FARMERS MARKETS!
First, the I'm-really-excited yell: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
So today was a day out. I got up early (actually I overslept, but it was still early) and hit the road for Idaho. First stop: the Nampa Farmer's Market.
Nampa is a growing town about halfway between Ontario and Boise (it's something like 55 miles to B from O) and I knew nothing else about it. Turns out it's got a serious problem with suburban sprawl and the classic conflict between new folks and long-time residents who were used to a more stable, small town. Nonetheless the downtown is lovely and the market was fantastic and low-key.
Sweet deals:
Heirloom tomatoes 2/$1
Carrots $1/bunch
Parsnips $1/bunch
Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies 4/$1
Strawberries $1.75/half-pint
Honeycrisps $1/lb
Sugarplums $1/lb
Baby squash 8/$1
husk cherries $2/pint
Bag of chocolate maté $3
Sometime around here my bags got too heavy and I had to go to the car. Also I had to save some of my, uh, limited cash for the Boise market. So the produce was good. But the best thing? Meeting this awesome farmer lady who cultivates a half-acre in Parma, Idaho: we chatted for a while about vegetables, and farming, and markets, and contradancing, and talked about the possibility of my helping out next growing season with vegetables as payment (and perhaps a small growing plot of my own!). This is pretty much the best thing ever. Also, I got her business card and looked up her website and it turns out she's a renowned BEE EXPERT (with a Harvard Ph.d). You can't get much awesomer than that in my book. I can even forgive the Harvard affiliation.
So I left that market feeling just skippy. I then drove on to Boise to find that market. I found it alright, and it was a total zoo. Busy busy busy, not the kind of place to talk to people. There was some lovely produce, of course, and a farm called Peaceful Belly, which I thought was a lovely (and yes, seriously hippyish) name. I found more dirt-cheap tomatoes - BRANDYWINES for $1 each! I bought several. Guess who's making tomato sauce tomorrow? And pretty much eating tomatoes all next week? I win. Got some mizuna and heirloom pears and a new green mug too. Now if you come to visit me you can choose between my pottery mug collection and my beer glasses. I'm getting into drinking out of my beer glasses all the time. Forcefully resisted the absolutely dreamy breads, because Ima make my own tomorrow. Sunday is for baking and cooking.
On the list for tomorrow's cookery (to supply me for the coming week):
2 loaves of bread (wheaty somethingorother)
dorset scones
feta-and-chard turnovers
quinoa chard chowder
buffalo black bean chili (maybe, if I get the crock-pot going)
OH it will be great. And OH I've gotten off track. Anyway. I left the market and went to Renewal, which is a hip consignment furniture boutique. Lots of amazing stuff. No good desks for me. Almost bought a huge wool woven rug, kinda funky pattern, for my bedroom. Quailed on price tag ($150) but am still kinda considering it. It's really unusual and lovely. Lots of pinks and reds and warm blue tones.
Next up: my new gold standard for grocery stores: the Boise Co-Op. Seriously guys. This place blows the Hanover Co-Op just out of the water (though I still love that place!). They have 4 different kinds of bulk sea salt. I navigated my cart through a sea of slender blonde Boise women on cell phones and teenage-ish hippies and older, slightly-overwhelmed looking men with lists to get the stuff I'd written down to buy:
Milk
White Rice
Fruit
And then I just went hog wild. Spent all of my food stamp allotment in one fell swoop. Boom. I won't need groceries for weeks. Some of my most exciting booty:
Fresh carrot juice
Dried gooseberries
Organic molasses
Bensdorp cocoa (full fat, yeahhh)
Miniature kiwi fruit (the size of grapes!)
San Marzanos
Lots of other more mundane but fabulous stuff
AND the biggest tub of yogurt you have ever seen in your life, guaranteed. 4 lbs of it. Looks like the biggest one you see here:
"Billions of healthy bacteria in every teaspoon"!!!
I left that place feeling giddy. I love grocery shopping. Then I drove out to TJ Maxx to contemplate another rug (and grab a few discount airtight plastic tubs for my growing baking-supplies collection). I blasted the car's A/C on high for the whole way there, the better to keep it cool while I was in TJ Maxx. Wouldn't want the chard to wilt. I got out of the car, dusted off some ice crystals, and went in and bought the rug. Only spent approximately 3 minutes looking at sweaters. I have some serious self-control.
Hauled the rug to the car, took off for home, tired after a full day. Put the rug down at home - turns out it doesn't help the carpet as much as I'd hoped (it's not as big as the entire floor). Bother. I still like it though. Will post a picture sometime soonish. Since it was warm and sunny I then lounged in the park (2 blocks away!) and watched kiddies on the playground while reading a book. It's kind of an embarrassing book so I am not going to tell you what it is. I mean, it's not that bad, just a little cheesy and escapist, but still.
Am now very tired. Tomorrow I'm going out to my boss's storage warehouse to look at some dish sets and cookware that he has and might sell me cheap. This would be nice, as right now I have 1 bowl and 1 teacup saucer as dishes (plus my beer glasses and mugs). Would like to add to the collection. Unless you fancy soup in a beer glass... ?