From the Farmers' Market

Happy Tuesday! I hope y'all had a fantastic long weekend. I'll post a longer update later, but Kate and I spent it camping in lovely Pilot Mountain, NC. We didn't leave until mid-day on Saturday, but we still managed to take a bit of a rush trip to the market, since I had my wedding dress fitting (!) at 9am.

Kate came along for the trip to the market, which is always a treat in my book. Here's what we picked up:

a whole mess of lettuce, tomatoes, {even more} chocolate chip banana bread, peaches, + bacon

That last item there needs a bit more explaining, since both Kate and I identify as vegetarians. Since we're both vegetarians for mainly environmental reasons (as well as health), the occasional meat isn't really a huge deal (although the looks most folks give us when we try to explain that is pretty fun). So Kate gets locally produced bacon from time to time at the market and I'll order some seafood if we're close to the coast. Since we eat vegetarian about 98% of the time, we're still keeping the label.

in all of its frozen and packaged glory

peaches are my fave

I was particularly happy to see that peaches were still being sold since 1) it's getting a bit late in the season and 2) they are one of my favorite parts of summer in the south. I'm fairly convinced that there are few things better than a perfectly ripe in-season peach.

From the Farmers' Market

So, last week I did something terrible, which was to not pick up our CSA box. Usually Kate is the one who gets it for us from the Wednesday market, but she was away and I had to stay in Raleigh later than usual. Whoops! Totally poor scheduling on my part (though I did get to meet with a nutritionist and then hang out with a wonderfully sweet friend, so I think it was more than worth it). Fortunately they donate whatever isn't picked up to an organization that gives it to folks in need, which is a pretty great solution.

However, to make up for the lack of fresh fruits and veggies in our house (and to prepare for several friends staying with us Saturday night), I may have gone a bit overboard.

Here's the damage:

bucket of flowers, seven (!) heads of lettuce, blueberries, cucumber, sungold tomatoes, bell peppers, peaches, + radishes

The total cost? Every. last. cent. in my wallet (which was just over $36). Yikes! Clearly I need to make some gigantic salads stat to put all of this great produce to good use.

My favorite purchase was, hands down, the flowers. 

They weren't arranged, so I had fun splitting them up into different vases- just enough for the living/dining room, the guest room, and one for my dresser, too!

They've been such a fun and cheerful addition to the house, and for only $10 they were a much better bang for my buck than the pre-made bouquets at any supermarket!

What about y'all- any fun finds at the market this week?

From the Farmers' Market

Though it's been awhile since one of these posts, we have definitely been continuing to get plenty of delicious, locally-grown food from the farmer's market and our CSA.

This Saturday I went to the market to pick up peaches, and ended up sort of falling down a rabbit hole. Here's the loot:

From top left: butternut squash, peaches, eggplant, chocolate chip banana bread, red onion

It was raining, dreary, and a bit cool when I went to the market, so I figured it would be the perfect day to convince Kate to whip up some butternut squash soup (I've somehow decided that soup tastes way better when she makes it. This may or may not have to do with the fact that I really hate washing and using the food processer). However, the rain quickly subsided and was replaced by oppressively hot, humid, and sunny weather. C'est la vie. Now I'm thinking we'll just make some anyway at some point this week and freeze it for whenever cooler temps return! We did this last weekend with our surplus of tomatoes and it makes me even more excited for fall.

I try to steer clear of baked goods at the market, but this chocolate chip banana bread is seriously so. good. that I give into temptation every once in awhile. It made for the perfect weekend breakfast that was just a little bit indulgent, topped off with crunchy peanut and sunflower butter on respective days to add a bit of protein and to temper the sweetness. I'm definitely wishing I'd picked up a second one for the week, but my usual smoothies and toaster waffles are an adequate (and healthier) replacement!

What about you? Any finds from the market this week? I'm already a little too excited to see what our CSA farm box will hold tomorrow!

From the Farmers' Market

It seems that the theme of this Saturday's market was greens, which makes sense, as it is spring time and all.

I guess I'd forgotten how bountiful the market becomes this time of year through the summer, as well as how crowded it gets, since I was surprised at how busy it was around 8:30am.

Last year I'll admit that I became a bit competitive about getting to the market at the crack of dawn (ours opens at 7am during the spring and summer) to make sure that I wouldn't miss out on anything that was in short supply. This time around I'm trying to take it a bit easier, mainly because I'm starting to value sleep more and consider being able to sleep in past 7 on the weekends a minor miracle. We'll see how this strategy goes as the season progresses.

Anyway, here's what I picked up this weekend:

 

turnips, ranunculus, arugula, strawberries, broccoli, lettuce x2, basil, asparagus

such beautiful lettuce (from Whitted Bowers Farm)

 

amazingly vibrant strawberries (also from Whitted Bowers)

Oh! And I almost forgot that our CSA pick-up starts tomorrow. I'll keep you posted as to what we receive (knowing my luck, it will be more greens- not that I'd be complaining!).

From the Farmers' Market

Surprise!

I was doubtful that we'd be able to make a stop at the farmers' market this Saturday, since my main focus was running that 5k I'd mentioned. It was a pleasant surprise that the nasty weather from yesterday's post managed to stay away until a few hours after the race ended. It was cloudy, windy, overcast, and humid as all get out, but definitely better than torrential downpours or a tornado! We finished in 38 minutes (my goal was just to make it in 40 minutes, especially after I saw how many hills were on the course!) and ran the entire time, so I was a very happy camper.

On the way home, I remembered that it was still early enough for the market to be open, so we swung by (Kate came with me, even though I'm the one that typically does the food shopping in our house) to pick up a few items for the week ahead.

kale, asiago cheese, turnips, spinach, strawberries, garlic greens, and Swiss chard

Kate loves making Indian food and volunteered to make chana palak (basically, lots of greens with garbanzo beans, which we serve over rice) this week, so we took full advantage of all the different greens available. We also picked up some turnips to add even more veggies to the meal.

For a treat, we also picked up some asiago cheese from Chapel Hill Creamery. It is so incredibly good (as are all of their cheeses, really). I'm enjoying adding it to salads along with tempeh to make them a bit more substantial.

As a side note, isn't the Swiss chard so pretty? I love the vibrant colors of their stems a whole bunch (ba-dum-ching).

From the Farmers' Market

My visit to the market this past weekend wasn't quite as fun as the week prior, mainly because it was super chilly and raining. The weather here has been seriously erratic this spring!

Anyway, I ended up with some great, seasonal finds...

lettuce x3, green onions, asparagus, tulips, strawberries, turnips, spinach

While I'm not typically the hugest salad fan, as they can feel a bit too much like 'diet food', I can't get enough of them during the spring when the lettuce is so fresh and crisp. We've been rinsing the leaves, throwing them all in the salad spinner, chopping them up, and then storing them in the spinner for the week to ensure quick and easy meals. I've also been keeping one or two varieties of tempeh on hand to sautee up quickly and add in, which has made my salads much more satiating!

I'm also loving these tulips, which I just trimmed a bit from what's shown in this picture and kept in the container. I've felt a special kinship with the farmer I bought these from since last year, when I was short on cash and he sold a lovely bouquet of flowers to me at a big discount, just because he knew I loved them. Clearly he was a smart business man, since I've gone back countless times, both because of his beautiful flowers and the kindness he showed me. I also like him because he sells flowers in random containers. It's often empty tennis ball cans (which leads me to wonder where all the balls go), but this past weekend it was Voss sparkling water bottles. I just like that he uses these random things and actually lets customers take the flowers home in water.

In terms of what we're making this week with our finds, I've covered the lettuce and, once again, the strawberries have dutifully served as delicious snacks and are long gone. We made lunches for the week that included whole wheat pasta and marinara sauce with the turnips, spinach, and asparagus (such a treat!), along with the last bits of basil and kale from last week. I've also been adding green onions and some of last week's tomatoes to our salads for some extra flavor.

Sadly I don't think I'll be able to make it to the market this weekend, since I'm running my very first 5k race bright and early Saturday morning. So, unless it's rained out, I won't have an update for this weekend, but I may sneak over to the Wednesday market, which starts up this week, to grab a few goodies either this week or next. Whenever I make it there next, I'll let you know!

From the Farmers' Market

Let me start off by saying that I'm mildly obsessed with our local farmers' market. It's right around the corner from our house, which is such a dream.

Ours is open year-round on Saturdays and then twice a week from mid-April through the end of October. We're so, so lucky to live in a place that is surrounded with farms, which makes the goods at our local market even better.

Since I never really realized how easy it was to find great produce at the farmers' market until the last few years, I figured I'd share my weekly finds to 1) motivate me to go on a weekly basis and 2) to make everyone jealous of the long growing season here in the south (sort of kidding about that one).

We also do a CSA that will start up later this month that I might post photos of, too.

So, without further adieu, this week's finds:

 

 Basil, lettuce x 2, strawberries, radishes, tomatoes, kale, and eggs

Some things we're planning to make with this week's food: pasta w/ sauteed kale, tomatoes, and basil (plus some more veggies left over from last week); gigantic salads w/ lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, tempeh, and cheddar; and egg sandwiches for breakfast (well, just for me, since Kate hates eggs a whole lot). Oh, and the strawberries? Those have already been devoured! I can't wait for even more produce to be in season soon.