My Morning at the Farmer's Market

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  Hello friends! How was your weekend? Mine was filled with fun, surprises, & friends. It was grand. I didn't even touch my garden as I had hoped to so I'll have to squeeze some of that into my week.

On Saturday, my friends, Allison, Vanessa, & I headed out to the local Farmer's Market for some inspired autumn shopping. It was a beautiful sunny morning. Armed with our Starbucks drinks in hand we perused the isles sampling the farmer's best produce. The carrots, heirloom tomatoes, nectarines were especially tasty.

  The pumpkins & squash were out in full force. I loved the colours & variety. It was a feast for the eyes.

We came across one vendor, Grandora Gardens, who had very knowledgeable staff. 

The girl I was talking to was filling me in on the care of cucumbers. 

Apparently, garden grown cucumbers should not be refrigerated. It makes them go mushy faster. Something about the cucumber taking its moisture & wanting to put it back into the plant to help it survive. She said to cover it in plastic wrap if it's not already & store it at room temperature. When you want to use a portion of it, you cut from the stem side, not the flower side because the flower side is naturally sealed. 

(The stem side is pointier. The flower side is rounder.) 

Then cover the end of the remaining vegetable with plastic & keep on your kitchen counter. It will (apparently) keep for up to 3 weeks! I have yet to prove this, but I am trying it out with the cucumber I bought from her. :)

She also said if you forget & put your cucumber in the fridge, just to leave it there. 

This only works for garden grown / non refrigerated cucumbers. If you buy them at the supermarket, they've likely been shipped in refrigerated storage & will have to be stored in your fridge when you bring them home. 

Interesting.

This vendor also had a wide variety of hot peppers & they even made their own chilli powder which smelled amazing!

There were sales on perennials, succulents, herbs, & dried flowers.

 While we shopped, we were serenaded by some lovely folk music.

As we walked through the market, we met some friends who were pulling their grandson in a wagon & we were saying what a great idea this was because they could put their purchases in the wagon as well instead of carrying around heavy bags. A man with a heavy accent said as he walked by, 

"Bring no more wagons here!" (Roll your rrrr's when reading this)

It struck us funny & we kept quoting him for the rest of the morning. :)

This lady had made these fancy masks that reminded me of the "Masquerade" scene from the 

"Phantom of the Opera"

Lovely hand made soaps that smelled just as lovely

This vendor had a plethora of different vinegars. The balsamic vinegars were amazing!

 I will be going back for some of these!

Me & my sweet friends.

Vanessa, Allison, & Me

  We grabbed an authentic Indian Chai Tea on our way out - delish! And only $1.50!! 

Way cheaper than Starbucks (and just as good)! ;)

  We'll definitely be going back again soon! 

  Before you go, I have an exciting tidbit to share: My recipe Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Pie is being featured on Chef In Training's Mouth Watering Monday. I'm ECSTATIC! Make sure you go check out her yummy blog. 

Thanks for stopping by & enjoy your day!