Wednesday, February 6, 2008

FARMER'S MARKET MADNESS


While the arrow of winter is striking the midwest, Santa Cruz farmers respond to the rain and chill with color and enough vigor to seduce one into giving the shirt off their back for some meyer lemons or fresh cut asparagus. Since it's technically winter here too, we're told we are dealing with a scaled down version of the market. This fact does not stop us from behaving like giddy schoolchildren as we run from one booth to the other trying to one up each other in the quest for most unbelievable. The farmer's market each Wednesday is to us how the true believer must feel about church on the sabbath. We all need to find our reasons to believe the world isn't populated solely by money grabbers and climate controlled fat asses. The Santa Cruz Farmer's Market is ours. Today's finds go as follows: broccoli, oranges, cauliflower, garlic, shallots, radicchio, parsnips, cabbage, narcissus flowers (that filled the air in the market with such an intoxicating scent that one could see people following their noses like puppies to the source), lemons, leeks, chard, locally made tofu,dates (Barhi-a variety that came to cali in 1913 from Iraq has become my favorite and one I've seen nowhere else) and last but not least, a pound of walnuts. The fact that everything is certified organic and costs roughly half of what we were paying for similar food in Kansas makes us feel like yes, we have yet another reason to believe we needed to make this move.
The hot food vendors are devastating as well. Each item was split between us:an Indian samosa with cilantro chutney, a true chalupa-taco bell should feel shame- with fresh ground corn shell and spicy chicken, and lastly naan bread made in a wood fired portable oven which we smeared spinach and eggplant across and then washed down with a darjeeling chai tea. Needless to say, Wednesdays we eat out at the farmer's market. Next week: we hit the oyster bar. No kidding...

2 comments:

aunt harriet said...

Hey you two!
It appears you have already settled in, and what a neat looking home, and wow, what beautiful country. I have to agree, Osa is a little darling. Sure wish we had one of those Farmer's Markets around here, looks like really nice produce.
Love you,
Aunt Harriet & Love from Grandpa too

tracy said...

Yeah, uh, that's really beautiful, but you're really just rubbing it in now. We're sitting here in Kansas with 6 inches of snow and wrinkled apples.

Love,
Sour Grapes Floreani