Farmers market - Fuzzy Fruit

One of my favorite weekly outings is Jeff and my Saturday morning trip to the Farmers Market.  Sometimes this can be in the form of one of those makeshift pop up locations where farmers from all over the region bring their freshly picked bounty to sell, but most often, especially in the off season, its the Market on the Corner of 162nd and Glisan in Southeast Portland.  I love that place.

We pick up fresh apples each week, pink lady's or honey crisp, and fresh oranges. When in season we look forward to fresh firm crispy nectarines and plums.  Asparagus is in season now and I make sure to always have it on hand as well as a healthy artichoke. Green bananas are a must so that as they yellow through the week they never reach that brown stage where they are nothing but mush and attract fruit flies. Melons are a must, when available, as is fresh white corn.

I enjoy the smells of the farmers market as well as the colors. Its a bit of a playground for me. 

I realized how well matched Jeff and I are this week, amongst our many other commonalities, when we were at the market and it suddenly hit me that he never goes for the things I don't go for.  I never paid attention to it before, not really. I just sort of took it for granted that we wanted the same things when we went. But was he not asking for Peaches because I didn't go for them, or because he didn't want them?

It turns out we are once again perfectly matched in this area.  I asked him about the fruits and veggies we never seem to buy, and discovered it wasn't just me bypassing them, it was him too.

Neither of us likes Fuzzy fruit or veggies. If it has fur like peaches, apricots, or kiwi, we walk on by. Peaches in a can are great, not just because they are sweet, but because the fur is gone. Bottom line for us, food wearing a fur coat is a must say no.

We pass on Kiwi for other reasons too though....its gritty. Much like the pear, it feels like you dropped it in the sand at the beach and rolled it around before you took a bite.  We don't like the texture and grit of kiwi and pears. Pears and Kiwi smell awesome, they make for great shampoo, hand soap, air fresheners, and body wash, but the grit means no grinding on the tasty fruit for us.

We don't buy Rhubarb, or bok choy, or brussel sprouts. We like broccoli and cauliflower, turnips, radishes, and sweet peas. We like Strawberries and boysenberries but are not wild about raspberries or blueberries.  Some of the things we find are fascinating to look at, but stick with what we know.

This weekend we will plant our own mini farmers market in our back yard.  Our bevy will include lettuce of three varieties, artichokes, purple cauliflower, bell peppers - green and yellow, and an array of peppers for pickling. YES...peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, and boy are they yummy in a fresh homemade batch of chili on a cold winters night.