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!

Pecan Maple Turtle? Yes, Please!

The PSU Farmer's Market is my favorite market in town. It's also the only one i can go to because of my work hours. Ok, that's not true, i believe the Hollywood one in the Grocery Outlet parking alot is on the weekend as well...Anyways, it's my favorite because of the vendors and because the people watching is the best. I used to work at the Hot Lips Pizza booth a couple years ago and trading with other vendors made it worth the early hours and having to work on Saturday. It just feels awesome to get produce and goods directly from the farmers/producers. 

Black Sheep Bakery is a local bakery that sells all vegan baked goods, but their cafe also sells meat sandwiches and other nonvegan items. The owner isn't vegan and says she created the bakery back in 2000 because she knew there was a niche that needed to be filled. A lot of the vegan community don't support this bakery for a couple reasons. One being that she's not vegan and some think it's not appropriate to support her. We vegans used to not have much to choose from, but now with the opening of Sweetpea Baking Company, Dovetail (they make delicious pecan sticky buns! buy them only fresh, because they suck when they're not), and Monkey Wrench, there's a lot selection and you have the ability to choose who you want to give your money to. 

I, however, give money to whoever makes tasty non-animal things. Unless they're killing babies or puppies (and a few other cute things) i will buy. People talked shit about giving money to Nutshell because their owners also owned a restaurant that sold foie gras. After a brief stint of adding dairy and eggs to the menu, the place closed. Businesses will supply whatever's in demand, so if you buy vegan items they will continue offering them and coming up with more options. 

But whatever you believe is right, do. I'm done with my babbling...

Back to what i started yakking about...Pecan Maple Turtle. mmm....i was walking the market and i peeked in the Black Sheep Bakery case and there was some chocolates i hadn't seen before. I saw the PMT and it called my name. I love caramel and chocolate and pecans. And this palm-sized chocolate was a good deal at $1.75. And so good! The caramel did that stringy thing that's annoying but awesome at the same time and each layer was delicious. 

Yum! I want one now!

Farmers Markets: Produce on Parade

Yesterday i found myself at the farmers market on the PSU park blocks for the first time in months. The weather was sunny and cool and crisp, a perfect day to go. It definitely has been feeling like fall here in Portland the last week or so. It's a welcome change but i'm not looking forward to rainy winter weather just yet, the days when you just don't want to get out form under the covers. I do have a plan ticket home for Christmas, so at least i know i'll see some good ole Florida sunshine then.

I'm not sure why i haven't gone to the market in so long. Although i guess maybe it was partly because i was dating a boy that worked at an organic produce distributor so i was kinda gettin' the hookup. Why pay for veggies, right? I do love the market, for not just its' produce, but for the people watching and the wholesome feeling that it exudes.

I went with my roommate Missy and we met up with my sister Kim, her dog Mo, and her husband Ben. It was lovely day. Me and Miss spread out our bounty so that you could see what we got:


Apples, kale, celeriac, pear, garlic, green onions, Dave's Killer Bread: Good Seed, radishes, multi-colored bell peppers, zucchini, leek, red potatoes and shallots

Pretty produce....taken by Missy



I still end up buying produce at grocery stores around here and when i do, it doesn't feel the same. It's nice buying directly from the farmers/farmer helpers.