Ever since I found out that I do, in fact, like some vegetables, and am forced into submission required to eat them on my Ideal Protein diet, I’ve been wanting to go to the local farmer’s market. There’s one within 10 minutes of my house, but we’ve been out of town, and you know, sleep happens. This morning, I got up while the morning light was still in the skinny phase (see this post for reference) and headed out with my little reusable bags in tow.
I was surprised at how many cars were already there. I parked far away because I hate door dings for the extra walk in the beautiful morning air. Wow, there were lots of stalls and I could hear the live music coming from the far end. I had just entered when, from my left, a girl said, “Hey, could you use a massage? The first 5 minutes are free!” I looked over like, “what are you trying to say? You talking to me? Do I look like I need one?” (Grin) Actually, I didn’t say those things, I smiled at her and said, “Oh, I could use a massage, definitely!” It’s 9am, I just got up, but, they looked bored and were totally sweet. Chair massages don’t really do it for me, but I acquiesced and took a seat. I prefer lots of deep and painful body work that feels like it’s actually doing something, but… she was cheerful and funny, so I told her I’d pay for 5 more minutes.
After my brief, but nice massage, I headed toward the first veggie stall and bought a couple pounds of okra and some zucchini. YUM.<— Did I just write that?
There were dogs, kids, strollers, old people, artisans, farmers and I. It was lovely! I wandered through the free range eggs, rabbit, beef, and chicken farmers, homemade tamale vendors, salsas, sauces and a balloon animal guy. There were amazing looking breads, cookies, cakes, tarts, scones, (even some gluten free stuff!!) and a homemade mud mask vendor… or was it an all natural mouth detoxifier/teeth whitener? There were so many cool and wonderful things. I do wish I had bought some flowers though. They were amazing and wild looking. I love scruffy, wild things that look natural. Perfection seems trite sometimes, doesn’t it?
I will go back next week. I really enjoyed buying my veggies from actual people rather from the ginormous grocery store, though, honestly our HEB grocery store chain is pretty much the best in the country. For real. I did realize that I have absolutely NO idea what things cost. I have no idea whether I paid more, or less, but I appreciated my buys more. It was definitely more fun!
As soon as I got home, I roasted up some okra. It was divine! who is the whackadoo who keeps
editing my comments about vegetables to be positive?
Here’s how: Just slice your okra. Preheat your oven to 350. Spray a cooking sheet with olive
oil. Throw the okra on it. Spray the top lightly with olive oil and salt. Cook until your preferred crispiness. I scarfed the whole bowl in a few minutes. YUM.
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