Saturday Morning Market Report: Link up!

First of all, I just have share...I'm ridiculously excited about going berry-picking tomorrow! In view of my general lack of a social life, I've been looking forward to this weekend for about two weeks now. We have at least two friends coming with us, and Chef Adam wants to, but I doubt he'll be able to find time between his cooking demo that morning and prepping for service that night.

Anyway, today's my first attempt to launch this carnival thing. Liz has showed me the way, and I'm hoping you all will join me! What I'm proposing is that all you farmers' market-goers out there write a post (with or without pictures) about your own visit to your local market. What's in season? What did you buy? Do you have any specific plans for it? Did you talk to any farmers? Learn anything cool? See any adorable kids? Whatever catches your attention.

Just below this introduction is a Mr. Linky, where you can quickly and easily post a link to your blog. That way, we can all check out each others' posts, essentially visiting markets all over the country without the hassle and pollution of long-distance flights. My own market report is below that, so keep on scrolling down!

I'm hoping for this to become a weekly post throughout the summer, but that will depend on y'all's participation. As long as I've gone one other marketer with me, I'll keep it up.

There. Now I'm committed. *gulp*

See who's been to market today!


....and here's my own Market Report. This week was kind of special, but not in a way that lent itself to lovely pictures of produce. I seem to have focused more on the people. Which is logical, since we brought a friend with us. She has always been excited about this market, but travels a great deal, so her Saturdays are usually dedicated to catching up at home. This was her first visit to this market, and she loved it!

Actually, to be completely honest...we had a second friend with us: Flat Stanley.

My 8-year old nephew sent us a copy of Flat Stanley as part of a class assignment. For those unfamiliar with him, the story goes that one day Stanley woke up flat, after a bulletin board fell on him. Teachers around the country use the idea that Stanley can be slipped into an envelope and sent all over the world. Students send him to friends and family, who photograph Stanley doing things in their part of the world. (In our case, Stanley arrived as a JPEG, via email.

I knew that a visit to the goat farm with Miss Chef would be a unique photo opportunity. He went Friday, but Miss Chef didn't have a chance to take any pictures. But Michele was more than happy to let him help at the booth today!

Miss Chef did most of the shopping, since I was kind of busy sheperding our (3-dimensional) friend around, plus taking pictures.

We spent an hour volunteering again this week, this time inside the Community House. It's the only permanent structure at the site, an old cotton-trading market. They sell coffe, tea and all kinds of cold drinks, as well as market tees and sweats. And there's a bathroom. So it can get kind of busy.

Stanley was there to help me out, though.

This was our view out the front screen doors of the house. This is half of the market; there's another aisle to the right. If you can see the guy in the dark sweater with the diamond pattern, that's the Mushroom Guy. He's very shy, but he and Miss Chef have bonded a little. (They ended up running into each other at traffic school last year, of all places.)

After our hour, we stepped outside to find that some of the farmers' children had become little entrepreneurs. That sign says "Free Rocks for Sale." (They were $2.99, in case you were wondering. And no, we passed. Maybe next week.)

Since this is technically a farmers' market report, I'll save the strawberry-picking pics for tomorrow (hopefully!) And since Liz did it, I guess I'll do the layout picture, too!

Ignoring the strawberries in back, vaguely left-to-right, back to front, we have bok choy, radishes, escarole, endive and spinach, then a frozen chicken, shitakes, sugar snap peas, Bost Mill Grits (of the Civil War re-enactment last summer), and kohlrabi. Only Miss Chef knows what to do with half this stuff, so don't admire MY shopping habits. All I bought was a chocolate-chip muffin for breakfast.

Oh, okay, here's a gratuitous strawberry shot:

Yes, Stanley, you're a very good strawberry picker. Thank you!