Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Mother Earth

So. The Farmer’s Market. OMG!! Can I just say that I need some Birkenstock, a peasant skirt and some beads? Oh, and some armpit and leg hair?

Teenie and I went slightly unprepared, but in a pinch, we worked it out. We realized that we didn’t have any natural fiber bags. Or ANY bags….we thought. I had brought an insulated grocery bag for the goat cheese we were planning on buying, and dug up another re-usable grocery bag in the depths of my Explorer, and off we went. Bags empty…..waiting to be filled with natures bounty. Granted, these were polyester bags, but they were re-usable. We found some hippy lady dancing behind a table selling natural fiber bags for the bounty at $10 apiece. We just stared at her dancing and moved on. There were plenty of OTHER people with their re-usable, polyester shopping bags, so we weren’t out of place.

We bought nitrate free hot dogs..goat cheese…..greehouse/pesticide free tomatoes…….lettuce……asparagus………eggs……..and some Parmesan/sesame seed cracker bread. Oh, and she bought baguettes. OH, and sauerkraut!! Obviously, the end of April doesn’t bode well for full on vegetables, HOWEVER, despite the chill in the air, and the early season, it was still so much bigger than our market here in Jeff. City. It was packed and people were everywhere. It was amazing.

We went home, and grilled Perfectly’s dad’s hamburger, the nitrate free hot dogs. We used the fresh lettuce and sauerkraut and tomatoes for our burgers and dogs. We didn’t waste anything, because geez……..it’s ‘SPENSIVE!! I know markets are supposed to be supportive of local growers and stuff, but isn’t it also supposed to be cheaper for the consumer? I realize there’s a lot I don’t know, but apparently, you must be ‘certified’ by some agency to call yourself ‘organic’. *snort* Anyway, there was one earnest looking young man with his mixed greens BEAUTIFULLY displayed…in a basket….with some sort of cloth lining the basket. I asked how much his greens were. $12 a POUND. A pound. Twelve Dollars. We quickly moved on and bought our pretty head, butter lettuce for $2.50. We had enough for dinner that night and the next. For $2.50. Not $12. Seriously? I was disappointed in that.

So, now I’ve got 2 bunches of asparagus to use, and 2 tomatoes to find something to use in, and we will be done with our vegetable bounty. I will make quiche with the fresh eggs, and asparagus. I will add turkey and shallot and my oh my it makes a great quiche. With the tomatoes, I’ll make a guacamole. I have an awesome recipe for a guacamole with avocados and CUCUMBERS!! It’s yummy. However, I think I’ll add tomato to the mix, and snack away with my quiche tonight.

It is days like today that make me reflect upon how lucky I am. How happy I am. The skies are blue...and people pop into your life that mean so much. You know who you are! Thank You.

Happy Tuesday!!

2 comments:

stoogepie said...

The quiche sounds yum!

You know, for twelve bucks a pound, that dude had better throw in some croutons and dressing and maybe a few chunks of poularde de bresse with white truffle shavings and crumbled Bjursholm Moose House cheese.

Or at least he had better have a great story. Something like, "My mother died when I was five and her dying wish was that I grow salad greens on her grave and sell them for twelve dollars a pound." Now, that might be worth twelve bucks.

Kate said...

Your haul sounds splendid! The Farmer's Markets aren't open here yet. I'm jealous.