarks at 4139 S. Nature Center Way (Springfield, MO) in order to collect vegetables for a recipe I recently found on FaceBook called "Kielbasa Skillet." (The source is Food.com.)

Here's the recipe:

6 slices bacon, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

4 medium new potatoes, washed, scrubbed and sliced thin

6 carrots, sliced thin

2 C. broccoli florets

1 C. celery, sliced thin

1/4 C. butter*

1 lb. smoked polksa kielbasa, sliced in 1/2 inch pieces**

Salt and pepper to taste

AFTER

In a dutch oven or large skillet, fry diced bacon until crisp, then remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. In bacon drippings, fry onion, potatoes, carrots, broccoli an celery over medium-low heat until tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, and add butter and the kielbasa slices. Cover and cook on low heat until hot--about 15 minutes. Top with crumbled crisp bacon right before serving.

*When I make it again, I'll eliminate the butter altogether.
**I think I'll try it with chicken breast, rather than kielbasa.

In addition to the vegetables for the new recipe, I bought juicy blackberries and sweet peaches. No gluten-filled cake, pie or pastry from my former life can beat fresh fruit from the farmers market. Ah, summer!