Lindsey Crawford
Library 201
2 May 2010
5th Blog
Farmers Market
I love going to the farmer’s market. When I lived in Truckee, CA, going to the farmer’s market every Thursday at the Truckee Regional Park was one of the highlights of my week. It is how I met the owner of the Sierra Valley Organic Farm and ended up volunteering there last spring. That said, the farmer’s market here in Bellingham is also fun; however, the one over at the Public Market does not have as great of a selection as the one in Truckee. It doesn’t have as much choice and the produce is a bit pricey. I like the atmosphere, the kids running around, the chatter, but it is not the same. I feel like it almost has an elitist vibe to it. Talking to a couple of the sellers gave me that impression. Like when I asked one stand--who shall remain nameless to protect their identity--about their produce operations, I got an offended reaction, like I was the health inspector or something. Luckily, other people I talked to were much more accommodating. I got talking to one seller about lettuce for a while. He was telling me how another customer was cracking down on him because his greens were unwashed. I thought that was ridiculous. Greens last longer if they are not washed. And since they are all organic, the seller is not supposed to wash them. He seemed to take great pride in his farm practices, and that customer had really set him off. We had a good rant about it all though, about how corporate farms spray their greens with all kinds of chemicals and his are all natural, yet he gets complaints. We had a good gripe session.
At the market I bought some yummy tomatoes and basil. Then I went to the co-op and got some fresh mozzarella and made a delicious fresh salad with it all. OK, so I also added bacon to it, but everything tastes better with bacon. For dessert I had some kettle corn...mmm...kettle corn. All in all my trip to the farmer’s market was fun, informative and tasty, although I miss the one back in CA--I think I miss the people there more than anything.
Vora, Shivani, “A Virtual Farmer’s Market,” Inc. Apr 2010 Vol 32 Issue 3. Ecohost. Web. 2 May 2010 (107)
Your recipes sounds delicious, I love caprese salad... and bacon for that matter. I'd be curious to see the Farmers' Market from your hometown it sounds like it'd be fun. The market here was definitely a lot smaller than the market that my aunt goes to in France but comparable in size to the one I go to in Seattle.
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