I have been known to plan vacations around the dates of the farmers markets where we’ll be traveling. I will go out of my way to find a market, even if I’m not going to buy anything (except perhaps on impulse), just to see what farmers are growing and selling in other places. If there’s cooking to be done, and I can include local food from the farmers market in vacation or holiday meals, all the better.
This afternoon, my mother, Paul and I drove through a fine Houston downpour to the farmers market on the Rice University campus. Fortunately, the rain let up as we arrived, just as the market was opening. After wandering about the market, chatting with farmers and planning meals for the week, we brought home: amberjack (fish from the Gulf of Mexico), beets, broccoli, carrots, eggs, mushrooms, parsley, pecans (which will go home to Seattle with us), scones, strawberries and tomatoes. Left behind were: beef, breads, brussels sprouts (only because we had some already), cauliflower, cheeses, goat’s milk, grapefruit, green papaya, pork, radishes, salad greens and more.
When I visit a new market, I’m always curious to see whether I could buy the majority of food that we’d eat in a week at that market. At today’s market, I certainly could have done so, and we’d have eaten well.
When we were halfway to the market, I realized I’d left my camera at my parents’ house. When I made mournful sounds to that effect, Paul reminded me that our new phones (picked up last Friday as an early gift from Santa) have 5 megapixel cameras. While Paul’s thrilled about having google maps on his new phone, I’m happy that I can now take decent pictures with my phone. Yay, new phone!