farmer's market

I must admit that I did not (yet for another year in a row) plant a vegetable garden in my yard. Although in the past, this was because I just couldn't "pull it together" and get the job done, this year was quite deliberate.

We have a rather small backyard and typically every square inch of it is being used to dig up, swim on, make mud puddles in or skip through. The thought of planting a few tender vegetable plants in the midst of all this free play just seemed inconvenient.

But... we still have to eat. And so, I made a conscious decision to forgo the garden and instead opted to support my local farmer's market with the majority of my vegetable, dairy and beef purchases this summer.

Who wouldn't want to visit this wonderful little sunny spot on Saturday mornings? A spot where livestock farmers and berry farmers and bakers and soap makers all share the same wide open space. A spot where you could literally eat your way through as you walk from tent to tent.

I ventured there bravely yesterday morning with not only my three, but my sister's toddler as well. So there I was with four curious and hungry children needing enough tomatoes, milk, rhubarb and ground beef (this is the only place where I've yet to find local, grass-fed beef) to meet our needs for the upcoming week.

With the help of several gooey caramel pecan cinnamon buns I was able to fill my list and even managed to avoid any major unhappy moments on the part of the children.

It was an ideal Saturday morning (can you hear me sighing?).