Leftovers: June 2017
So even though it seems like I blinked and it was February and I was complaining about such crappy weather, we are in fact already at the end of June! I have actual food growing in my garden, we eat outside more than in, vacations are happening, camps are happening (and when they aren't the kids are B-O-R-E-D but I don't really care!) and it's Farmer's Market Season!!
I don't know about you, but I feel like in suburban America 2017, the Farmer's Market is less about going and actually purchasing groceries for the week, than it is about romance. Listen, I own a bike that is bright orange with a big easy-to-remove basket on the front. I will fully disclose that I bought it with the intention of riding to the farmer's market. AS IF I LIVE IN A NANCY MEYERS MOVIE.
If I find myself at the market early on Saturday, I ooo and ahh over all the produce with heart shaped eyes, buying random heirloom tomatoes here and there. Maybe some green beans, a loaf of homemade bread, if it's mid July I stand in line to buy sweet corn--oh and over there! Flowers! I definitely need a little bunch of sunflowers. Oh and cash. I need cash. I hate using cash. I never HAVE cash so after all the hype I end up driving home (because I have kids or the dog or a friend or something with me) with ingredients to make one, maybe two BLTs (please note tomatoes and lettuce are both growing in my garden...) staring at a vase of the same flowers that grow in my yard. I absolutely love the Farmer's Market vibe and the food and the whole idea, but I never leave feeling very successful.
It's hard for someone like me, who likes to meal plan but is also a sucker for piles of fresh produce, to really stay focused at the Farmer's Market. Plus don't forget about the dogs! There's so many dogs. Can you imagine trying to do a traditional grocery shop when everywhere you look is some sort of floppy eared doodle dog asking for an ear scratch?
So full disclosure: this is a central/southern Indiana specific thing, but I just feel like I need to wax poetic a little bit about the best thing to hit a farmer's market since...well I'm not sure.... seeing as how Farmer's Markets are OG grocery stores and were around long before sliced bread. Anyway, I digress. A few months ago I came across MarketWagon.com (which used to be FarmersMarket.com-- more info on that here!). Let me just tell you guys how awesome this website/app is and how it's changed my farmer's market shopping (And nope, this is not sponsored- I wish!-- I'm just feeling very evangelical).
In a wordy nutshell-- MarketWagon.com has given all those hard working farmer's market vendors, an online marketplace. You browse the website or the app, and you can see what's in season, what's available, and then if you are like me-- and you have your notebook out-- you might see something cool you've always wanted to try like quail eggs-- or something that you need for the week, like green beans and potatoes so you can make my potato salad! Ideas start flooding in and you get excited for the bounty that you can stick in your little digital cart and plan meals around. It seamlessly takes away the beautiful noise of the Farmer's Market and lets you focus on what you really would love to buy from those same vendors. Instead of wandering away from the Farmer's Market with one sandwich worth of ingredients, I can have it DELIVERED to my house for less than 2 heirloom tomatoes, or I can pick it up at our local butcher shop here in town fo' free(!) each week. Most importantly, because of the app, I am buying more food locally, supporting more vendors, and actually eating what I buy each week.
PHEW. Ok that was a lot of words about Market Wagon, but I'm telling you guys-- I'm passionate about merging my love for technology, local produce and goods with convenience. Now I can ride my bike to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and eat a croissant or maybe buy some peaches or berries that look amazing, without the guilt of later that same day or week having to go to the regular grocery store for what I really need. It's a love story for sure.
Other things!
Currently reading: I just finished Barbara Lynch's book Out of Line: A Life of Playing with Fire. Lynch has an incredible story of living in poverty in South Boston to becoming one of the (if not THE) most prominent restauranteur in all of Boston. The story is great, the writing was ehhhhh? I read it, and it kept my attention, But I really wanted it to be tragic and beautifully written like my favorite chef memoir Bones Blood and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef. Now THAT is a delicious story.
Currently Cooking to: The Big Little Lies soundtrack, JR JR, and The Nashville Sound by Jason Isbell (who is such a genius) and the 400 Unit
Currently Craving: Fresh juicy peaches from The Peach Truck
A post shared by The Peach Truck (@thepeachtruck) on Jun 24, 2017 at 8:27am PDT