Tomatoes at their best.
So, it’s Saturday morning and before my eyes even open, what’s the first thought that pops into my head?? “I should go to the farmer’s market today!” Why? Because I LOVE farmer’s markets, all farmer’s markets no matter how large or small. The display of fresh in-season produce, beautifully deformed by mother nature, is to me what candy is to a small child. My eyes get wide with excitement as I walk down the line of in-season produce, some that I am familiar with, some that I am not. As a household of one, I usually buy only a few things here and there, unless I am planning to make a fun recipe of sorts like a stew or soup chock-full of vegetables. Otherwise, I go purely for the eye-candy. The in-season eye-candy that is.
I will say that I am a lucky gal living in San Francisco, a small bubble of fresh produce year round. We have a plethora of farmer’s markets in the city alone but definitely have easy access to wonderful markets in cities nearby, including the downtown Berkeley farmer’s market that my boyfriend previously lived 2 short blocks from. (If you’ve never been…you should go…next Saturday). The market I like to frequent is the SF Ferry Building’s farmer’s markets that have their usual extra large market on Saturdays 8-2, and two smaller markets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-2. Here is their website:
Ferry Building Farmers Market
If you’re interested in finding markets close to you, here is a great website that is worth checking out:
www.localharvest.org
Local Harvest
Whenever I am shopping at the farmer’s market, I seem to always find myself thinking about how the prices compare to those found in a supermarket. One of the biggest debates about shopping local and in-season is that people claim that farmer’s markets and all-natural food markets are more expensive. While I can’t say those people are right or wrong, what I can say is that there’s nothing better than fresh produce. Hands down. On appearance alone, in-season tomatoes are much more appealing than the orange-ish tomatoes one finds at the supermarket. (Something I witnessed today actually while running into Safeway for a few things).
After I got home, I found an interesting article that I would like to share with you all. This article gives some great pointers about how to shop smarter at the farmer’s markets.
I am aware that there are many of those that do not have access to farmer’s markets in their cities, and for those, I am sad, because I feel that it should be available in every city (no, I do not live in la-la land, I am very aware of food deserts and the fact that I live in a bubble here in SF).
Nonetheless, I feel that grocery stores are starting to put the focus more and more on in-season produce within the market, which I feel is a truly great step in the right direction. These are not the items that live in the organic section, this is not what I am advocating. Rather, some supermarket chains are beginning to highlight the origins of produce as well as their seasonality, this is something I have noticed in my local Safeway. If we could learn to adjust our diets according to the seasons, we would all be much better off, in an ideal world. In-season produce is cheaper, fresher and more nutritious, and if you can freeze it for winter months, it’s a win win. For now though, let’s just take baby steps in becoming more aware of seasonal produce and what it has to offer and adjust accordingly…
Great tips – I could learn from “don’t go overboard” – (kind of overdid the fruit purchase this week) and totally agree with “keep it simple” – when you have produce this good, you don’t need to spend a lot time prepping it. Also, since the veggies are so awesome right now, I don’t feel the need to eat as much meat. So i justify the additional dollars I am spending on awesome product with the fact that I am not spending dollars on expensive meat.