Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night... The Brazos Valley Farmers' Market will be there to meet your every veggie need (and it tastes WAY better than any mail service I ever received).Despite flash flood warnings, eight faithful market vendors set up shop in the County Health Department parking lot. I was there by 7:30 AM to get everything I needed, just in case the weather got really nasty forcing them to bail (there were tornado watches, too).
And people came! That's right. It wasn't our steady stream of customers, but quite a few braved the stormy weather to get the best produce in town, and we had another amazing selection:
Veggies: red potatoes, white potatoes, red onions, yellow onions, green onions, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, carrots, collard greens, mustard greens, radishes, turnips, kohlrabi...Fruits: dried cranberries, dried applesCanned goods: a variety of salsas, canned veggies, jellies and jams, tomato juiceBaked goods: yeast breads, sweet breads, bagel bitesOther: eggs, honey, cornmeal, ornamental plants
I wasn't technically supposed to be there, but the Earth Day Celebration where I was going to host a booth Saturday morning was cancelled due to the nasty weather. So because I stocked up last week, I didn't need much. I picked up more of those wonderful carrots, some red and white potatoes (I've been craving potato salad), and lots of honey (I've been baking lots of bread recently and have been going through the honey like water).
Then Sunday marked the most recent Brazos Locavore trip, this time to Kings Orchard where Dave and I picked up lots more local strawberries. This ought to last me until blackberry and dewberry season hit in about a month. Mmm, berries!
Of course, I still have lots of onions to be picked from the garden; local mushrooms, kohlrabi, and bok choy in the refrigerator; pounds of local rice and wheat berries stored in the freezer; and a pantry full of all-local home-canned soups and stewed tomatoes.
As I think back on all those water-logged vendors, huddled under tents in a chilly rain on Saturday morning I'm amazed at their dedication - being there no matter what the weather. But I suppose that's what local food does to you. It takes captive of each of our senses - the food tastes better, it looks better, it feels better, it smells better (ok, maybe it doesn't sound better but you get the idea). Local food moves the growers to faithfully provide to those for whom local food has called - people like me who know there's just no better place to eat than good old-fashioned local. I wouldn't miss it for the world (or the rain) either.
Have a great week, everyone. And, as always, Happy (and mindful) eating!
5 comments:
I was out a couple of hours after you, around 9:30. I found some fresh spinach, carrots(since mine are all small in the garden), beets, pumpkin bread, banana nut bread, several jars of salsa, two dozen eggs, and a jar of strawberry rhubarb jelly at Market. I was already wet when I got there, almost every vendor had umbrellas and plastic to help keep things dry. It was definitely a wet morning that led to a wet weekend. My poor garden received too much rain, so the hills upon which I planted turned out to be a really great idea. The rain filled the gullies between rows...it'll be a few days before I will need to water. The weeds like the rain, too, so after the mud dries up a bit, I have my work cut out for me there, lol.
How did your garden fare?
In 2007 I believe I faithfully went to the market every single time it was open, even in terrible weather. It is hard to resist the lure of good food though.
Mmmm strawberries. I never seem to get tired of this one fruit.
Tammy - The garden did great although because I have raised beds, I had to start watering again yesterday. At least I had saved some of the water from the storm in bucket. It gave me an extra 2 days of rainwater. I just came back in from weeding. Not too bad, but I'm sure more is coming. I love watching my tomatoes grow. I have two so far... :)
Beany -Absolutely, especially when it's all in one place like that! Mmmm!
Hey- maybe local food SOUNDS better because it's fresher, therefore crunchier?
those strawberries look delicious. I hate the store bought huge tasteless ones.
Angela - Perfect! Yes - local food sounds better too! Thanks! :)
These berries rock! It was hard not to completely gorge on them while we were picking. I only ate a few and they were the ones that were so mushy, they couldn't be transported. Mmm were they tasty though!
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