For some, the trip to the Newark, CA, farmers market is the boring chore between Cheerios and soccer practice.
For Rick and me, it’s a delightful stroll in the sunshine as we plan the upcoming week’s culinary adventures. We buy ridiculously inexpensive, local, in-season produce directly from the people who grow it.
They’re proud of their harvest and can’t wait to share a sample or answer a question.
Much of the food we encounter is as familiar as it is fabulous.
He says the fat ones are better for juicing.
No doubt.
The nectarines last week were unbelievable…
… and if you looked closely, you could see the chardonnay drops just waiting to bust out of their golden little cocoons.
Many of the foods, I’m delighted to say, are still a mystery…
… and some are downright frightening. What does one do with a an over-achieving cucumber with an attitude problem?
You ask a fellow shopper who looks like she knows her way around gnarly tubers. (At a different stall, we learned the spikey ones are called “bitter melons” and are great in a Philippino stir fry with pork and fish sauce.)
Even the music is simply delicious. The Squeaks were sweet, suitably volumed…
… and attracted an audience that was as cutie-pa-tootie as they were themselves.
There are flowers to grace our table,
… fresh fish to stare down..
… and no end to exotic sauces, bolini wraps, honey-in-the-comb, hot food vendors, bakers, and artisans of all sorts.
And it’s there every Sunday, rain or shine, all year long, 12 minutes down the road from our home, which is why last week we bought these.
Gotta go now. We’ve got some serious shopping, chopping, and noshing ahead of us this week!
What an amazing find! Do you think you could fit one of those giant green vegetables in your suitcase and bring it up to the frigid great white North?? I’m sure we could find a way to fry it up. (FYI – It snowed in Huntsville yesterday – pack warmish:). See you soon!!
Damn, I love my farmer’s market but yours Rocks!!! plus ours closes the end of this month……..today they are buried in snow……..so I am staying home and making a delicious lime thai pasta with shrimp, rum and brown sugar – check out pappardellespasta.com – order online – they are at our market – great unusual pastas any yummy recipes!