Thursday, July 23, 2009

Our visit to the Farmer's Market at Lake Ella

Yesterday, my two boys and I made our first visit to the Farmer's Market at Lake Ella. It was a beautiful day and I thought it would be a great way to get our daily "green hour"*. It turned out to be a wonderful learning adventure plus I got some great deals on produce.
From the vendors to the other customers, we got to meet and interact with an eclectic variety of people. First we met an earnest young man with some delectable samples of grilled clam with garlic butter on top. The boys had never tried clams before and were hesitant at the start. I was surprised that little brother was the one to try it first because he is a very picky eater and always inspects his food very carefully. He loved it! Big brother was not as impressed.
Next, we looked over a variety of handmade goods such as soaps, jewelry, and even bread. There was an artist ready to make quick scetches for $10 a pop. (I'm hoping to budget in some money for this in the near future).
As we wearing looking around, the boys got called over by a man called PepperJohn and invited to do a taste test on his preserves. He had wheat thins with cream cheese on top ready and asked the boys to decide whether strawberry pepper jam or raspberry pepper jam was better. Pepper jam was a new taste for the guys and they both loved it! PepperJohn was very charismatic and managed to bring my shy ones out of their shells. Of course, the taste test ended in a draw with each boy preferring a different one. We can't wait to try the blueberry jam that PepperJohn promised to bring next week.
We bought some yellow squash and tomatoes. The tomato guy was super nice and threw in half of a watermelon for free! All totaled, I spent $16 and got 17 lbs. of produce, 12 clams, and of course, 2 jars of pepper jam. For me, though, the best deal of the afternoon was my boys getting food and handmade goods from the people who actually grew or made them.

Farmer's Market at Lake Ella is open Wednesdays from 3 til dusk.

*For more information about the "green hour" go to http://www.greenhour.org/

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