For me, one example of pure bliss comes in the form of an early Saturday morning trip to the Troy Farmers Market. There's something ultimately rewarding about getting up bright and early on a Saturday morning, taking a nice hot shower and heading out to be first in line for the day's goodies.
Most mornings I'm on my own. Wrangling poor Ben out of bed that early on a weekend is like trying to wake up a corpse. Being alone for something like this is pretty cool, actually. I feel the same way about going solo to the movies. But bringing someone with you to share the amazing goods this particular farmers market has to offer, especially for their first time, is even better. My sister decided to tag along for her first visit ever.:::note to self: never, EVER go to Troy on the day they're hosting ChowderFest. Never. Again:::
We were greeted by wonderful weather! It was incredibly cool for August. The temps weren't expected to get past 70 degrees today to begin with, and being out this early in the morning was refreshing to say the least. We found a parking spot right across the street (which is like finding a $100 dollar bill in the gutter) and headed on over. I think Carly was impressed. I suggested that we take a walk or two through the entire market before committing to buy anything, and of course, as soon as I saw the Buddhapesto people, I broke the cardinal rule and bought a tub for myself. This couple makes massive amounts of pesto out of their home. What started out as a little project to give away as gifts during the holidays became quite the popular company! Whole foods just signed on to sell their pesto in their stores, making this little family quite happy, I'm sure! Their story is so sweet! See the article about them in the Metroland here:
After walking through a few times, I picked up a bar of lemongrass (one of my favorite smells) goat's milk soap, two pounds of the absolute sweetest tomatoes I've ever had, and some purple and red skinned potatoes. Ben and I go on this weird kick where we painfully crave mashed potatoes (especially my curried mashed taters) and I had to stock up. We're due for another "episode" soon.
I grabbed a bunch of flowers whose name I can't recall and headed over to watch a woman spinning yarn. Something about yarn, especially wool yarn, tugs at a part of me that so desperately wants to knit. I've learned to crochet about eighteen million times and just can't get into it. Sewing offers more instant gratification, I guess, so I think I'll stick with my machine. Still, the beautiful jewel tones in this yarn were so stunning I was tempted to buy every skein she had, just to fondle them later on (by the way, I do this with paper all the time, too!) Anyway, the woman just so happened to be selling fresh lamb steaks, so I splurged and bought three for Ben. I've been a vegetarian on and off for the greater part of my life, and a little piece of me collapses every time I contribute to the meat industry, but I know Ben loves lamb, so who am I to shove my views on someone else? Besides, I'd rather give the local sellers my money than Hannaford any day.A new seller I've never met before had a huge tent filled with wonderful gourmet dog and cat treats. I grabbed a bag of peanut butter "tidbits", which will come in handy as we're trying (still!) to teach Olive how to walk on a leash like a normal dog. I also picked up two oatmeal scones for dogs...apparently already a favorite of hers, as she smelled them through the bag when I walked through the door and proceeded to stalk me until I gave her one.
Ben and I had officially declared today to be Salsa Day, so I picked up some fresh Siberian garlic, some extremely strong scented cilantro, a few onions (apparently they had been pulled up this morning) and a large carton of hot peppers. I was so inspired by the ingredients I ran home and made a gigantic batch of homemade salsa. I'm about to eat some as soon as I hit the "post" button for today's entry.
Carly seemed pleased with our little outing. She got some fresh corn, carrots, pears, tomatoes (the sweet ones), dill and blueberries, which she gobbled down all the way home. I think she has plans to join me again next week. Maybe I'll have a weekly partner after all...at least until the baby comes.
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