This week, when the Dupont Market in Washington, DC reverted back to its summer operating hours in what can only be described as great optimism, there were some signs of spring. New vendors have recently joined the sparse stalls of winter, where only the heartiest of farmers dared to play through the rain and snow.

We now have numerous egg vendors, a gelato stand, and even an honest-to-God dairy selling rich, thick, cream-top milk from grass-fed cows. As they gave out samples, the man next to me wondered aloud: “So, this is what milk is actually supposed to taste like, eh?”

Perhaps even more exciting than the arrival of the Clear Spring Creamery is that I have a new market companion. With the optimism of the new season, The Boyfriend has taken a sudden and active joy in joining me at the market as I poke and prod and taste and touch my way to our weekly groceries.

I’d like to think that after one million comments about buying local and organic to save the environment and cut down on pesticides and antibiotics, The Boyfriend awoke one day with a burning desire to be serious about this stuff. It’s more likely that he just enjoys choosing what kind of meat we’ll center our meals around each week.

Either way, I’m not going to complain. I enjoy the company and his input. Even better, he is far more strict than I am about doing a full tour of the market before we buy a single thing. He takes stock of what’s enticing that week, asks the farmers and butchers what they recommend, and talks through what he’d like and how we can cook it.

For someone who prides himself on not being a foodie, his farmers’ market style is remarkably similar to that of Alice Waters.

His favorite part, as I have mentioned, is picking out the protein. Last week there was a savory and satisfying shepherd’s pie to be made with organic ground lamb. This week, when we went looking for some spicy rabbit sausages, they didn’t have them anymore — but I noted The Boyfriend was giving some sweet Italian chicken sausages a come-hither look. We bought them and together formulated a plan, adding to our bag some fat, deeply red sweet potatoes, a couple onions and a dozen fresh eggs, laid less than 24 hours before.

This sweet potato hash is sweet and soft, with a parsnip thrown in for a bit of piney depth and an onion to cut through the sweetness. It’s even a little smoky (or perhaps I just burned it a little). It is the perfect foil for the salty chicken sausages, and when you break into the poached egg on top, the yolk coats the whole concoction in a velvety golden sauce, greater than can be found in even the most sophisticated of French kitchens.

Sweet Potato Hash

Serves 4, takes 45 minutes

• 3 c. grated sweet potato (about 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled)
• 1.5 c. grated parsnip (about 1 large parsnip, peeled)
• ½ c. grated onion (about 1 medium onion, peeled)
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 4 sausages, sliced
• 4 eggs (plus 2 Tbsp. white vinegar if you want to poach the eggs)

Fry the sausages until they are browned and crispy on the outside. Set aside.

Mix all the ingredients except the eggs, oil, butter, sausage and eggs. The mixture will smell enticingly sweet and fragrant but will be rather wet. Try to squeeze out as much liquid as you can, either with your hands, through a colander, or by wrapping the mixture in a clean dish towel and squeezing.

In a large frying pan or skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potato mixture and fry until cooked through and soft, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare your eggs. If you don’t know how to poach an egg, here is the quick and dirty: Fill a frying pan with water, and place it over medium heat until it comes to a very slow and gentle boil. Add the vinegar. Crack your egg into the bowl of a ladle or a small measuring cup and then gently lower the egg into the boiling water. You don’t want to drop the egg in so much as place it in the pan. Depending on how runny you like your eggs, poach it for 1-3 minutes, or until the yolk is just barely opaque. Remove your egg from the water carefully, with a slotted spoon and serve immediately.

When everything is cooked and ready, first create a base on the plate with the hash. Add a layer of sausage on top of it, and then top the whole thing with a poached egg. Break into the yolk and enjoy the goodness.