Every Thurs. from 9am-1pm is the Farmers Market at Costa Mesa Fair Grounds. I was out in the field this morning and stopped by the market on my way back (after making yummy mac&cheese @ home for lunch) to complete my hour lunch break.
The reasons why I love Farmers Markets:
- Free samples:) You can taste the fruit before you buy it.
- REAL food, grown by REAL farmers, in REAL gardens, LOCALLY.
- No pesticides
- Lots of hippies/surfers (rich soccer moms/nannys with kids too) with their eco-friendly, reusable shopping bags:)
- Fresh produce, plants, flowers, and lovely free-range chicken eggs (see pic above)
I was thinking of my brother and his recent "green" diet and my silent pledge to eat out less (we're all trying to save money where we can aren't we?) so my shopping list (haha, my "buy and you go" shopping list, I rarely write one out) included the following: tangelos, radishes (complete with dirt and stems lol), lemons, cabbage, strawberries (the farmer threw in a free tomatoes at purchase), hummus, pita chips, some apple syrup for mi mother, and an artichoke (these still remind me of Ms. Amber Kay Syme/Johnston). Anyways, it was fulfilling and everything looked so delicious and reminded me of the gardens we grew growing up. I think this year I'll try to grow something, like cherry tomatoes (I almost bought a plant, $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00). I'm planning on going on Sat. to pick somethings up for my parents (a bag of oranges and avocados...it was my dad's b-day on March 1st...and he loves CA grown citrus products!). Speaking of which, here are some listings for local Farmers Markets:
| Wednesday | |
 | Tustin Corner of El Camino Real and 3rd Street 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. (rain or shine) |
| Westminster Westminster Mall, Goldenwest and Bolsa, adjacent to Target Store 12 - 5 p.m. (rain or shine) (I just noticed this one the other day...I'll have to check it out sometime) |
| Thursday | |
| Costa Mesa Orange County Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. (rain or shine) |
| Friday | |
| Huntington Beach Pier Plaza, Main Street & Pacific Coast Highway (next to the pier) 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. (rain or shine) (I've been meaning to go to this one for sometime now too) |
| Saturday | |
| Laguna Beach Lumberyard Parking Lot next to the City Hall 8 a.m. - Noon / 8 - 11 a.m. July and August (rain or shine) (nice location and then you can cruise Laguna, its great to go after a hike in the canyon, and, so scenic:) Irvine Irvine Center on the corner of Bridge and Campus (across from UCI) 8 a.m. - Noon (rain or shine) (parking can be tough, it gets really busy from the surrounding units, but its nice for grocery shopping since Trader Joes is in the same shopping complex) |
*cheers! and happy shopping!*
3 comments:
yum I want to go to one!
awesome!! I always wanted to go pick my own strawberries or apples at a farm... have you had the chance to do that when the fruits were in season??? I wonder if its expensive too!!!
Artichokes are outrageously expensive and pitiful looking here in Kansas. We are seriously considering growing our own.
-(e) and (stun) :)
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