farmers' market: strawberries and geeky boys
I got a lot of strawberries. They won't be amazing until next week or the week after, when the whole market will smell of them from a block away; right now they're only very good. But I couldn't wait. Because, I mean, strawberries.
Sugar snaps, very new potatoes, and even tomatoes were all over the non-organic stands, which means I can look forward to them in the next market or two. Lots of radishes everywhere - it's the last week before they start to turn spicy - and beautiful lettuces. Tomato plants, herb boxes, flowers, jam. Gladiolus plants, for August bloom. Beef, lamb, pork, chicken, bison, ostrich, rainbow trout. Hickory nuts and hand-carded wool.
I picked up the usual spinach and mushrooms (white and oyster), and also quite a bit of asparagus since it'll be over soon. And strawberries, did I mention those?
As I approached my favorite bakery stand I saw a geeky kid, maybe sixteen, off to one side wearing a Jimmy Eat World t-shirt. He was clearly waiting for a Very Dull Parent who had Dragged Him to the market. I gestured at his shirt and gave him a thumbs-up.
As I passed, he stopped me and said, "That is a really great shirt."
I checked to see what I was wearing: Matt Pond PA. "Thanks," I said. "You too."
"Do you have their new CD?"
"Who, Matt Pond? No. Didn't it just come out, like, last week?"
"It's really good," he said. "You gotta get it."
I thought, this kid uses adverbs like I use adverbs. "Good to know," I said, and then "Hey, I gotta take off, but you should get a muffin or something" - I jerked a thumb at the stand - " 'cause these are the best. I mean really."
He glanced at the stand, balancing (I suspect) his parent's Obviously Dumb Idea against the Matt-Pond-PA-t-shirt-wearing-girl's endorsement.
I grinned at him and took off. I wish now I'd stayed to see what kind of muffin he got.
I checked in with the guy who planted onions a while back (I was getting asparagus from him) and he said that the last few weeks' rain was indeed exactly what they needed; it looks like the whole crop is going to come through. He also mentioned that he's planted a couple of heirloom varieties of leeks, which thrills me - I don't know anything about leek varietals, and this is my chance to learn.
When I got home, I shared some of the strawberries with truepenny.
Sugar snaps, very new potatoes, and even tomatoes were all over the non-organic stands, which means I can look forward to them in the next market or two. Lots of radishes everywhere - it's the last week before they start to turn spicy - and beautiful lettuces. Tomato plants, herb boxes, flowers, jam. Gladiolus plants, for August bloom. Beef, lamb, pork, chicken, bison, ostrich, rainbow trout. Hickory nuts and hand-carded wool.
I picked up the usual spinach and mushrooms (white and oyster), and also quite a bit of asparagus since it'll be over soon. And strawberries, did I mention those?
As I approached my favorite bakery stand I saw a geeky kid, maybe sixteen, off to one side wearing a Jimmy Eat World t-shirt. He was clearly waiting for a Very Dull Parent who had Dragged Him to the market. I gestured at his shirt and gave him a thumbs-up.
As I passed, he stopped me and said, "That is a really great shirt."
I checked to see what I was wearing: Matt Pond PA. "Thanks," I said. "You too."
"Do you have their new CD?"
"Who, Matt Pond? No. Didn't it just come out, like, last week?"
"It's really good," he said. "You gotta get it."
I thought, this kid uses adverbs like I use adverbs. "Good to know," I said, and then "Hey, I gotta take off, but you should get a muffin or something" - I jerked a thumb at the stand - " 'cause these are the best. I mean really."
He glanced at the stand, balancing (I suspect) his parent's Obviously Dumb Idea against the Matt-Pond-PA-t-shirt-wearing-girl's endorsement.
I grinned at him and took off. I wish now I'd stayed to see what kind of muffin he got.
I checked in with the guy who planted onions a while back (I was getting asparagus from him) and he said that the last few weeks' rain was indeed exactly what they needed; it looks like the whole crop is going to come through. He also mentioned that he's planted a couple of heirloom varieties of leeks, which thrills me - I don't know anything about leek varietals, and this is my chance to learn.
When I got home, I shared some of the strawberries with truepenny.