It was another amazing week at our local farmers' market. We had a few less vendors than in the previous two weeks, but it was still an amazing display and variety of fresh local goodies. And if the 100 degree heat didn't convince you, there's no denying it's summer when customer after customer passed my little info booth with fresh (and very local) watermelons and cantaloupe. I ended up come home with a few of those cantaloupe myself, but I'm getting ahead of myself.Local at the Brazos Valley Farmers' Market this week were:
Veggies: carrots, onions, potatoes, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, corn, purple hull peas, garlic, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, squash, beets, tomatillos...Fruits: apples, cantaloupe, watermelon, dried apples...Canned Goods: jams, jellies, relishes, salsas, pickles, canned okra, chow chow...Other Foods: honey, eggs, whole wheat flour, cornmeal, herbs, locally roasted coffee, locally roaster peanuts...Baked Goods: yeast breads, sweet breads, pounds cake, pies, pastries, croutons, bagel bites, puppy cookies...Crafts: jewelry, soaps, aprons, dolls, journals, wallets, puzzles, pot holders, candles, paintings...Plants: decorative plants and flowersAnd I know I'm missing a ton of items as I was so busy visiting with customers I didn't get around to see it all!
Now, of course, I had to behave myself when I did my personal shopping. I'm harvesting tomatoes, a few onions, a few green beans, basil, sage, lambs-quarter, cucumber, lettuce, chard, and collard greens out of my backyard garden. Plus, I have plenty of rice, eggs, carrots, potatoes, home-canned corn, home-canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, home-canned soups, and home-canned beans in the fridge, freezer, and pantry (all of it is local).
Most of what I need these days, since I'm not producing any of my own (quite yet anyway), is fruit (and man, do I love fruit!). I picked up 2 cantaloupe, a large bag-full of apples, 3 tomatoes, a bag of green beans, a canister of whole wheat flour, and 5 bars of soap to restock our supplies. If nothing else, we'll be clean, right?
I need to eat lots of my backyard greens this week since most of them have bolted and I need to pull them up to plant more green beans, so expect lots of greenery in this week's market to table post. No matter what it is, you can bet it'll be delicious. That's the true magic of local food - it just tastes better and who am I to deny my taste buds?
Hope you're finding lots of local goodies in your neck of the woods. Have a great week, everyone. And, as always, Happy (and mindful) eating!
4 comments:
I'm cutting into my first homegrown cantaloupe tonight! I can't wait. I have about 10 more getting close to being ripe!
Is there going to be a market on the 4th? If so, we'll be there! Got to get some watermelon....
Mmm, locally roasted peanuts! Our melon season has just started here, too. This morning, I finished up the honeydew melon from my CSA share 1 1/2 weeks ago. Next up: Sharlyn melon.
Your garden is producing really nicely. We're still waiting for ours to produce, but we got a late start.
Mmm cantaloupes....so tasty.
I have one celebrity tomato that showed up on my plant. Hope it makes it through so I can eat it.
Sharli - Oooh, yum! Sounds like your garden did REALLY well. I had some things do well and others not so much. Maybe I'm getting too much sun because some of the plants look burned. Dave and I are talking about putting up a little shade over the tomato plants.
We'll definitely be having a market on Saturday, July 4th. Some of the vendors have special decorations planned so it should be lots of fun!
Chile - We've never stopped planting since last October, so there's always something out there, thankfully. I'd be happy to share some of my greens. I planted WAY too many...
Beany - watch out for the birds. I was so upset when they nabbed my first tomato :(
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