You meet nice people, too. Aside from the farmers themselves, the customers can be helpful, sharing “finds” and cooking tips. Last week, one gentlemen pulled out his wallet to help us when he thought we didn’t have enough cash to pay for our heirloom tomatoes!

Don’t expect bargains at a farmers market: You’re getting top quality, fresh-picked produce grown by small family farmers. We could pay less for peaches at Trader Joe’s, shipped in from who knows where. We save where we can, but we’re glad that we can afford to help keep family farms in business.

Birds & Blooms magazine consulted farmers nationwide to create a comprehensive guide to the proper etiquette and best tips for shopping at farmers markets. Here are our top ten (the full list of 33 tips can be found here):

 
TO FIND A FARMERS MARKET NEAR YOU, VISIT LOCALHARVEST.ORG.

You love it on pizza, lasagna, panini, and in a Caprese salad. But there‘s more you can do with mozzarella.

For example, Crave Brothers, Wisconsin-based producers of award-winning cheeses, say that mozzarella and fresh vegetables were made for each other.

Think beyond the eight-ounce or one-pound balls of mozzarella to other sizes:

 
Then, decide how to use them.
 
 
MORE WAYS TO USE MOZZARELLA CHEESE

 
Preparation

1. TOSS all ingredients. Since there are no greens to get soggy, you can do this ahead of time.

2. SERVE chilled or at room temperature.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

The wild lemon originated in Assam, India and northern Burma. It was cultivated, and travelers brought it to China, across Persia and the Arab world to the Mediterranean.

The wild fruit was very acidic and filled with seeds. Given the scarcity of sweeteners, it was initially used as an ornamental tree in early Islamic gardens, producing fragrant blossoms.

The trade in lemon juice and lemonade was quite considerable by 1104, says Wright. Documents from the Cairo Geniza, the medieval Jewish community in Cairo from the tenth through thirteenth centuries, show that bottles of lemon juice were mixed with lots of sugar, consumed locally and exported.

So you can celebrate today, National Lemonade Day, with our classic lemonade recipe, make the Sparkling Melon Lemonade recipe below, or spike it with a clear spirit, particularly gin, tequila or vodka.

Ingredients For 3 Quarts

 
Preparation

1. MAKE a simple syrup: Combine water and sugar in a small sauce pan and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Chill completely before using.

2. PURÉE the melon in batches with some of the lemon juice and simple syrup, using a blender or food processor. Use even amounts of each ingredient each time. Combine all batches once blended in a large 3 quart pitcher, and chill at least 4 hours.

3. TO SERVE: Fill large glasses with ice and then halfway with the melon mixture. Top with sparkling water and stir.

 
THE HARD STUFF: LEMONADE WITH SPIRIT

RECIPE #2: LONDON LEMONADE GIN COCKTAIL

This elegant cocktail is a world apart from bottled hard lemonade, and takes less than three minutes to put together. It’s perfect for brunch, outdoor parties, warm days and menus that go with lemonade.
 
Ingredients Per Cocktail

 
Preparation

1. FILL a shaker with ice and add ingredients. Shake vigorously for one minute.

MORE LEMONADE COCKTAIL RECIPES

Hey there, Carrie Bradshaw: How about a White Cosmopolitan?

This recipe, from Grey Goose Vodka, uses white cranberry juice instead of red cranberry juice, plus Grey Goose L’Orange vodka.

(A bonus: spill it and it doesn’t stain like a Red Cosmo.)
RECIPE: WHITE COSMOPOLITAN

Ingredients For 1 Drink

Preparation

2. GARNISH with an orange peel.
 

A White Cosmopolitan is appropriate any time of the year. It looks like it belongs at the beach, for sure.

But imagine a holiday tray of both Red Cosmos and White Cosmos, perhaps with a tiny mint leaf or a sprig evergreen-like rosemary floating atop for garnish.

Or, go red, white and blue by adding a bit of blue food color to part of the White Cosmo recipe.
  

Perfect for customers who have trouble deciding whether they want their ice cream served in a cone or a dish, this waffle bowl from Joy Cone Company offers the best of both worlds!

Joy, world’s largest ice cream cone company, has been family owned and operated since 1918. It’s proof that you can be the biggest and still turn out a top-quality product.

The cones and cone cups are made with a blend of cake and pastry flours that produce a light-tasting cone with subtly sweet taste that does not overpower the ice cream—and can be used for savory recipes as well.

The waffle bowl uses the same batter as the company’s waffle cone. Dark brown sugar is used in the recipe. Many other brands, says Joy, use white or liquid sugar with added molasses, which gives a burnt aftertaste when compared to Joy’s recipe.

Beyond sundaes, you can use these bowls for numerous sweet and savory recipes. The sturdy waffle bowl does not get soggy.

Nonsweet Foods In Waffle Bowls

 
Let your creativity be your guide.

Here’s a store locator for the waffle bowls.

ICE CREAM CONE HISTORY

Most sources, including the International Dairy Foods Association, say that the first ice cream cone was produced in New York City in 1896 by Italo Marchiony. An Italian immigrant, he was granted a patent in December 1903 for “small pastry cups with sloping sides.” The bottoms were flat, not conical, much like today’s molded cones.

Others also lay claim. But while the ice cream cone was popularized in America, it was not invented here.

Robin J. Weir, co-author of the book, Frozen Desserts, has spent years researching this topic. He purchased a print dated 1807 of a young woman eating an ice cream cone at the Gardens Of Frascati, a Parisian café known for its ices. Was it glass or edible? It’s hard to tell. An 1820 print of an ice cream seller in Naples shows glass cones on his cart.

This is a story shrouded in the mists of history—and the real answer may still be out there. Here’s more about the invention of the ice cream cone.