The beauty of a Farmer’s Market is that the buyer – whether an expert chef or a culinary novice who would rather buy a PB&J sandwich than make one – can assemble quickly a simple meal with incredibly fresh meat and produce at a damn affordable price. However, there is a surcharge to be paid for those four glorious months of Saturday mornings when thousands of Utahns traipse through downtown Pioneer Park for the market event, sponsored by the Salt Lake Downtown Alliance. After October 20, it’s back to the supermarket’s uninspired offerings of wilted greens, tasteless tomatoes, and fruit that often spoils at Mach-like speed.

But, then, there’s Chad Midgley, a youngish, adventurous farmer from West Bountiful who has built a formidable clientele in the last several years with his impressive array of produce, fruits, eggs, and — the current stars of the season — heirloom tomato varieties, many of which are available only at his stand. He has an ubiquitous presence in northern Utah – selling also in Park City every Wednesday and in Bountiful every Thursday.

Midgley, however, sustains the gustatorial excitement of fresh produce long into the fall and winter. Never missing his pace, he will continue selling at the Avenues Bakery in downtown, starting the Saturday after the Pioneer Park market shuts for the season. The winter market has become so popular that parking congestion is significant but Midgley wisely alerts his email list recipients to parking availability which doesn’t interfere with the regular Avenues Bakery traffic.

The appeal of his winter market is readily apparent, given Midgley’s surprisingly extensive wintertime offering, which includes winter greens; carrots; leeks; heirloom yellow, purple, candy striped, and red beets; turnips; parsley root, and fennel. Proof positive: Midgley has mastered a year-round growing season.

But, back to summer. Deftly mixing modern agricultural aspects with those classic to the organic tradition, he also has successfully managed to grow green varieties, not typically available for summer. His garden greens range from the familiar to the curiously exotic – wild, spicy mixes — yes, even tasty weeds — that often contain up to 15 varieties. Add a tub of delicious crabmeat or lobster meat from Aquarius Fish to a bag of exotic salad greens and one has the start to a gourmet meal.

Also, he is scrupulous about the natural state of his produce – no pesticides and non E.coli. In fact, last year, during the nationwide spinach scare, he seemed to be the only local vendor who could assuredly offer safe-to-eat spinach. Midgley’s produce also is clean (ready to use after a quick wash, as with any produce) and packaged in a popular name brand plastic bag, which typically keeps them fresh longer than what one might anticipate with commercially purchased greens.

Most weekends, he has 20 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, including Cherokee purple, vintage wine, white Tomiseals, big zebras, and a good proportion of differing rainbow shades. Dress them with a handful of sea salt and a touch of some olive oil from Caputo’s Deli – and even the culinary novice can offer a spectacular first course.

Finally, Midgley rewards his chickens generously for their marvelous egg output. These are no ordinary free-range birds. In August, they have their dedicated swimming pool, access to organic apples, and ample shade. Only in West Bountiful could chickens have their own Club Med!

PS …

Just how easy is it to assemble a meal from the market? Buy two pounds of broccoli raab (rapini, in the Italian way) and two pounds of the phenomenal Creminelli Italian sausage, made on the premises of Caputo’s Deli. Brown the sausages in a little water or, better yet, white wine. Use the leaves whole and cut the stems of the rapini into two-inch sections. Drain some fat from the skillet, add and cook the stems for a couple of minutes, and then add the leaves. The dish is ready as soon as the leaves start to wilt. Total cooking time: less than 20 minutes.

REMEMBER … No salt and pepper required. The seasoned flavor is already in the ingredients.