Adventures in the Market
Saturday, May 10, 2008
By: Cindy Gentz

Grocery shopping doesn't usually inspire excitement. However, if you happen to do the majority of your grocery shopping at the St. Paul Farmers' Market, you may find yourself looking forward to your next visit.

I know I can't wait for spring. I try to visit the farmers' market on winter days, but I must confess that I'm not brave enough to go routinely on cold mornings. In spring and summer, though, wild horses can't keep me away. I love the farmers' market because of the variety and because the prices are so cheap that I can afford to experiment with new foods. The St. Paul Farmers' Market is also great because all the vendors are local, so by shopping there I support my community and reduce greenhouse emissions.

At the farmers' market, I have a ritual of walking around the entire market first without buying anything.  This allows me to compare prices and determine if one stall, has more varieties of apples, for instance, than another.

Once the first round is completed, it is time for the basics of mykitchen:  basil, tomatoes, and spinach.  When I buy my tomatoes, I might be urged to sample a certain heirloom variety.  The ethnobotanist selling them tells me about the variety of herbs he grows and of the travels he has done to procure them.   So it begins.  If it is May, I grab a few radishes, some summer sausage, indulge in a few sticks of bison jerky and a bunch of asparagus.  If it is June, I stock up on strawberries and raspberries, early tomatoes and, of course, spinach and basil.  July is a plentiful time for blueberries, new potatoes, myriad tomatoes and broccoli.  August begins to usher in harvest time, with melons, onions, leeks, gourds and much more.

I make my final rounds as the market begins to close up.  I stop for some last-minute garlic and the elderly woman selling it to me urges two free pints of chilies into my bags.  I am surprised and grateful, but also a little panicked.  Is anyone still selling tomatoes?  I have a lot of salsa to make!