Wow! Could it have been any nicer? I woke up on Saturday morning, slipped on a pair of jogging shorts, a t-shirt, a zippered sweatshirt, and my socks and shoes. I nibbled on a few almonds and some fruit, grabbed my wallet and a canvas bag, and made my way to the front door. The cool 65 degree air hit me, quite literally, like a breath of fresh air. Perfect biking weather!Traffic at that hour (about 8:15 AM) on a Saturday is mercifully light, so it was an uneventful and wonderfully relaxing bike ride over the highway, through a city park, and finally to the Bryan Farmers Market. I pulled in and "parked," as usual, next to Lois Vaughn's truck. Pshew. Was I tired already?
I caught my breath while I stood talking to friends and catching up on the week's events. Little by little, I made my rounds through each of the vendors admiring all the selection the season has yet to offer. As you can see, I picked up more of those delicious green beans, some zucchini, red potatoes, yellow onions, and two dozen eggs. As usual, this is nothing compared to what was on display. There was also spinach, herbs, squash, salsas, jams and jellies, baked goods, coffee (it's been reported this locally roasted coffee is delicious), honey, dried apples, and (my personal favorite this week) mini tarts in two flavors: apple and peach. That's the apple there in the photos and let me tell you - MOUTHWATERING! That little pastry didn't make it past Saturday afternoon. Mmmmm. More, please?
After stocking up on fresh veggies and eggs, I made a quick trip to the library (just down the street from the market) to exchange the books I read this week for new ones, before heading home and planning the weeks meals. On top of what I bought at the market, I had picked up a gallon of local raw milk Friday night. We also have plenty of local fruits stocked in the freezer (I've been pulling out the strawberries I picked back in May and they're fabulous!), local almonds, I have a bag of spinach leftover from last week's farmers market, and a steady supply of local home-canned soups and tomatoes stocking the pantry. Oh, and don't forget the basil, sage, onions, and mint in the backyard.
The green beans were steamed and are ready to eat; those potatoes, onions, spinach and zucchini will most likely be stir-fried in olive oil to be enjoyed with a sammy (on my homemade 100% whole wheat buns) or with a plate of scrambled eggs or, well really, they're good all by themselves as well. Maybe a little of my canned tomatoes over top... the possibilities are endless...
I did realize something this week though. Tammy, a regular commenter, mentioned that I didn't make any pickles this year. I guess I never thought much about it, but I don't eat many pickles so no big deal, right? Well, that was until I wanted some pickles. I picked up a jar at the grocery and brought them home before realizing they contain high fructose corn syrup. YUK! So the next trip to the grocery meant a full investigation of ALL pickles in the aisle. It turns out all the kinds of pickles I like (regardless of brand) has HFCS. Tammy - you were right. We're doing pickles next year! :)
Oh well. Enough for now. Stay tuned for Thursday's "Market to Table" post to find out how all these goodies came together. Have a great week and, as always...
Happy (and mindful) eating!
2 comments:
BNF has Bubbies bread and butter chips in the refrigerated section, they don't have hfcs, but they are made in California. They are about 5 bucks a jar(large jar), this is what I buy for my hubby when I don't have homemade. I like dill pickles better myself, but the bubbies bread and butter ones are about as close to homemade as I've found for bread and butter aka sweet, to me, not those super sweet gerkin variety, but you understand. I avoid hfcs, too.
I don't have to have pickles, but I like to make a big sandwich when my hubby gets hungry for a sandwich. Lately, his sandwiches have been turkey, cheese, tomato, local lettuce, bubbies pickles, stoneground mustard and alfalfa sprouts(from my sprouter). If I miss the sprouts, I get sad puppy faces till I get them... I don't blame him, the sprouts are good.
Oh, I found some passible figs at Farm Patch this week. They aren't local, but they are pretty good, probably California grown if I had to guess. I've decided that time and travel mean that Plantersville is just too far to go for figs since the figs I really appreciate are fresh-eating figs. The ones I have canned in the past taste a bit too candy to me, even though I always go for the lowest sugar recipes and frozen fruit is usually designated for cooking, ice cream topping, and the like.
Oh, the Farm Patch still has lots of huge Hempstead watermelons. I picked up a seedless one(because it was smaller), I guess the seeded varieties are probably better because they aren't modified, but I can only eat so much melon... these melons are a testimony to more local fruit, for which I am grateful. I can't go all local, but if a local thing is available, I can certainly choose to buy the one that makes less of a negative impact, so that is what I am trying to do.
ttammylynn - You rock! I just put BNF on my to do list. I'm getting some pickles! Thank you!
I'll agree, it is hard to eat those watermelons. Some of them are huge! My grandma picked one up from the Farm Patch last week and sent some home with me. There's no way either of us could eat an entire one.
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