Living in the small town that I do provides some unique chances to get out to some neat places. Living 30 minutes from a major city as well as 30 minutes from one of the largest Universities in the Country means we can hit some cool stores and markets.
Yesterday we hit the City Market after leaving an appointment and only wish we had been able to go a bit earlier in the day. By the time we hit the stands most of the fruits and veggies, although priced well, were limp from the 100+ temps we have been having. We did grab some pineapples, squash and some spices from the local spice shop. That gave us the idea and this morning we were out the door bright and early heading in the opposite direction for their farmers market and a trip to the Mercantile (think While Foods but locally owned). The farmers market was nice and we were able to grab some corn, carrots, shallots, garlic, basil, bbq sauce and some breads (all locally made/grown). We then went to grab some breakfast at the local bread bakery where we bought 2 more loaves of bread, a steel cut oats loaf and then a kalamata olive/Italian loaf. We rounded out the day heading to the mercantile to grab some almond milk and soba noodles as we cannot find them in this town and a few other items for our son. By the time we were done shopping and driving the 30 miles both ways it was still only a bit after 11 am but I am glad we did it early as we were sweating from all the walking around outside.
While we did not buy any meat or dairy while we were there they do have it at the farmers market. In fact they have all kinds of meat including buffalo/bison, chicken, beer (Angus as well), rabbit, emu and so on as well as milk, eggs and cheeses made at the local farms. Since we just bought a bunch of meat (from the local meat locker) a few weeks back we really did not need anything.
I would love to live somewhere that has a daily market like that when items are in season. Grab a spray of fresh flowers every few days to brighten up the house, fresh local grown foods for each days meals I guess somewhat bohemian if you think about it but better for you and better for the local economy. I think having been in the brewing business it really opened our eyes up to using locally grown/made products. They do tend to be a bit more expensive but the flavor comparison, quality and craftsmanship that go into it just puts it over the top. I am looking forward to using the bbq sauces we bought today. For $4 a bottle they were not much more then the mass produced brands but they use 100% local products in the recipe and all the money you spend on it stays in the community. Someday we will be able to move somewhere like that but then my concern would be all the damn hippies. I wonder where I can find the best of both worlds???
The truly nice thing about this morning was that it was some good quality time with my family walking around and then sitting down to a quiet breakfast. We also were able to get most of what we needed and while we spent a bit more (maybe 5%?) then we normally would on groceries we feel good about what we got and where we bought it from. It is an important lesson to our children showing them that you can eat healthy while supporting your local merchants and you can spend the day with your family, have some fun and not need to spend $300 at the amusement parks. Hopefully this is something they will remember (we do this every few weeks) as a fun morning and when they have their own families they will do something similar.
Now if I could just find a fresh fish market! Being land locked in the middle of the country I am weary of any thing water based that says "fresh." Having grown up on Long Island I know what fresh is and is not, here it "is not!'
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