No -- actually, they're more likely to be from Chino Valley or Camp Verde. That doesn't mean that they're not local or that the produce (and other goodies) they bring to market Saturday mornings isn't local-fresh. They are, it is. Yum.
Thanks to Memphis niece (above) and her handy car, I finally made it over to the Prescott Farmers Market at Yavapai College this weekend. We spent a lot of money on things like this H-U-G-E cuke and beet greens and tamales and...
...awesome heirloom tomatoes -- the purplish ones were particularly tasty!
These grapes were not your usual Thompson seedless -- something more like a Concord and wonderfully intense in flavor. Too bad fruit is so limited in its seasons -- the only other fruits to be had were blackberries and apples.
Of course, not everything was directly from the soil. The stand above was selling farmer's cheese, while an impressive array of jams, jellies and pickles ranged from kumquat brandy medley to pumpkin pecan butter.
Nor was it all for the kitchen or the table (above).
Too bad the market is too far for me to walk to on a regular basis! I could usually make it back when the stands were up by the old post office on Cortez street.
Maybe I can content myself with reading about small produce farms and the farmers' adventures, such as those I found at the Ladybug Letter. I learned all about the problem wild boars are causing in Central California and how to make nettle soup, for example.
Is there any kind of public transportation to take you part of the way there? Or some service for people who can't drive like they want to? It might be worth it for the sake of nice fresh healthy produce.
ReplyDeleteWe have a feral pig problem here. I hear guesstimates that we're talking maybe a million or so. It's so bad that, if I recall aright, it actually caused a space flight launch to cancel once.
There is also a market on the school grounds of Washington School. Much closer to you. Unless it's closed with school starting.
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks guys for your concern! We do have a small one-vehicle bus line that does a circle route once an hour, 9-5 on weekdays only. But I can get along reasonably well on produce from the supermarkets & enjoy the really fresh stuff once in a while as a special treat!
ReplyDeleteAs for the feral pigs -- we have our own kind of "pigs" called javelina -- they do like roots, bulbs & my pansies.
I was wondering if the CA ones were indigenous or feral. As far as I know, our locals are only feral pigs, the escapees of generations of would-be FL farmers.
ReplyDeleteNow the fond targets of many hog hunters...
Not boars? Hog hunters, indeed! No class at all in Florida (I can say that because I spent much of my young years in Jax.)
ReplyDeleteAbout Calif., as I read it, it was boars, not javelina the newsletter was talking about. Feral pigs. European root stock.
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