Produce

Yesterday my trek to continue to find new environments and subjects to photograph took me to the local Saturday Farmer's Market.

Every Saturday throughout the summer they block off a few blocks downtown and welcome in various farms and other local businesses to sell their products.  Although it is extremely convenient to have a Safeway right behind our house - you can't beat the prices and freshness you find at farmers markets.

At the risk of sounding like a complete "foody", one of my favorite parts of the farmer's market is all of the samples.  Being able to try out the fruit or bread before buying it is a huge plus compared to going to the grocery store.

A close second to the samples would have to be the gorgeous flower arrangements.  It makes me wish I had looked into one of these small farms when I got married!  Some of the smaller arrangements start at $8, while the largest ones are only $15 or $18.  These arrangements are absolutely beautiful!

I do want to share some of the "treasures" I came home with, as well as show some of the great deals that you can find at these markets.

As you can see, these zucchini are absolutely HUGE - and I didn't even pick the biggest ones!  Not only were they massive, but three of them cost me only $1.

To see what I did with some of this zucchini, go check read A Trip to the Farmers Market at Delectably Home.

These are some of the best blueberries I have ever had.  Just last week, I bought a small package of berries from Safeway to make a dessert.  They were pretty good - but inconsistent.  Some were really sour.

I have not had a bad berry yet out of this pint from the market that was only $3.

The flower booths reminded me a lot of the stands that they have at Pike's Market in Seattle.  When I was going to school in Seattle, I used to venture downtown occasionally just to bring home some of their beautiful flowers.  This arrangement was only $10.

I would definitely encourage readers to go out and try to find local markets in your community.  You would be amazed at some of the things you will find.