6.02.2010

a week of farmer's markets: tuesday.





yesterday's farmer's market visit took us to the brand-new-to-us (and very exciting) tuesday market in berkeley. i was expecting a rinky-dink afternoon market with not a lot of action. and i was (pleasantly) so, so wrong. the place was bustling at 5:45 in the evening when we arrived. the market is situated next to a big, grassy field, and people were playing soccer and ultimate frisbee. lucy was 100% intrigued and would have been just fine sitting on the curb studying the action. but i talked her into coming along with me. ;)

the market was average in size--about 30 booths, plus food vendors. produce, meat, dairy. ice cream. (i forgot my camera. but lucy and the ice cream samples??? too cute). anyway, i'd estimate that at least 90% of the vendors were certified organic. not having to ask about pesticide/herbicide use on the part of the farmer is always a plus. of course, as a result, prices are generally a bit higher.

distance from home: 14 miles.

what we bought: a bunch of organic carrots ($2)
1 pound of organic cherries ($6.50)
4 organic apriums ($1.50)
1 quart of non-certified "organic in practice" blueberries ($12)
a pint of locally produced organic ice cream (milk from local, pastured cows) $6
4 locally produced tamales made from organic corn ($8--these favorites cost us $9.50 at the grocery store, so a tiny bit of cost savings when buying directly from the market)

we jammed home (it was late!) and set about fixing some quick dinner. sliced up the sausage from sunday's market, sauteed a few chopped carrots in the pork fat, and served it up with some leftover kamut & feta salad. viola! dinner at the valleygirl home, thanks mostly to the local farmer's markets.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

sounds good. hit me up with the location and deeets next time you are going.

Unknown said...

it was great to see you yesterday! when you go to farmer's markets you should look up terra bella farm (james'farm). they are one of the few organic farms in the bay area. tell them i sent you. if beth is there, she reads your blog. i sent it to her.:)