Return of the Farmers' Markets

One of my favorite things about Portland is the abundance of Farmers' Markets. There are a few that go year round, but this week marked the beginning of most. It seems that almost every neighborhood has one, making it easy to find a nearby market 7 days a week. I absolutely love Farmers' Markets. To me they represent what food shopping should be all about. You support local businesses, connect with the producers of your food, and generally enjoy the experience rather than dreading the chore of going to the store. So I celebrate the return of Farmers' Markets by saying good-bye to the grocery store.

This evening was the opening day of our little neighborhood market. My daughter and I spent over three hours there! Our shopping was done within 20 minutes, but it was such a lovely evening that we just didn't want to leave. So I bought a basket of strawberries, some fresh bread and local cheese, and set up camp on the grass near the calypso band. Within seconds my daughter had her shoes off and had joined the large group of children partly dancing, partly running through all the picnickers, stopping by just long enough to grab another handful of berries - which she seemed to do from every family she passed by. I feel fairly confident that she prefers these shopping experiences to being tied down in a shopping cart. Next time you are at your Farmers' Market, stop and people watch for awhile. As people buy their food for the week, they are strolling, not rushing, conversing with the vendors rather than simply answering, "credit or debit?", their children are happy, they run into friends, and the whole atmosphere is festive rather than stressful. I plan on making this my normal shopping experience rather than the exception.

Learning to shop the Farmers' Markets (and I mean really shop, not just pick up a few things for fun) takes practice. We have become so accustomed to having whatever produce we want year round. This is a skill I'm still working on. It can be particularly difficult in the spring, when there isn't much available beyond the early spring greens like kale and chard. Today's finds included swiss chard, kale, bok choy, sugar peas, butter lettuce, and radishes. I was pleasantly surprised to find some early zucchini.


I am always super happy when I make it to the market early enough to get some eggs - these go fast! Just look how beautiful these are!




This is a great book for the Farmers' Market shopper as well as the backyard gardener...

"The Victory Garden Cookbook" by Marian Morash

This lovely book is organized by fruit / vegetable. So lets say you happen to find an abundance of chard and kale at the Farmers' Market but have no idea what to do with it. This book outlines the basics of storage and preparation as well as providing more than a few simple, flexible recipes using each particular vegetable. It even gives tips on growing your own if you are so inclined.

My eventual goal is to purchase a small share of a CSA to supplement our garden for all our produce needs. But until then, you'll find me at least once a week at a local Farmers' Market.