Market Days and thinking Christmas

My list this week:

Shallots, Chanterelle mushrooms, red and Chopra onions, carrots, Choiggia and red beets, russet potatoes, arugula, Romanesco, cauliflower, rutabaga, celery, fennel, Italian kale, cilantro, dill, leeks, Delicata squash, garlic, beautiful apples, celeriac, and one of the biggest cabbages I have ever seen.

I love the market. This year we are a tight bunch. Things have been hard in the sales dept and so we have all started coming together more and more. I love the community that we have created.

This week was hard for me because of the rudeness of people who are not in that community. One woman poured her coffee out in our stand. I don't know what she was thinking, but for the entire day, we had coffee under our table where we kept our purses. I would like to say she didn't do it on purpose, but I know she knew, and she didn't say 'I'm sorry' either.... so it makes me doubt it. And another lady started PEELING the shallots... down to the meat... and then putting them back in the basket. I spent the better part of the morning with snide comments in my head and a smile on my face. It was a hard day that way. But it is over now, and I have so many things to be thankful for!

Eggs from Quilceda's Farm again. As if to know your chickens were well taken care of in the production of your eggs was not enough, Terry occasionally puts together a set of eggs just for my kids... filled with brown, white, and green.

The idea that you can be close to your food is not so very hard. I have at least a short conversation with Terry each week about his animals, or what I cooked with his products, or which one of my recipes he liked. You can't have that same type of conversation with Safeway.... and even if you did, they wouldn't care what you thought and certainly wouldn't set aside colored eggs for your children. It is a whole other level of being connected to the process of your food.

In other news: Again I am thinking about Christmas. We are going to try all local or handmade and we are going for under $500. Sounds hard? Maybe... we will see. This week I did a little test run in the 'local' category and found some real gems!

The lady that made this mitt is a favorite vendor of mine. Theresa from Texture Clothing. She is so stinking sweet! I traded some of my pantry canned goods for these babies and I totally adore them! I will have to see if I can get more. Also, my best friend SWEARS by her skits. They have been a favorite of hers for over a year now. All of Theresa's stuff is made as gently on the earth as possible and she is the queen of finding new ways to reduce waste. Not to mention an awesome personality that is great to talk too.

And here is a new favorite vendor... Sip-T! This super cool mama has three girls ranging from 4 yrs old to late high-school... she unschools, is vegan, and makes KILLER tea! We traded veggies for these two, and I will be back for more. Wonderful tea! Her girls are at the market with her each week, and the olders are the best sales people ever. One bubbling over with excitement to tell you about the tea, and the other hanging back and telling you her experience in a quiet, reserved manor. A perfect mix if you ask me. A mood for everyone. They are all very knowledgeable and even their tea packages have personality.

Last year I gave soap in my Christmas gift baskets... but this year, I am thinking TEA! (Link to the best soap ever!)

In the farm news, they are doing a winter CSA this year. In our climate, that is a rare thing. I am excited to say that most of the things up in my list this week will continue to be available through Christmas and on until MAY! If you live between Vancouver and Seattle, please check them out.

The menu for this week is very inspired by what I got from Market. We are getting into the tight time of year moneywize. Heating bills going up, repairs needing to be done, and the coming of Father Christmas... yep. It's almost Winter.

I made this new template in Word. The clip art is also from there. I tried to convert it to a PDF but am not quite ready for that. If you want the file, email me and I will send it to you. :) Have a great Monday everyone!