Thanks to all who came down and made our Arts Festival a wonderful success. It was so good to see so many faces out on Main Street. We had a wonderful time.

For those of you who haven’t been able to make it to the Farmers Market yet, you’re missing out. It’s peak season and the produce is beautiful. We have tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, onions, dill, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and so much more. We have a large selection of fresh baked goods every week and also home-canned products such as wonderful, award-winning salsas, jams and pickles. You can’t find produce this fresh at the supermarket. And our baked and canned goods aren’t loaded with all the extra ingredients that you don’t want, such as preservatives and artificial flavors. And of course, don’t forget the local honey.

We also have a large variety of crafts available. J & J Glass Art does wonderful glass chimes, Northern Natural Homemade Soaps are “scentsational,” In Stitches for You offers unique crocheted gift items, Shirley Hansen does wonderful glass yard art, and new this week is Tapetastic Ducorations & Baketastic Treats. She does wonderful, unique crafts out of duct tape: purses, wallets, checkbook covers and more.

She also has cake pops and decorated cookies on sticks. Yummy. Marian Clennon is joining us as well with her hot dog cart. So come on down. There’s something for everyone.

The Austin Area Farmers’ Market is open Thursdays, 3:30 to 6 p.m. downtown, Main Street, Mondays, 3:30 to 6 p.m. at the Oak Park Mall and Saturdays, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Oak Park Mall. We accept all major credit cards and EBT. EBT users, don’t forget the BCBS double your bucks program, for the first $5 you spend, you will receive $5 in matching bucks.

Heirloom Tomato & Basil Salad

This simple but sumptuous salad is an excellent way to showcase a variety of fresh, in-season tomato flavors, sizes, shapes and colors.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 small garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 1/2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, sliced

3/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

In a small bowl whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt, sugar and pepper. On

a platter, place tomato slices in an overlapping pattern with basil and onion between the slices. Drizzle with

dressing and serve.