Day 9 of the 90 day green mission included a morning trip to our local farmers market. Every Sunday I intend to get up early, take my reusable grocery bags and a cup of coffee and peruse the fresh produce. This works in theory. In reality...the baby wakes up at 5am and after I feed him and put him back to sleep there is no way I'm waking up again at 7:00 am if I don't have to. But we finally made it last Sunday. Of course I forgot the reusable grocery bags-why don't I just leave them in the car?? Regardless, I did find some amazing fresh produce, the most delicious peaches and honeydew melon I've ever had, but I also left with several items I didn't expect to find.
1. Local Organically Grown Coffee. There was a very nice young couple who run a small coffee farm nearby. They had several different blends and roasts to sample, the average price was $12 a pound. I can find it several dollars cheaper elsewhere, but the fact that this was grown locally and not shipped thousands of miles means I'm supporting my local economy as well as decreasing my carbon footprint just a little. Delicious, local, organic. Great find!
2. Grass Fed Organic Beef. I wasn't planning on buying steak but we stopped to chat with a vendor who runs a local ranch. They were out of the cut of steak I asked about, so they gave me a complimentary pound of ground beef. We made burgers several days later, they were awesome. There is a huge taste difference between grass fed and traditional grain fed beef, not to mention organic beef is raised without antibiotics or hormones.
3. Dirty Martinis. Okay, there wasn't a full bar serving drinks at 9:00 in the morning but we did get some fantastic double stuffed olives made by a local company. Which my husband then turned into dirty martinis which he says were delicious. (I like my drinks a little more on the sweet side personally.)
4. Gelato. I love all kinds of ice cream but Italian gelato is my favorite. It's lighter than ice cream and usually served a little warmer so it melts in your mouth. I tried a sample of the watermelon sorbetto and it was out of this world amazing. Sorbetto traditionally has more fruit than water in comparison to sorbet, which results in a softer less icy texture. This sorbetto was so good I bought a pint immediately.
5. Fresh Fish. I never expected to see fresh salmon, halibut, even Ono and Opakapaka flown in from Hawaii! As tempting as it was...buying fish that was flown 3000 miles doesn't exactly mesh with my plan to 'buy local' so I didn't go for it. But if you've ever had Opakapaka....you'd know how hard it was to pass up! Some friends just went fishing in Alaska and brought back fresh Salmon and Halibut though so don't feel too sorry for us. :)
Some things to keep in mind before you head out to your local farmers market:
It's not always a bargain. Often the prices are higher than you might find at your local supermarket. But these small farms and business owners are worth supporting so when you can afford to, do so.
Choose wisely. There were several vendors selling similar items, especially the produce. Take the time to look at each vendors offerings and always ask for a sample. I tried peaches from two different vendors that day, and there was a definite difference in flavor between the two. The second peach was much better, I swear there were hints of vanilla in it! So good.
Make friends. If they aren't busy with other customers, sometimes it pays to stop and talk with the vendors. Not only will you learn more about where and how the items were grown or made, but you might get a better deal or at the very least a bigger sample!
BYOB. (Bring your own bag.) Don't pull my rookie mistake and forget your reusable grocery bags. Keep them in the car and that way you'll always have them. The state of Hawaii has already 'outlawed' plastic bags all together. Inconvenient? Yes, but a small price to pay in exchange for not seeing plastic bags floating in the ocean. I imagine it's only a matter of time before other states adopt a similar policy.
So now that you've read about my Sunday morning adventures what about you?
Have you found anything interesting or unexpected at your local farmers market?
Share your experience in the comments below!
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