Back to the farmers market

 

These Pink Lady apples were so crisp I had to buy them.

I know I know, I've been so bad about updating my blog lately. I'm particularly disappointed in myself because I'd planned to blog more often. I usually play rugby at this time of year but I took the spring season off because I wanted more time for other things, like blogging (and after 11 seasons, my body was telling me it was time for a break). OK, I know I have a small readership so who cares, right? But the point was committing myself to writing regularly (and I figured that if I did want to be read by more people than my dad and my sister, I needed to write more). So here it is the end of February and I've blogged only four times since the beginning of the year. I have one guess as to why. I've been training for a half marathon and so even though I'm not at rugby practice, I'm still spending time exercising, which leaves less time for blogging. And if that isn't the reason, I have no excuse except laziness, which is a definite possibility. But today, even with my training run, I have something to blog about.

My running partner and I ran past the farmers market on our 11-mile run this morning. She said she could smell fresh fruit. But with a stuffy nose, all I could smell was the overpowering sweet scent of kettle corn. I haven't been to the farmers market in months but seeing the row of white canopies (and smelling kettle corn in a weak moment!) made me want to go. So after our run, I stretched, showered and ate, then returned to the scene of the crime, this time driving since my legs were spent.

I stopped at the crafts fair first and bought two pairs of cheap sunglasses to replace the pair I lost last Sunday. Then, in the 10 minutes before the farmers market closed at 2, I filled one reusable bag full of $15 worth of fruit and veggies. Lettuce, spinach, broccoli, onions, potatoes, grape tomatoes ... avocados, organic apples and an orange (extra vitamin C to help me get over my cold).

Rushing through the farmers market isn't the best way to shop. It's better to take one walk through to see what's being sold and then decide what to buy. I bought broccoli and then farther down saw bright green organic broccoli I would have preferred. I also bought organic apples after sampling crisp Pink Ladies. But at $2.50 a pound, they were more expensive than organic apples on sale at Whole Foods. But overall, the trip was worth it. You can't beat not having to roll a wobbly cart through massive aisles and waiting in line at the grocery store. And the vendors are much friendlier than grocery store clerks. A woman who was already packing away her produce went into the back of her truck to find an orange for me, even though I was only buying one for a whoppin' 50 cents.

Another benefit is that you have to stick to your budget, since the vendors only take cash. I didn't have enough money left over for a bag of kettle corn. But that was probably for the best!