While I like to think I live in a remarkable place with incredible access to one of the largest agricultural outputs in the US, a farmers' market has now become almost ubiquitous. California does rank #1 in farm income among the states, but we aren't the only state with fresh fruits and veggies readily available. Although....CA does lead the US with crops like grapes, figs, dates, strawberries, almonds, and avocados....and CA also grows a significant amount of the oranges, cotton, olives, lemons, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli and carrots consumed in the US. Not to brag. But I am. (source for above info:
http://www.netstate.com/economy/ca_economy.htm)
Anyway, according to
this article, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in August that the number of farmers' markets nationally has skyrocketed 9.6% over the last year alone. The USDA states in this piece that in 1994 there were only 1,744 registered markets in the U.S. Now, there are 7,864. The two most populous states for farmers' markets? California and New York (with Massachusetts coming in at 3rd).
You could take this to mean that people are becoming much more aware of where their food comes from (as I mentioned in
this post, I began to get a sense of this after reading "Omnivore's Dilemma"). For me, my transition from grocery store blahs to farmers' market aaahhhs happened for a few simple reasons: 1. I can walk to my farmers' market. 2. The produce is generally cheaper than at the grocery store. 3. The produce lasts waaay longer and 4. The food just TASTES better. Have you ever eaten a mealy, barely red and flavorless grocery store tomato? What about a juicy, sweet and colorful heirloom tomato from a farmers' market? Exactly.
The other reason farmers' markets are great is because of the variety- its not just fruits and veggies! My local market has just about everything, unless you are looking for Velveeta or any other processed food...they must be out of season....
Regardless, one could buy an entire grocery list's worth of food, including things you wouldn't expect to see at a farmers' market, like meats, dairy and funky fruits!
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| Dragon fruit |
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| Tomato Time!!!! |
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| How many varieties of tomatoes can there be?! |
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| Artichokes |
I love when squash blossoms are in season- I buy a basket, rinse them gently, stuff then with goat cheese, dip into a quick homemade batter and lightly fry them in a pan:
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| Squash blossoms and baby artichokes. |
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| Eggs from chickens that eat what they are supposed to. |
You can also get homemade items like BasilTops pesto, which comes in a million different varieties and is so versatile that its worth the price tag. I use mine on pasta, plus in any dish that needs a little oomph, as well as in homemade bruschetta- simply chop up different varieties of tomatoes, add some of this, and serve with a crusty bread. YUM. (You can buy online
here)
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| The most amazing pesto around |
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| baby sweet peppers |
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| Beans! |
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| Honey |
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| Alaskan fish |
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| Juices |
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| You can even get milk! |
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| Flowers of all sorts |
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| Beef |
Meat isn't something I imagined I'd ever see at a farmers' market when I first moved here, but here it is. The beef is always amazingly full of flavor and unlike any meat I get at the grocery store!
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| Beef and Pork |
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| Oh yes! |
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| Beautiful bounty |
You can even find jujubes.
No, not Jujubes...
Real JUJUBES...which I didn't even know was a real thing until I found this guy recently. Apparently, they are only in season a few short weeks a year. They have the consistency of an apple but with extra sweetness, like candy from nature. Not from a box.
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| A real live jujube |
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| Pepper time! |
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| All the root veggies you need |
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| Dates |
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| More olive varieties than you ever thought possible. |
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| The Wednesday Santa Monica farmers' market |
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| My grocery store does NOT look like this... |
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| An abundant variety of peppers |
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| Orange cauliflower. Yup. |
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| Fall at the market! |
Don't know if there is a farmers' market near you? The
USDA has this handy little search engine for farmers' markets- just type in your zip and it will show you what's near you!
What kind of fun stuff does your farmers' market have?
Real JUJUBES...which I didn't even know was a real thing until I found this guy recently. Apparently, they are only in season a few short weeks a year. They have the consistency of an apple but with extra sweetness, like candy from nature. Not from a box.
Well, I'm jealous! Your farmer's market looks amazing! I've never tried dragonfruit, but it sure looks interesting. And, I totally thought jujubes were only a candy, too. I wonder if anyone grows them on the east coast?
ReplyDeleteMy farmer's market has some cool heirloom vegetables, plus all the usual suspects. They also have a lot of locally made (already prepped) foods, local meats and seafood. I love the honey people at our market. They have an amazing whipped cinnamon honey. yum! :)