Farmers Markets and Me

Me eyeing some red bell peppers

I've done a post about farmers markets before, but since it's MoFo there's a lot of people who haven't been to my site before and who haven't read through it(and most likely won't....unless they become totally enamored with me....or are bored silly.).

There's a farmers market (henceforth they shall be called FarMar) in Portland State University's park blocks in the southwest quadrant of Portland every Saturday. The hours are 8ish-2ish, I can't quite remember the hours even though I used to work there at a Hot Lips booth a few years back. This is my favoritest FarMar ever! I love the feel of the place, the location is beautiful and there's tons of booths. In my hometown of Sarasota, Florida there is one FarMar that i know of. I rarely went and I'm not exactly sure why that is. Perhaps because the selection isn't as exciting and pretty? 

In general, I love grocery shopping. Love. It. If I could grocery shop (for myself) for a living, I think that would be my dream job. Going to the farmers market is just as fun. Maybe even more so because it makes me feel so wholesome and healthy. There's rarely anything unhealthy there for you to buy. Local peppers, leeks, lettuce, beets, corn, carrots, artichokes, broccoli, kale, chard, spinach, peaches, cherries, plums, cilantro (if you're into that sort of thing), tomatoes, apples, potatoes, strawberries....you get the idea. It's a beautiful sight to behold. You get to meet the farmers that planted and harvested your veggies and fruits. There's a sense of community. I've started learning what produce is seasonal. Growing up I wasn't aware that vegetables and fruits had seasons in which they didn't naturally grow. 

There's also food vendors selling tamales (there's one vegan option and it's so yum!), soup, breakfast burritos, fire grilled mini pizzas and bagels, and more. 

Pretty, pretty produce

My favorite vendor is Dave's Killer Bread. It's still the best bread I've ever had and there's always some friendly kids (or Dave) at the booth with samples of everything, including any new items. Make sure you try the Sin Dawg! It's the most nutritious cinnamon roll you'll ever put in your mouth!

At this FarMar they also have a chef doing a demo every week at 10am. There's also music and usually some special ingredient of the week as well that they do a tasting of. I urge you to check online to see where your closest market is!