For the last 2 weeks, Ive been to the farmer's market here in down town Mesa. At first when I drove up I was disappointed because I only saw 3 tents and figured they wouldn't have much, but I was wrong about that. They had sooo many veggies! Just what I wanted. Check out the white eggplants and the yellow tomatoes! I love getting veggies that are different colors than what we usually see. A reminder that there are lots of species of fruits and veggies that we don't get to see so much in the boring grocery stores anymore. Id like it if these things made a comeback.
Recently I read a great book that has really changed how I feel about the food that I feed to my family. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver is about her and her family's commitment to give up conventionally grown foods, and for 1 year, only eat what they grow for themselves, or can get locally...or learn to do without until the next season rolls around. Seasons, remember those? It used to be that we could only get certain produce at certain times of the year. But now that we can ship things from across the Ocean and have it in our grocery store within 5 days of picking is pretty amazing. Except that it uses a lot of fuel for our food to jet set around the world like that, and its not good for our environment, or our dependency on oil. It also doesn't help to support our local economy when we don't buy food from our local farmers.
Since I cant really grow much myself...I decided to do what I can. I am making an effort to feed my family with as much local organic food as I can find. I also want to try to use produce when its in season, because it tastes better when its in season, and it has up to 60% more antioxidants and vitamins when its in season. Well, I was happy when my friend Elisabeth told me about this farmer's market. All of the food is organic, and its all from Arizona and they have a huge variety! Since we live in such a warm climate, its open all year long!
Recently I read a great book that has really changed how I feel about the food that I feed to my family. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver is about her and her family's commitment to give up conventionally grown foods, and for 1 year, only eat what they grow for themselves, or can get locally...or learn to do without until the next season rolls around. Seasons, remember those? It used to be that we could only get certain produce at certain times of the year. But now that we can ship things from across the Ocean and have it in our grocery store within 5 days of picking is pretty amazing. Except that it uses a lot of fuel for our food to jet set around the world like that, and its not good for our environment, or our dependency on oil. It also doesn't help to support our local economy when we don't buy food from our local farmers.
Since I cant really grow much myself...I decided to do what I can. I am making an effort to feed my family with as much local organic food as I can find. I also want to try to use produce when its in season, because it tastes better when its in season, and it has up to 60% more antioxidants and vitamins when its in season. Well, I was happy when my friend Elisabeth told me about this farmer's market. All of the food is organic, and its all from Arizona and they have a huge variety! Since we live in such a warm climate, its open all year long!
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