A quick stop at the Biologische Boerenmarkt

(A beautiful bunch of orange ranunculus. The colors of the flowers available in Holland are remarkably vivid with brilliant hues.)

Every Saturday from 9am to 4pm, De Biologische Boerenmarkt op de Noordermarkt takes place -- Amsterdam's famous organic farmers' market, apparently one of the largest of its kind in Europe, if not the largest. The market spans over several streets, and farmers and various vendors set up shop.


The market is just over the Brouwersgracht canal from our house, less than a 5 minute walk. We hadn't had the opportunity to go until today, however, because when we worked mornings and afternoons, we were picked up before the market opened and returned home after it had closed. Now that we work afternoons and evenings, we were able to take our shopping bags and have a look in the famous market!

It's a beautiful day today, sunny and mild, so it was the perfect Saturday morning to walk around the market. We did not see all of it -- there are far too many stalls to do, we will have to wake up a bit earlier next Saturday to do a more extensive exploration. But we got a good taste of it.

We are not entirely convinced that everything sold at this market is organic. But I suppose the majority of it are. What I loved about the market is the flower stalls. The Dutch buy armfuls of flowers at the market, and it is a lovely thing to see. The flowers here are amazing -- tulips are beautiful, as expected, but there are numerous varieties of blooms on sale: lilies, roses, amaryllis, branches of cherry and plum blooms, orchids, and, of course, various bulb flowers. And they are all very affordable and fresh. We ended up with beautiful, long stemmed tulips and a bunch of orange ranunculus.

(A market stand laden with fried food items.)

There were some fresh fish on sale, too, so we bought fillets of wild salmon. We also bought a bunch of white asparagus, which David loves, as well as couple of mangoes and avocado.

Pink tulips we purchased for our home.

A nice, simple salami. Very tasty. One can buy wonderful cured meats in Holland. I never buy salami like this -- the cut-it-up-yourself, out-in-the -open-hanging kind -- in New York. Somehow, the idea of eating salami like this seems more natural and rustic in our farmhouse-like Dutch house, instead of our New York apartment. Just slice up and eat with sliced cucumbers or some crumbly aged Dutch cheese. Delicious.

David at the table, eating lunch of organic moussaka, fresh cut organic cucumbers and tomatoes with just pepper and a drizzle of organic olive oil. A lovely Saturday late morning in Amsterdam.