Her hands gently held my wrists. Feeling for my pulses, she was working out whether I would be having a baby girl or a boy. While her touch was gentle, and the contact and meaning behind the check I found fascinating, it was her hands that struck me the most.
A farmers hands.
I’m lucky enough to be able to get the majority of my vegetables straight from the source. No middle man, no super market. Just my lady with her stall, selling what she grows. I love this.
I love that I can choose what to buy, its spray free, and the taste doesn’t even come close to anything else I could buy at a regular chain supermarket.
The tomatoes may look a little gnarly, the lettuce still has some dirt on it, and the cucumbers sometimes curl around a small child’s wrist.
Perfection.
This is what I want. This is how I want to choose to eat. Knowing my money is going back directly to the person growing it and toiling the soil to fill my dinner plate. If I’m not sure how to cook with something I’ll ask. Purple carrots not in this week? She’ll try to bring me some next week. Having that contact with someone who produces such an important part of my family’s life is invaluable.
If more people supported farmers markets such as these, I think societies would change. How could they not?
You would have contact with the person that was producing a large proportion of your food. You would be eating healthier, a higher proportion of your diet coming from vegetables, rather than pre packaged food. Money would be spent and going directly to the local producer, knocking out that chubby middle man, and not to forget that social contact. That wonderful element of connecting with someone and talking to them about what they do. This is just to list a mere few wonderful positives on shopping like this. Buying your vegetables in a supermarket what are the positives? Convenience?
Maybe convenience is overrated…
YOU.ARE.SO.LUCKY. I want a local farmer nearby!
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I am lucky, considering it’s the middle of a city 🙂
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Which farmer’s market do you visit?
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I couldn’t agree more. The feel, smell, look and taste of these vegetables is so much more appealing. Each little piece is an individual. Supermarket ‘fresh’ produce just feels so soul-less.
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Completely soul-less BM. A perfect description.
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Love it.
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somehow food that we produce ourselves or that bought straight from the source seems to have something extra..i wonder whether food grown with care and without harsh chemicals develops in a way that imparts something intangible but nevertheless important for our souls..
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I’m sure it must Jane. It certainly fills me with a soul filling happiness when I eat like that.
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Yes! Yes! Yes!
You’ll never find wobbly (but perfectly good) fruit in a supermarket, nor will you find a sense of community.
Were skipping the supermarket (and shopping malls and superchains) for all of 2012. I wonlt be missing an thing and I know we’ll gain a lot.
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I have a sneaking suspicion Tricia you’ll never go back 🙂
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A wonderful post Brydie – your passion never fails to inspire me x
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Thanks Keri. Sometimes I feel like like I keep banging on the same topic all the time… It’s important to me though.
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I have vege envy, great post 🙂
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I agree with you on this one, we do our best to go to our farmers markets here and the nearest farm is just over the Suspension Bridge at Leigh Court, and we can get lots of good organic veggies from them, complete with very healthy caterpillars sometimes that we find sleepily wandering around the fridge 🙂
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They do get sleepy don’t they 🙂
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I grew up on a farm with 3 to 4 large veggie gardens and miss it at times. Thanks for sharing!
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Lucky you! That’s a great way to grow up.
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I don’t buy fresh food from supermarkets for so many reasons. I don’t like the fact that a couple of big retailers have so much control and I prefer to know where my food comes from. Local is lovely!
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I HATE that two supermarkets have so much control over everything.
Local is lovely.
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Beautiful post! But what did she say? Boy or girl?
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She said a girl… two days later a persian rug man said boy. One of them will be right 🙂
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I love farmers market. We’re lucky to have two good ones. (Well, three but the one’s a little far!) Can’t wait for it to return.
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Greg, do they all close up over winter?
This area is incredibly lucky to have markets through out the year.
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convenience is most definitely over-rated.. and good is good.. c
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Lovely post Brydie 🙂 I can’t bring myself to buy produce at supermarkets anymore (except potatoes, which I plan to move away from as soon as I get a wheel-y trolley bag that allows me to not carry everything on my arms!). When we do make purchases on holiday or some such, I’m always horrified at the cost and the artificial appearance.
On this topic, have you seen The People’s Supermarket that’s been on TV recently? It’s a BBC production but touches on exactly these issues.
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I have seen that show, I really enjoyed it Kari. Although I did want to shake some of the people.
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What a fantastic way to buy produce. I’d love one of those stalls in my neighbourhood.
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I’m sure there would be one hotly spiced. They seem to be sprouting up everywhere these days, which is great.
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A lovely, thoughtful post, Brydie, and you are right. If we all shopped like this society would change – for the better.
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I’m sure it would Amanda. Spread the word, buying locally is in… oh hang on, you already do 🙂
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a lovely post, and good on you for supporting your beliefs with your actions. …… so what does she predict? girl or boy?
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I like farmers. Like spending time with people who spend time working the earth, caring for animals.
And I love farmer’s markets and the uber fresh veg that hasn’t gone through so many other hands.
Great post, Brydie.
Love seeing your fresh produce.
Thanks.
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Nothing better than being able to buy and support locally grown produce.
🙂 Mandy
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I love my weekly visits to the farmer’s market! So, what did your pulse reveal?
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I wholeheartedly agree that these sorts of habits are the sorts that change societies. Our producers need our support especially when large supermarkets not only mandate the type, size and shape of the produce they will buy but also the price they will pay for it.
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Thank you Anna. Perfectly put…
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An enjoyable read and your photo is lovely! I so agree. I love my produce imperfect, with dirt on it and the odd insect or two is ok. It’s real and how much better does it taste. Have you read ‘In defence of Food’ by Michael Pollan? I have a feeling you may enjoy it.
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I have read that book too, and you are right it was a good read.
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Every chance I get to shake a farmer’s calloused hands and enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of his/her labors, I do! We’re lucky to even have a few in the area open all winter. They’re a bit out of the way for me to reach so I’m counting the days til the neighborhood ones start popping up again. Winter seems longer without them.
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and I meant to say…I enjoyed your post, and loved the carrots too!
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Thank you Spree.
We are incredibly lucky in this area to have year round markets. Winter isn’t particularly cold in these parts, and my stall lady is still able to grow a number of things.
I hope your neighbourhood ones pop back soon.
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I’m finding my meat with provenance journey quite tough. I’ve found somewhere I like (Free Range Meats at Orange Grove Markets), but the problem is that they are only there on Sat morning and that is my run training day so I’m really struggling to get there and there don’t seem to be many Sunday markets.
It’s a struggle, but I’ll get there!
Vegetables are a world I haven’t got to yet. I need to become a more inspired cook where I just buy things that look good, fresh and cheap and then create a dish. I usually work the other way round. I have a recipe in mind and then shop for the ingredients.
I’ve pre-ordered some meat for Satruday’s market. I just hope I can get back from Hornsby on time!
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Richard have you thought about getting your vegetables delivered? People like Foodconnect will give you a seasonal box, deliver it, and it really helps you step out of the recipe rut. Plus you have the added bonus of it being locally produced and either spray free or certified organic. My stall lady that I write about in this post also supplies our local Foodconnect.
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Thanks Brydie I’ll check it out.
Delivery options will be the key for me as I’m at work all day and living in a unit on a main road I can’t ask them to leave the box on the doorstep as it will most likely get stolen!
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I’ve just had a look on the website. I love the idea of a ‘city cousin’ you can collect from!
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Brydie, such a beautiful opening paragraph. I felt like I was settling in to read a wonderful book! 😀
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You’ve inspired me to head down to our farmers market this weekend – thank you.
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Wonderful! I hope you gets some wonderful produce.
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Hi Brydie, That was a great post!! I think that social contact with the person who grows it should be part of the experience too and farmer’s markets are a great way to do it.
Even though we live on a farm we don’t grow everything. I took the children potato picking at a nearby farm yesterday .The kids and I worked hard and we were covered in dirt , hot and tired(but happy!).
My teenage daughter turned to me and said,, ‘Mum , I will never look at a bag of potatoes the same way again..’ .I knew what she meant, because we had been buying potatoes from the supermarket , we had lost contact with where they had come from and the hard work that had gone into producing them.
Those potatoes straight from the farm were the best potatoes we had ever eaten too!
Thankyou so much for posts like these.
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Kim can you imagine if every school age child had that food connection as a regular part of their schooling. Either growing the food within their school or taking a trip out to a farm. Not as a once off but really part of their everyday learning?…sheesh, things would change!
I had never rated potatoes particularly highly until I got some different varieties straight from the farm- ohhh, worlds apart!
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I completely agree!
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I like that idea too , Brydie. Luckily there are organisations that do just that ( check out Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Program) ….schools can apply for grants from them and set up a garden with a teacher and a kitchen to cook produce.You need a really forward thinking principal to okay the idea though.
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Monkey Boy’s school was lucky enough to get a grant for a kitchen garden. It’s great that it’s there, but I think they can do more with it… really run with the idea and incorporate it in to every day lessons. I know some schools do a lot with it though.
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A beautiful post. While I think you are indeed very lucky to have this farmer’s market near you, THEY are incredibly lucky to have YOU spreading the farmers market love. It’s a full circle, my dear.
Oh and please excuse my shameless prying, but did she give any indication of the small one? A hint, clue or spiritual vibe of undoubtable measures? Yes? xx
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Shameless prying always welcome. She thought it would be a little girl due to my right pulse being stronger. The Persian rug man two days later told me it was definitely a boy due to the shape of my belly… but who is right!? 🙂
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I am so jealous of your farmers market — i wish Orlando had a decent one. The ones we have are all lame. So sad, but true 😦
BTW, thanks for visiting my blog!
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That’s disappointing Kiran. I would have thought there would be an abundance of options there.
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Our local farmers’ market sells oranges, avocados, kiwi fruit …etc., etc., and as far as I’m aware these things don’t grow locally in the midst of winter. I’ve stopped going to our local farmers’ market because it’s a farce.
And besides it makes me flippin’ grumpy that they’ve trounced the real meaning of a farmers’ market.
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Misk that would annoy me too. I try and avoid any markets that are like that, and they are certainly about. Or market meat stalls that don’t know where the meat is from!!
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YES! Convenience IS overrated. We are so blinded by convenience and it seems like the only thing that will bring us back to the ground, back to the soil, back to humble ways of gratitude, joy and appreciation are major natural disasters. Or perhaps people should just read your blog more often. I love this post. And I agree with you, fully. You resonate!
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