Ok. Let me preface this by saying that I realize that many of you have been cold for months and some of you may even be looking at snow already. I lived in the mid-west for 11 years, so I totally know what "cold" is, but then, that's why I moved to Texas where (at least most of the time) it's warm. That being said, it was COLD Saturday morning! Perhaps I should have driven the car to the farmers market, but with plans already set for the rest of the day, I wasn't sure I would be able to get in a decent workout and I do love to ride my bike. So I dressed in a long sleeved t-shirt, a pair of sweats, my winter boots, a coat, and a pair of gloves; and hopped on my bike in the chill of a 40 degree morning. Brrrr.
I made it to the market just fine (the wind was at my back) and parked my bike in between two of the vendors' vehicles. As usual, I made my rounds visiting everyone to catch up on the week's events and to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. The harvest is still strong here in Bryan. As you can see from my photo, I got another bag of beautiful tomatoes. A few of them aren't quite ripe yet, but I wanted them that way so that I can spread the bounty over the next couple weeks. I also picked up some yellow onion, 2 heads of broccoli, 5 large sweet potatoes, and 2 jars of bread and butter pickles. The pickles are from the same gentlemen I bought from last week. They were delicious on my veggie sandwiches and I decided to stock up a bit since I don't know how much longer some of the vendors will stick around the market braving the colder temperatures (last year there were only 2 vendors in the coldest months).
You might notice what I DON'T have this week. There were plenty of green beans to be had, but that broccoli sure was looking good and I'm ready for a little something new at the table. Of course, there were tons of other items available at the market. Let's see... red onions, yellow onions, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, many different varieties of squash, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard greens, spinach, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, home-baked breads, sweet rolls, cookies, mini tarts (apple or pumpkin), jams and jellies, dried cranberries, dried apples, pickles, salsa, lemons, eggs, crafts, plants, candles, coffee... Gee, I'm sure that's not everything, but you get the picture. There are still lots of goodies to be had at the market. Don't let the cold scare you away. That's what your coat is for, right?
I loaded up my bike (everything just barely fit in my baskets) and pedaled home. Hmm. Now the wind was right in my face and I kept telling myself, "you're almost there... you're almost there..." Silly exercise routine. Next time maybe I'll take the car.
Despite the cold, it was a wonderful morning. My hands may have been frozen solid, but my heart was warm with all the hugs from friends and wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving. Of course, soon my belly will be warm as well with all these goodies!
Stay tuned for this week's "Market to Table" post to see what comes of all this local food. Have a great week, everyone. And as always...
Happy (and mindful) eating!
4 comments:
It was a rough day. I had way too much work to do and so, I made it to market at about 10:45. I managed to acquire several things even though the market was out of eggs and broccoli (two things that were on my list--but now we are talking about having Thanksgiving without broccoli, I guess as long as we have plenty of other veggies(the tomatoes were gone, too-but I still have a few)). What I got at market-- lots of green beans, potatoes, yellow onions, squash, two jars of salsa, two bags of pecans, a jar of cranberry chutney, a bag full of lettuce, several lemons, a head of cabbage two tarts-one apple and one pumpkin, a creme brule scented candle and a kohlrabi. Yes it is a lot, but much of it is for Thanksgiving and the rest can be explained by no CSA drop this week...a girl has to eat something other than turkey on Thanksgiving week.
I just steamed some broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, sweet potato, squash and green beans earlier this week(I love lots of colors), then I added cabbage and kohlrabi and its greens the day before yesterday(and now, finally have eaten all of that). I have been working on clearing out the refrigerator for holiday cooking...I'm getting there. The veggie and fruit diet lately has kept me from getting the brunt of a cold that is lingering in my household right now. I've been trying to care better care of myself but it really isn't easy since I have virtually no time to put toward the effort.
It's been pretty cold up here in the Midwest too. Your load looks good, and I am loving that broccoli. For some reason, I was only able to find local broccoli twice this summer, that seems weird for the Midwest, but I imagine it has something to do with the mild and wet season we had this year.
I look forward (as always) to your Market to Table post. You always cook up such tasty looking treats!
Your market sounds amazing. The local market near us is very limited so as much as I would like to get fully into eating locally, it's quite difficult. Perhaps next year we will have our own garden up and running.
P.S. You've been tagged. Details ar on my blog.
Tammy - sorry you didn't get any broccoli... WAIT. Who had the pecans? I totally missed them and I've been on the lookout. Geez!
I'm sure your Thanksgiving will be great. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it.
jennifer - broccoli in the summer? Wow! Ours usually gives out around the end of February and we don't see it again until Nov/Dec. Wish it was a year-round kinda food, but then there wouldn't be the wonderful anticipation, I suppose.
livingmyrichlife - We just started a garden in our backyard. It's so easy, I already have plans for 2 more raised beds! It's totally worth it. We followed the Square Foot Gardening book. It sounded too easy to be true, but it turns out, it really is easy. Hope you give it a shot.
Thanks for the tag. I just finished spreading the love.
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