To Market, to market

I didn't buy any fat pigs, but I did come home with some wonderful local foods. Zoomie got me going when I read her comment about getting to the Marin Civic Center to the Farmer's Market on Sunday morning. And I read how Cookiecrumb decided to quit the Eat Local Challenge, then didn't. And although my commitment is to be more conscious, not necessarily participate fully, I find myself making more efforts on the local eating front.

My first stop was at my favorite soy place, Hodo Soy Beanery. The person attending the booth remembered me immediately and inquired about my long absence. Since when has that ever happened at a supermarket? It was nice to be remembered, and exciting to pick up some delicious soy puffs! Then I searched for apples. It is fall after all, and the first batch of apple butter is nearly gone! I settled on these Mutsu apples, a marriage of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples, tart and sweet! And I was enthused about the large size, less peeling for more apple meat! I bought 10 pounds, and that garnered a discount to $1 a pound for these beauties grown on the border between Ripon and Stockton. The air I am breathing as I write this is heavily apple-scented as the mixture cooks down.

I noted as I passed a few booths, that there are green onions still in season locally, but since there are only so many my Dad and I can eat in a week, I didn't buy any. My next purchase stop was under the blue fabric of the "Asparagus & Potatoes" stand. I didn't see any asparagus, but plenty of beautiful potatoes grown on Zuckerman's Farm in Stockton. I picked up two pounds of pretty Yukon Golds.

I definitely felt a pull at "Just Like Grandma's" noticing types of jams that my mother used to make. I had to pick up the Tomato Jam and Orange-Carrot Marmalade made in nearby Petaluma. And there was a very modest and small stand that had a gentleman from Andante Dairy giving goat cheese samples to interested passers by. Andante is located a couple miles out of Petaluma and makes a variety of cheeses. I fell for "Etude" which is a hard cheese that will pair well with fruit and crackers I'm sure. It was a great day at the market, and I have more local foods to eat this week!