Revisiting a fun tradition
I grew up visiting my local farmer’s market at home, walking past all of the stands on a warm sunny day and grabbing all the free samples I could get. Recently, I visited some friends in LA and went to check out the Brentwood Farmer’s Market which sparked a thought: why haven’t I been to the one in Santa Barbara? So this past weekend I went for the first time, explored the different stands, tried various items in season, and came up with a recipe using local ingredients!
Importance of Buying Local
Going to the farmer’s market is not only a fun activity to do with friends and family, it also helps support local farmers and makes a positive & sustainable impact on the environment.
Farmers that sell at farmers markets are often local to the area, meaning they are emitting less pollutants into the atmosphere by travelling shorter distances to their customers, whereas produce in grocery stores travels from far and wide to make sure all types of fruits and vegetables (whether in season or not) are available.
On top of that (literally), produce in grocery stores is often covered with chemicals to keep fresh and prevent bruising while in transit. Buying local fruits and vegetables means exposing yourself to less of these chemicals and getting produce that has likely been picked in the last couple of days.
Most items at the farmers market are what is currently in season in the area, so by checking out the various stands you can also get to know what’s best at this time of year and where it comes from. While I walked around the different stands, it was fun to get to know where the produce comes from, and get to try what’s in season and find what I like!
The Santa Barbara farmer’s market runs every Saturday from 8am-1pm on State Street. They sell many different products: from fresh dates to cherries to dried flower garland decor-they’ve got something for everyone. You should definitely go check it out for yourself, but I’ll take you through some of my favs.
Samples Galore
I tend to gravitate toward any stand that has samples, so I immediately stopped at the stone fruits on display with sample pieces cut up. My friend and I tried the yellow peaches, white nectarines and the pluot: a hybrid between a plum and apricot, which I loved! I grabbed a few of those as snacks for the week, and we headed down the street.
There was one stand that had all of the tropical fruit you could imagine (and ones I’ve never seen), from guava to passionfruit to cherimoya– a custardy sweet fruit that was intriguing. We got to try it and it literally tasted like candy, unreal.
Exploring the different stands, I saw rare items that are hardly ever in the grocery store, like strawberry juice! My friend got a bottle to try and it was so fresh and amazingly sweet. Little treats like this popped up all around us and it was hard to resist trying and buying it all.
The array of fresh heads of lettuce also caught my eye, and I added a mini red romaine to my haul.
Growing Our Connection With Food
There’s something about going to a farmers market, in a laid back setting, where buying produce is not just about checking off a weekly grocery list; It feels fun, and grows a deeper connection to the food you are buying.
When we buy food that we are excited to eat, from familiar faces, it fosters a relationship with the produce and where it came from, which also in turn makes it harder to throw away or waste.
When I came home with my fruits and vegetables, I made sure that I was going to finish them all because I didn’t want them to go to waste. Buying from the farmers market also allows you to buy smaller quantities of food that mitigate food waste and promote more conscious consumption.
Recipe Time!
As summer approaches, one of my favorite fruits is coming back in season: peaches. Every year, my dad brings home boxes upon boxes of peaches from my grandparents farm in Northern California, and that sweet smell fills up my house for weeks as harvest goes on.
My family has gotten pretty creative with how to use up all of these peaches, but I think our best creation has to be our summer peach salad, so I thought I would share it with you:
To start, this summer head to your local farmer’s market to grab some fresh peaches, and make this recipe for your friends and family!
You’ll need sliced peaches, freshly chopped mint and basil, sliced onions, chopped almonds and burrata. For the dressing, toss all of the ingredients in olive oil, lemon juice and a bit of honey. Then lay it out nicely and place the burrata and almonds on top! You can serve this on a bed of arugula/green of your choice, or enjoy as-is with some bread as a little peachy-bruschetta-situation.
It is the perfect taste of summer (it’s in season!) and an amazing dish to utilize your farmers market finds. But don’t take it from me, go out there yourself and give it a try. You may end up finding your new favorite fruit and a new recipe all from your local farmers market!