Saturday Farmers’ Market

Oh, how I love sunny mornings at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market…

Ainsley and I were at the market a little after 8:00 this morning. There were a lot of growers today thanks to the nice weather. A lot of the growers had signs “Last Sale of the Season,” which makes me sad, but a few people are still planning to be there through the fall and into winter.

That’s right — the downtown market goes through the winter! Obviously you can’t get fresh lettuce and strawberries in January, but you will find eggs, meat, honey, and (I hope) some hearty produce from cold storage. Where stands of green beans and tomatoes once were, there are now hand-knitted scarves and sweaters. Instead of zucchini, you’ll find fresh-baked bread. I’m hoping for a more nice weekends like this so the growers will keep coming out, but as I said last week — I will try to love each season for what each season offers.

Today’s Picks:

• $3: Brussels sprouts (I LOVE Brussels sprouts)
• $9: 5 pounds of fresh cranberries grown in Wisconsin
• $2: Beets – These were from a woman in Taylors Falls who recently received organic certification. In fact, it’s the first certified organic Hmong owned CSA garden. Congratulations, Mhonpaj’s Garden!
• $3.50: Eggs (From pasture-raised chickens. No preventative antibiotics. Fed a vegetarian diet, except pasture bugs. Treated lovingly by their farmers.)
• $2: Broccoli
• $1: Apple cider doughnut (because I couldn’t resist bringing that home to share with Scott. Totally worth it!)