Living local

I absolutely love farmer's markets.

There's something lush about so much fresh produce assembled together in one place.

I think my first experience of a farmer's market was in Bellingham, when I was a student at Western Washington University. (Isn't that sad? That my first experience with a farmer's market was when I was in college? Yeah, I agree. It's very sad.) But it wasn't exactly a farmer's market -- it was a Saturday market, so there were a lot of non-farmer venders. The most memorable stands were Holmquist Hazelnut orchards, and somebody with honey. That's mostly what I bought -- nuts and honey. Those were high ticket items, and I was on a pretty restricted budget, so it was a big indulgence to go.

When we moved to Eugene, Oregon in 1998 they had a Saturday market, too. It was extravagant and very enjoyable -- all kinds of craft venders, a performance stage, lots of food options. Oh yes -- and flamboyant tie dye clothing. There was a beautiful farmers section, but it comprised only about a quarter of the total market. They did have highly memorable melons - watermelon and cantaloupe so sweet... I salivate at the memory. It was still a treat to go, rather than a regular occurrence -- something that we did when family or friends were visiting, or to take advantage of some specific, hard-to-find item (like local melons.)

In Seattle it's possible to find a farmer's market somewhere in the city almost every day, but no guarantee how close. The one that's closest to us is about a 20 minute drive, and it's on Wednesdays, so I don't go often. And it's still a special deal. I go to a farmer's market in Seattle to buy queso fresco from Samish Bay Cheese, and I used to get bulk ground beef for a good price. But...not so much any more -- so again, I don't go often, and when I do, I go for only one or two specialty items.

When we arrived in Szeged I asked my local host if there was some kind of farmer's market, and he said -- oh yes, there's one over by the bus station -- about a ten minute walk from where you live. It's open every day, he said, from early in the morning until early afternoon! Every day? I thought. How is that possible?

Well, it's possible. I guess it's possible because this is where people shop. It really is a farmer's market, too. It's almost all produce, eggs, honey, nuts -- stuff like that. It's huge. And almost all grown locally. (A few venders are probably from stores, since I occasionally see things like avocados and lemons.) But apparently it's open from 4am until 3pm. I'm not likely to go at 4am, but it was already very busy at 8am when I arrived today -- even though it had just rained.

The big difference between the farmer's markets in Seattle and the one here is that I can actually afford to buy the food! Everything is reasonably priced. (Of course, some of that has to do with the significant difference in the cost of living, but still.) I feel like the proverbial kid in the candy store. There's mounds of grapes, vast piles of peppers, cucumbers stacked like lumber, mounds of melons, boxes of garlics and onions, provocative bags of walnuts and beans, mysterious fronds of fresh herbs... I want to buy All The Things!!!

There's also some things there that I don't know what they are, or I know what they are but haven't tried them before, which is always fun. Last week I tried celery root for the first time. This week I bought another one -- I'm making soup tomorrow!

Of course I'm limited by (1) what I can carry on my bike, (2) what we can fit in our small fridge, and (3) what we can reasonably eat before it goes bad. That's my bike there, with the bright blue kid seat on it. (It's also the only one with a bike helmet -- most people don't wear them here.) Many bikes (including mine) have baskets on the front; others have them on sides, or they pile stuff on the rack on the back. I had a backpack as well as my basket, so that helped.

I had around $15 on me this morning, and I spent most of it, but I got quite a haul: a butternut squash, a bunch of beets, two leeks, about a kilo of baby potatoes, about 4 kilos of Mutsu apples, a pile of cucumbers, a celery root, fresh sweet corn, and a watermelon. We bought a watermelon from the same lady last week, and we ate the whole thing in one day. It was an amazing watermelon. I wished that I could carry two watermelons home, but I was already a little unsure I could handle what I had. And I didn't even buy any beans, walnuts, cantaloupe, pears... But here's my gorgeous loot from the day. And there's always tomorrow!...