Farmer's Market Day!

I am so excited! I love going to the Farmer's Market. I'd post some pictures for you here, but Blogger doesn't like images lately. I have one market in particular that I simply love going to.

The Farmer's Market at Barton Creek Square Mall is absolutely, hands down, one of the best markets that I've seen. The huge variety of stalls is fantastic. You can buy vegetables, crafts, jewelry, food, etc. They often have performers attending as well. Sometimes, the singers are good enough to not make our ears bleed!

My second choice is the San Marcos farmer's market. It's a bit smaller and each stall seems to have the same things as the others, but at least you get a variety of items to choose from. So each person may have tomatoes, but one person's tomatoes may be better than another's and so on.

There is a market in Luling that seems to only be open in the spring, summer and fall. Love this market! It's open daily. Everyone has something you'll want. We stock up on our fresh beans and peas here so that we have enough for winter. In fact, they are the only ones that do have fresh beans and peas. Some of the stalls even have an honor system set up so that you can purchase, even when nobody is at the stall.

So why do I love going to the market so much? I like knowing where my food came from. It's more than that, though. I can ask the growers very specific questions. What pesticides were used? Were antibiotics given to the animals? Did you use heirloom seeds or store bought seeds? Is anything you carry genetically modified in any way that you're aware of?

These are all important things to know. When we got away from open markets and moved into grocery stores, we stopped paying attention to what is in our food and how it's grown. When you go to buy a gallon of milk, you go directly to the refrigerator section of your grocery store or gas station. You find the milk that has the longest use by date, and go home.

When I buy my milk, I go up to the dairy and can see the cows. (I've pet them a time or two as well.) I can talk to the farmer. If I'm there on a good day, they've already skimmed the milk for me. (I also get two things of cream: one for tea and the other for butter.) I speak to the woman making the cheese that day and grab a pound or two. I look to see if they have my soap in stock, then start heading home. On the way home, I stop off at one shop where I get my eggs. And yes, I've greeted those chickens as well.

With each purchase, I get to see where these things are made so I know if the facilities are clean and animals well cared for. When I go to market, I can talk to the farmers, ask around, etc.

I truly enjoy Saturdays when we head up to the market.