Thursday, June 10, 2010

Market Mysteries and Magic


I love having a free Saturday morning. There is nothing like rolling out of bed to the knowledge that you don't have to get up to an alarm, but that if you still wake up early, there is a fun place to go explore. The Farmers Market!


When I was a kid, my family would go to the Stockton Farmers Market which was held under the freeway. It was pure insanity with foods from all over the world that had been grown right in the Central Valley!


I loved to find some new and interesting food item and to ask about it. Even when I was a kid, food entertained me! I would save my allowance (or beg the parents) for enough money to buy a raw sugarcane to chomp on while we wandered the aisles.


As I grew older, I found out that chefs from the glamorous Bay Area would come down to Stockton as well, looking for that special item that would inspire them, that might complete that perfect dish.


While I don't live near that particular Farmers Market any more, I still love to roll out of bed and explore my local markets. Each time I go, I try to find something I have never had before. And while there is no raw sugar cane to chew on at my local stands, the delights of the market are sweet to me.


The market is a bustling place, where a special community comes together. Connecting the farm with the city in a place that smells like both. A hard feat indeed!


You can't go to the Market and leave in a bad mood. The bright colors, teasing smells, variety of textures all serve to make it a place of amusement and mystery. What mysteries have you uncovered at your local market?


The idea that you can connect straight to the source. Cut out the trucks and florescent-lit megastores to get back to the sense of food and community is almost spiritual.


But when you get those goodies home and start playing with them... that's when the magic really begins to happen!

Here are some sites that can help you find a local market:




If you are new to Farmers Markets, check out this article from the Huffington Post:

5 comments:

Mo Diva said...

i wish there was a farmers market in queens... but there stillis one in union square... so i best stop complainging!
gorgeous pics!

Carolyn Jung said...

What I love most about going to farmers markets is making new discoveries. It doesn't even have to be about finding some new variety of stone fruit or some unusual Asian veggie. Sometimes, you find that mundane things just taste a whole lot better than you're used to. For instance, the first time I tried parsley from my farmers market after buying bunches in the supermarket for eons. Wow! The difference was night and day.

chow and chatter said...

adore farmers markets it looks great

Anonymous said...

Farmer's markets are so fun to visit!

Shaheen said...

I always enjoy these food market tours. See something new all the time - exciting to the eyes.

Disclaimer:

I get asked by readers if I am being paid to push products. The simple answer is no. In fact, most of the products I write about are ones I have found and purchased during my trips to the grocery store or on the road. Occasionally, a company will send a sample my way and if I believe the product will serve a need for my readers and I would buy the product myself, then I will share it with you. Sometimes I will write to a company after reading about it, if I believe it will help us lead healthier lifestyles. But even then, if the product doesn't pass my scrutiny, it won't make the screen of Uncovering Food. You can trust that every product or recipe posted here has passed through my lips, and that I wouldn't blog about it if it wasn't worthy of you... my favorite readers.