Farmers' Market Finds: Harvesting Summer Produce at Black Cat Farm

Linnea Covington September 4, 2017 12:57PM

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Linnea Covington

In Niwot, chef and farmer Eric Skokan runs Black Cat Organic Farm, which provides meat, herbs and produce to his two Boulder restaurants, Bramble & Hare and Black Cat Bistro.

Each week, farmers' markets fill up with glorious produce from local growers all across the state, but for Front Range chefs, none shines quite as bright as the Boulder County Farmers Market (which also runs the Union Station Farmers Market). Every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. through November 18, this market rolls out the jewels of the earth, from ruby-tinged tomatoes and amethyst-hued eggplants to emerald-green lettuces. There are new finds each week, which makes it a marketplace perfect for a chef looking to try something fresh, new and grown nearby.

Sometimes we must go all the way to the source, especially when it comes to showing a soon-to-be-three-year-old city kid where vegetables really come from. With that in mind, I accepted an invitation from chef Eric Skokan, chef/owner of Black Cat Bistro and Bramble & Hare to bring my son Gunnar to Black Cat Farm in Niwot to pick some produce and then head to the bistro in Boulder to see how the fresh-picked food ends up on the plate. While you might not be able to stop by Skokan's farm on a whim, he peddles the same great produce at the Boulder County Farmers' Market each Saturday. This bounty can also be seen transformed into the delectable dishes at Skokan's two restaurants, where the menus change constantly to reflect the harvest.