Ok, so the kids are going nuts. Crazy like caged up little hamsters who chugged multiple cups of espresso. Everyone needs to go back to school. But unlike the rest of the country, we have to wait until after Labor Day. Bless our hearts.
So, I’m looking for stuff to do. Anything to get them out and about. I figure if I keep them moving, then odds are good that we’ll survive these last couple of weeks. Maybe.
Today I decided we’d go to the local farmer’s market. There’s always live music, stuff to see and taste. A good way to spend a summer’s day.
And the summer produce is magnificent. All kinds of veggies at their peak. Ready to be incorporated into some type of delicious dish that will grace our dinner table. Inspiration for a good meal was everywhere.
I love how much the girls lit up with every stall we ventured into. I’ve tried very hard to introduce my kids to all sorts of different foods, and I’ve had some great success! My kids may not be carb kids, but they sure do love every other type of veggie.
Shannon was particularly excited over these carrots. The more exotic the carrot, the more she is inclined to eat it. I respect that about her. Her adventurous spirit is uplifting.
Besides gorgeous produce, there were all kinds of goodies that caught my eye. Fresh baked breads, scones, cupcakes, and muffins. A carb lovers Utopia.
How about some freshly made fritters? Piping hot straight out of the fryer fritters with a side of homemade salsa. And you thought that farmer’s markets were just produce. Pssshaw.
We were having just a grand old time trying all types of fun nibbles. So, when we came to a vendor who offered Leela a taste of the very best pepper she would ever try, we were sort of trusting. He was very convincing.
The promise of a unique sweet pepper that we’ve never encountered before sang a siren’s song that was too hard to resist. So, I shrugged my shoulders and said, sure, try it!
We are trusting souls. Yes we are.
I’ve seen this face before. Let me interpret it for you…
I hate this pepper. I hate it with every fiber of my little being, but my mom is watching. She will ground me from desserts for the rest of my life if I’m rude and tell you how much I hate this pepper. You have lied to me pepper man.
I want to spit this bitter pepper out on the ground. What is mom making for dessert tonight? I wish I knew. If there is no dessert, then I’m spitting this out. Right here, right now. This pepper is the worst thing I’ve ever bitten into.
Why is mom buying a pound of these peppers? Is she crazy? Can’t she see that I hate them? I’m never eating peppers again. I will make her pay.
I will smile and tell the pepper man that they are delicious, but mom will pay for this. I rue the day that I walked into this stall. The pepper man lies.
And pay, I did. At the very next vendor where I purchased cookies and cider donuts to cleanse her palate. She couldn’t decide between the cider donut holes or the cookies that were the size of her head.
In the end she chose the cider donut holes. I told her it was a wise choice. I was also holding a bag of the offending peppers at the time, so she was still wary.
And by the looks of this photo, she had buyer’s remorse.
But luckily for her, her sister is a sharing soul. And as we all know….
Chocolate makes everything better.
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Bless Leela for being so polite! That’s quite a kid.
She was polite for that moment, lol.
Hahahaha! I hope in a few years my kids have learned to be so polite. Unfortunately my 5 year old would have spit that pepper out so fast he’d have whiplash. Of course he’d probably never have agreed to try it in the first place what with the “black stuff” on it. : )
Sign me up for donut holes AND cookies as big as my head!
Oooh, those treats were over the top yummy. The donut holes were still hot. So much for a healthy day at the farmer’s market!
LoL! Okay, I chuckled; CoL?! Great post with fantastic pix again Melanie. I did laugh and I do admire Leila’s and Shannon’s adventurous spirits, it will serve them well their entire lives.
Thanks! They do have an adventurous spirit. They are certainly not shy. I wonder where they get that from?
I love reading about your adventures. You’ve inspired me to take my son to the Farmer’s Market this weekend.
Awww, thank you. I love writing about them. It’s one of the benefits of having kids. Never a dull moment!
Such a great post! And those fritters look amazing.
So very good. We are just about into apple season, and cider donuts are one of my favorite parts of that season!
I just love reading your posts! You are making me think about moving to Boston! LOL
It is lovely here, Jennifer! But let me tell you, the winters here are long and cold. Brrrr. I have to soak all this good weather into my bones to fortify myself for the winter!
I totally understand. I use to live in Michigan most of my young life. The lake effect snow is just bone chilling! I currently live and GA and enjoy the mild winters. It’s like a long fall season.
I’ll have to visit Boston sometime, just to try the seafood! Yummy!
awesome pictures, my friend, and the purple of the eggplants is astonishing!
Yes Janet! I was drawn to that eggplant. So bright! It looked like it stepped out of some modernist painting. Almost fake looking. I’m regretting that I didn’t buy it.
Oh your girls are SO dang cute! We love colorful carrots here, too. Have you tried the purple ones? I still think the orange ones taste the best, but it’s so fun to get the rainbow ones. Your pictures are beautiful!
Thank you Krista! I’m really working hard to improve my photography skills. For every good shot I get, there are 100 bad ones. BUT, I’m willing to figure it out.
Yes! We’ve tried the purple ones. Interesting flavor. I agree, we like the orange ones too. Yummy!
Love the post. My kids still make those expressive faces and they are adults now. A look can say 1000 words. So nice that your kids are polite and share; you are indeed doing something correctly.
Keep taking those kids to the farmer’s market. Mine love their veggies and still visit the farmer’s markets. The youngest has his own garden and could open his own farmer’s market.
I was a little surprised at the price of the root vegetables, though. Do the farmer’s have to rent a space? I have an independent grower in my area of Middleboro who only charges $.50 lb. for tomatoes and $1 lb. for potatoes. Even her winter squashes are only $.75 lb. You should head west a little and shop here. The kids would even get to see the gardens where she grows her veggies.
Patricia- Could you share the address? I’d love to visit. The prices were very, very high. Especially the prepared foods. We bought a tiny plate of the fritters with a meager helping of salsa for $5! They were also selling lobster rolls for $13! I was especially struck by the high costs. It was like a food boutique more than a true farmer’s market. I think more people would visit if the prices were more reasonable.
The owners name is Melanie, too. She does only veggies and potted flowers and vegetable. Sometimes people bring canned goods for her to sell on consignment. She is on Wood St. in Middleboro. Come up 44W and take a right at rt. 105. A short distance on the right you will see the ‘church of the green’, take a left just after this church. At the stop sign proceed straight (you will see the little green school on the right, might not be green any more, I can’t remember). After about a mile there is a huge anchor on the right, if you see the anchor you’re on the right track. A little further on the right is Melanie’s. It just has a large ‘open’ sign out front and another sign that says veggies. There is a place to park and payment is on the honor system. If there is something you want, but don’t see a price tag, honk your horn and someone will come out to help you.
Tell her Lucy’s sister-in-law Pat sent you. She a very nice person; you’ll like her.
The directions I gave you earlier should say, “Take a LEFT” at route 105. So sorry. Hope you haven’t tried to go there yet, you’d never find it.
Don’t rush the summer by!! I, too, go back to “school” after labor day. But as a teacher I’m not exactly rearing to go!! I’m grateful, in fact, that our school year starts so late… but I’m always complaining come June when we get out the very last week, dripping in sweat and wishing we could spend the days at the beach rather than proctoring exams!
School should start after Labor Day! Children and summers are such a fleeting part of life. I was always sad when my children went back to school right after Labor Day. I really missed them and had enjoyed them being around all summer.
My sons would not be so gracious, I’m sure!
Your post made me laugh… and congrats, you new blog is great. I check every day… and there is a new post every day! how do you do it?
Ohh!!! The fresh veggies look WONDERFUL!!! We have a really big Farmer’s Market in downtown St. Louis, but that’s about 30 minutes from our house and kind of a hassle to get to. There is an orchard over by our church that we visit about once a week. I think my son ate MY weight in peaches and strawberries this summer!
And I wish we started to school after Labor Day!! My kids were back in school August 9!! We are supposed to get out the Thursday before Memorial Day, depending on the number of snow days we use.
I wish we had a Farmer’s Market like that in my neck of the woods! Your daughter’s reaction to the pepper is so cute! You’ve raised her well!
How could she have chosen cider donut holes and you show her with a big chocolate cookies? Don’t tell your daughter, but that ‘pepper’ was actually a big red crawly bug on its back.!!!!
Where is this wonderful FArmer’s Market. I’d love to go there.
And thank you for not making everything so hunky-dory, more realistic.