Farmers' Markets

Oh how I love them!  One of my most favorite weekend activities is to visit the one near our house with my family.  Often we meet friends or family there, and then we have a wonderful time taking in all the sights and smells.  We browse the stalls for the freshest, juiciest, most delectable of the season's produce.  I usually try to go with no expectations in mind.  If you try to shop there, you know with a list, you are probably going to be disappointed.  If you plan out an intricate dinner, and then go there looking for specific ingredients it very likely won't work.  The market is rarely so predictable except perhaps at the height of summer.  What you should do instead is just go and check it out.  

Soon something will catch your eye.  It might be the gleam of a perfect red (or yellow!) tomato, or the heady scent of fresh herbs.  It might be fresh (not partly dried like they have in the store) onions or garlic.  Have you ever tasted fresh garlic?  It's flavor is quite different from the kind we usually buy.  Then there's the fruit.  Oh my goodness the fruit.  It turns out that many people have never tasted truly ripe fruit.  In stores it mostly has to be picked while green to ensure that it lasts long enough to get to the consumer, and it never really has the chance to become fully sweet.  Berries, cherries, apples, peaches, really most kinds of fruit are so much tastier when picked ripe.  If you're not sure, ask for a taste.  Many vendors will happily share.  

Prices are higher at the farmers' market then at Safeway or QFC.  However, they are about on par with most of the higher end groceries in our area.  Also, there is just no comparison on quality and flavor.  Once I've found my treasure(s) of the week, I head home to make whatever sort of dinner works best out of the produce I've bought.  One week it might be gazpacho, another time veggie shepherds pie, or maybe even strawberry rhubarb trifle (can you tell I also love chow.com?)  The possibilities, as they say, are endless and also tasty.