To Market, to market to by a fat...
Pig? Not today. Today is the first day of the 2010 season of the Reno County Farmer's Market. I got there shortly after the 7:30 opening. I woke up at 5:45 from a strange dream and couldn't go back to sleep, so I figured I'd get my butt out of bed and head to the Farmer's Market for breakfast, produce and whatever other goodies I could find.
There were quite a few booths for the first day, and a lot of good-looking produce for so early in the season. There were lettuces, spinach, asparagus, strawberries, green onions and radishes. Several farmers were selling vegetable and herb plants. There seemed to be many more baked goods tables than last year. I was planning on selling baked goods a few times this year - might be more difficult than I thought with all the competition!
One of my first stops was at the Red Fence Farm booth to visit my friends Tracy and Kate. They make rain barrels, rain barrel stands, and rotating compost bins. They also sell fresh eggs from their hens and vegetable and herb plants.
I then wandered through the market twice to decide what breakfast would be. Most of the baked goods available range from kind-of-sweet to sugar-overload. I was in the mood for something more on the savory side. For a while it looked like I was going to be out of luck unless I wanted to buy a whole loaf of wheat bread. Finally I came across the Yoder Pastries booth. They had mini loaves of cheese bread and jalapeno cheese bread. I opted for the plain cheese because 8 a.m. is too early for jalapenos. At $2, it was a satisfying bargain. I would show you a picture, but I eated it before I could photograph it.
(Image from www.icanhascheezburger.com)
While nomming on my cheese bread, I began my produce quest. I bought some lovely strawberries from a Mennonite gentleman on the west side of the market. At 3.25/quart, they were a bit of a splurge. However, after tasting one, I decided they were worth it - they are MUCH better than anything I've gotten from the supermarket lately.
Next to strawberry guy was Miller's Garden. Mr. Miller is a Farmer's Market staple. He always has quality produce, a lot of it, great prices, and the man hustles his Mennonite hiney. He has mastered the art of simultaneously answering questions, bagging produce, and counting change - something some other vendors haven't quite figured out yet. I got a bundle of green onions for $1.00, a bag of green lettuce for $1.00, A bag of red lettuce for $1.00 and a bundle of asparagus for $3.00. Look at the kind of produce you can get for $6 at the Reno County Farmer's Market:
In the middle of the market on the north side, there was a lovely Mennonite family selling produce, vegetable plants and herb plants. They were the only people selling broccoli, so I bought a nice big head for $1.50 and a thyme plant (I shall call him Ted) for $1.00.
A couple stalls down on the east side of the middle row, there was one of the cutest booths I've seen at the market. The Serendipity Cupcake Company was set up selling cupcakes in packages of 2 or 6. The Serendipity Cupcake Company is run by Sara Geurian and they can be reached at serendipitycupcakeco@yahoo.com. Prices were 2/3-3.50 or 6/$8-9, depending on whether the cupcake was "classic" or "gourmet." I got a pack of two "Better Than a Donut" cupcakes. These are vanilla cakes with raspberry jam filling, chocolate frosting and a fresh raspberry on top. When I got home from market, my roommate Mikeala was getting ready to leave for work, but she decided she had time for a cupcake.
My final purchase was a bar of soap from Seasonably Soaps. This outfit is based out of McPherson and run by Carrie Marcott and Lynda Macke. They make soaps, shampoos, conditioners and lotions using essential oils and botanicals. Their soaps are made from rainwater and homegrown herbs. I bought a bar of the "Tahitian Spice" soap, which has scents of clove and nutmeg. They were the only vendor I visited who had not included sales tax in their price. The price of the bar of soap was $4.25 - $4.55 after tax, making it my most costly purchase of the day.
All together, I spent $20.80, got a homemade breakfast, a hot mess of produce, a little herb plant to keep me company, cupcakes to keep me and Mikaela happy, and soap to keep me clean. Not a bad deal!
Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I'll try to be better about posting more often!
There were quite a few booths for the first day, and a lot of good-looking produce for so early in the season. There were lettuces, spinach, asparagus, strawberries, green onions and radishes. Several farmers were selling vegetable and herb plants. There seemed to be many more baked goods tables than last year. I was planning on selling baked goods a few times this year - might be more difficult than I thought with all the competition!
One of my first stops was at the Red Fence Farm booth to visit my friends Tracy and Kate. They make rain barrels, rain barrel stands, and rotating compost bins. They also sell fresh eggs from their hens and vegetable and herb plants.
I then wandered through the market twice to decide what breakfast would be. Most of the baked goods available range from kind-of-sweet to sugar-overload. I was in the mood for something more on the savory side. For a while it looked like I was going to be out of luck unless I wanted to buy a whole loaf of wheat bread. Finally I came across the Yoder Pastries booth. They had mini loaves of cheese bread and jalapeno cheese bread. I opted for the plain cheese because 8 a.m. is too early for jalapenos. At $2, it was a satisfying bargain. I would show you a picture, but I eated it before I could photograph it.
(Image from www.icanhascheezburger.com)
While nomming on my cheese bread, I began my produce quest. I bought some lovely strawberries from a Mennonite gentleman on the west side of the market. At 3.25/quart, they were a bit of a splurge. However, after tasting one, I decided they were worth it - they are MUCH better than anything I've gotten from the supermarket lately.
Next to strawberry guy was Miller's Garden. Mr. Miller is a Farmer's Market staple. He always has quality produce, a lot of it, great prices, and the man hustles his Mennonite hiney. He has mastered the art of simultaneously answering questions, bagging produce, and counting change - something some other vendors haven't quite figured out yet. I got a bundle of green onions for $1.00, a bag of green lettuce for $1.00, A bag of red lettuce for $1.00 and a bundle of asparagus for $3.00. Look at the kind of produce you can get for $6 at the Reno County Farmer's Market:
In the middle of the market on the north side, there was a lovely Mennonite family selling produce, vegetable plants and herb plants. They were the only people selling broccoli, so I bought a nice big head for $1.50 and a thyme plant (I shall call him Ted) for $1.00.
A couple stalls down on the east side of the middle row, there was one of the cutest booths I've seen at the market. The Serendipity Cupcake Company was set up selling cupcakes in packages of 2 or 6. The Serendipity Cupcake Company is run by Sara Geurian and they can be reached at serendipitycupcakeco@yahoo.com. Prices were 2/3-3.50 or 6/$8-9, depending on whether the cupcake was "classic" or "gourmet." I got a pack of two "Better Than a Donut" cupcakes. These are vanilla cakes with raspberry jam filling, chocolate frosting and a fresh raspberry on top. When I got home from market, my roommate Mikeala was getting ready to leave for work, but she decided she had time for a cupcake.
My final purchase was a bar of soap from Seasonably Soaps. This outfit is based out of McPherson and run by Carrie Marcott and Lynda Macke. They make soaps, shampoos, conditioners and lotions using essential oils and botanicals. Their soaps are made from rainwater and homegrown herbs. I bought a bar of the "Tahitian Spice" soap, which has scents of clove and nutmeg. They were the only vendor I visited who had not included sales tax in their price. The price of the bar of soap was $4.25 - $4.55 after tax, making it my most costly purchase of the day.
All together, I spent $20.80, got a homemade breakfast, a hot mess of produce, a little herb plant to keep me company, cupcakes to keep me and Mikaela happy, and soap to keep me clean. Not a bad deal!
Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I'll try to be better about posting more often!
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