As much as I enjoyed two days of rain (the first measurable rain for 8 long, dry months), I'm pleased to report that not a drop fell on Saturday morning's farmers' market. Granted it was cold and more often than not, you could find us on rotating shifts huddled around the propane heater that one of the vendors brought. It's purely coincidence that my chair just happened to placed right next to the heater...Despite the cold and original threat of rain, we had a wonderful vendor turnout. Fifteen vendors lined the parking lot of the health department, long-time home of the Brazos Valley Farmers' Market. Customer turnout, however, was slow during the early hours of the market, but picked up slightly after 10AM. Of course, we were prepared with a full harvest: broccoli, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, beets, turnips, yellow onions, red onions, green onions, lettuce, cayenne peppers, eggs, honey, a variety of salsas, canned veggies, pickles, sweets, a variety of yeast breads, quick breads, cornbreads, cornbread mix, whole wheat flour, corn flour, jellies and jams, dried fruit, and lots and lots of beautiful crafts!
My fridge is still bursting with veggies, some of which I picked up at the mid-week market last week (see photo at the top of tomatoes, broccoli, spinach and green onions). So already stocked with a few potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, and broccoli, on top of the cabbage and green onions ready to pick out of my personal garden, on top of about 20 pints of home-canned stewed tomatoes and soups, on top of the 15 pounds of strawberries in the freezer... I didn't need much. Ok, fine. I didn't need anything, but with all that good food staring me down from vendor stalls across the parking lot, is it even possible to resist?
As you can see, I ended up with a mix of red and yellow onions, a few more carrots, a dozen eggs (I'll be doing a little baking for Dave this week), a new wallet (handmade by one of the craft vendors), and an american flag t-shirt for my mom (Shh - don't tell).
I also had the opportunity to talk to several people about eating locally, handed out two new vendor applications, and had a fabulous time visiting with the other vendors at the market. Sure, it was chilly, but in all honesty there's just no place I'd rather be. Great food, great friends - it just doesn't get any better.
Stay tuned for Thursday's "Market to Table" post and discover what I made from all these local goodies. In the meantime, have a great week. And as always, Happy (and mindful) eating!
6 comments:
My husband has been on vacation, so life has been difficult with trying to do my job and then go home to all of the projects he wants to do. Thankfully, he is back to work today, Monday. We managed to give our house a lesson in simplicity and organization. I weeded most of my flowerbed, started seeds, tilled my garden, cleaned, cleaned, paid bills, prepared for starting to figure out income tax, and did I say, cleaned and cleaned? I believe you would refer to this as involuntary simplicity...lol.
I enjoyed market, I am so glad to have made it on Saturday. I had wanted to go to the one at Village Foods, but my truck is in the shop because my tailgate blew off in the drive thru carwash at HEB a few weeks back and they offered to pay to fix it(their blower is probably too strong). My husband was driving his truck that evening and my daughter was in her car, leaving me only delivery trucks to drive and I was just not going to go to a store opening in a bus, essentially. Parking is usually at a premium at such events so I decided to just stay home.
Anyhow, I already scored lettuce, broccoli, greens, beets, herbs from Vicki's CSA on Thursday so when I went to Market I bought a couple dozen eggs, a loaf of pumpkin bread(They sold out of banana nut bread before I got there), tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, dried apples, peanuts...so we won't go hungry. Cathy brought four gallons of milk yesterday on her way to the movies. We have a freezer full of baby cow from Lois and Glenn and I have herbs, carrots, onions, and the promise of a decent garden this year. I believe I'll need it, too. My stepson is moving back to town. If all goes well, his wife and two kids may follow.
I met him when he was only four--so I guess that means that I may have to take on grandma kindda roles soon. For now, I just want to see if we can help him get his life in order. Anyhow, have a good day...Happy St.Patty's Day tomorrow.
Your produce looks so wonderful. I can't wait for our CSA to start, and the Farmer's Market to open.
Great news in my search for local, raw dairy! I found an organic service right here in NW Indiana that delivers to my door for a flat $5 fee. Best of all, they offer a yearly herdshare agreement for $30, and I can now get raw milk and butter for a great price. The products are from Traders Point Farms here in IN, and they got a 5 cow rating from Cornucopia Institute. YAY! :) I can also get many great, local foods from this service, delivered right to my door. Happy, happy day.
It's always great to see the things you get from your market and hear about it growing; It's nice to know that some places in the world a small-scale revolution is happening - Go Heather!
tammy - I've been wondering how the Vaughn's beef was. Have you tried any yet?
Jen - That's awesome! Sometimes it takes awhile to find all those local resources (I've finding new ones now 17 months after my journey begin). It's always exciting to find something you didn't have before. I'm glad your search finally paid off!
Sera - growing for sure! And its about to get crazy because we'll start to see some of summer growers before long. I don't know where we'll put all the vendors in the lot we have now. What a great problem to have :)
Yes, the beef is good. You must remember, however, that I have certain moral problems with eating meat in the 1st place. Eating a suckling calf messes with my mind. Everything has been very good, of course, but I have moral-ethical problems with eating beef so young. It helps me to rationalise with regards to eating meat since it does (seem to)help me physically attain a level of strength to work as if I were a man rather than a woman., but I would prefer grassfed beef that was beyond that baby age. I even understand that milk consumption means beef production and even that cattle provide better fertillizer than any other organic source(except perhaps seaweed),it is just that I was a vegetarian for so long, I think...oh well...anyway.
Tammy - we all have to make those decisions for ourselves. Isn't there another way for you to get enough protein that wouldn't create an ethical dilemma for you?
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