The Dublin Community Market - Week 1

I attended the inaugural week of the Dublin Ohio Community Market this evening. I had read an article about it in our local paper but I wasn't sure what to expect especilly since this was to be the initial week. I have been to some farmer's markets where there are a handful of vendors plying some pretty poor goods. I found about a dozen vendors with some very nice fresh produce. More about that in a minute.

I've been trying find a convenient farmers market to attend but without much luck. For one, many farmers markets have their biggest sessions on Saturday mornings, but I'm usually out riding my bike to the Dutch Kitchen with friends, so Saturday mornings don't work too well. I also ride my bicycle to work most days, so weekday evening farmers markets across town don't work too well either. This one works out since it's only about a mile from my office and I can ride my bike to it! Bingo! We have a winner.

I did not count the number of vendors, but there seemed to be about a dozen, mostly produce, but with two flower vendors, one meat vendor and one dairy. I found some of the sweetest peas I've ever tasted and bought a pound. They do not have edible pods, so I have to shell them, but it's worth it. Or maybe I've gotten too used to the supermarket variety of peas. I also purchased some greens from a young woman who grows six acres of produce while the rest of her family produce bushels of corn, wheat and soybeans. She sounds like the family rebel. Go girl go!

Another vendor had "peach" tomatoes, that is the tomatoes are yellow and have a fuzzy skin, similar to a peach. They're very sweet, but all tomato on the inside.

I have been buying Snowville Creamery milk since the local Kroger started to carry it last year, so I was pleased to see them at the market. Growing up on a dairy farm, I know firsthand the hard work needed to get a gallon of milk from a field of grass to a milk truck. Anyone who chooses to raise a herd of natural, grass-fed cows, milk them, and put together a producing dairy has my support. When the lady at the booth said the milk in the carton came from a cow this morning, I was instantly sold. At $3.00 a half gallon, it seems expensive compared to the milk in supermarket plastic bottles, but you just can't buy milk this fresh or good or non-homogenized anywhere else around here. Again, an easy sell for me.

I also found a naturally raised whole chicken, some summer squash, and the best tasting strawberries I've had in a long time.

I make a rather colorful figure with my riding clothes as I like to be visible in traffic. I guess that's why the City of Dublin (I think) camera crew decided to interview me on tape. As you can tell from this posting, I'm pretty enthusiastic about having a farmer's market in town, so I let my enthusiasm show through. If I find a link to it on the web, I'll post it here.

After about forty-five minutes of shopping, I loaded my food into my bike panniers and headed off into the waning rush hour traffic. Tonight the bird is thawing out and I'll cook it tomorrow night.

Bon appetite!