Ahhhh.... it's Farmer's Market season here again. Michigan has a shorter growing season, so our Market doesn't open until late June, but we try to take full advantage of it!

Here are ten reasons that your local Farmer's Market is the best food option anytime:

1) Meet The Source.

Instead of the pimple-faced kid randomly dropping your tomatoes on the floor before they get wedged into the stand, at the FM you usually buy your nightshade fruit from the guy who grew it. Grocery stores: who knows where that thing was grown, in what soil conditions, picked green, gassed to get some color, and shipped hundreds, if not thousands, of miles before it reaches you.

2) Get Your Hands Dirty.

Food prep, cooking, eating... all of this is a very tactile experience. I love bringing home gritty lettuce and squash, knowing that it was picked fresh from my native Northern Michigan soil within a few hours of me actually eating it! Washing dirt off the veggies, sand off the strawberries is a soothing and almost grounding (get it!?!) experience for me, and I feel like I know the texture and weight of the food better as I go to prep it. Naturally occurring dirt is also much better than...

3) No Stupid Stickers!

Don't you just love this: you're shredding an apple for your favorite oatmeal cookie recipe. The shredder balks and shudders, breaking your rhythm, and you discover tiny bits of shredded PLU sticker in your cookie batter. Awesome. No cash registers means no PLUs- means no irritating little oval stickers to peel off your food!

4) Support Your Local Economy.

This one is obvious. Who benefits more from the $30 you're spending on berries and stew ingredients: Wal-Mart, or the Amish guy in the neighboring community? Wal-Mart will just gouge another employee on their health insurance, while the farmer can buy more seed, feed his own family, or just exist another day.

5) It's Healthier.

Even if the farmers don't grow organic, your food is more ripe, more natural, less travelled, and more fresh than anything you could get at a grocery store. Honey will have local pollen which is (allegedly) better for any allergies you may have. Naturally sun-ripened fruits & vegetables have a higher vitamin count and nutritional benefit.

6) Lessen Your Carbon Footprint.

From Mexico to Indiana, or Indiana to Indiana? Again, this one's obvious. Also, most rural farmland has been around for years, rather than being a result of massive slash-and-burn desecration.

Another point is that many local farmers use Mason jars, paper bags, wooden bushels, etc. Re-used and reusable storage. No fancy packaging to pay extra for, them throw away. My local produce market has a $2 deposit on strawberry flats, and they wash and re-use the little wood slat quart boxes!

7) Alternative Economy Possibilities.

We haven't tried this one much yet, but have spoken to people who have: barter, trade, bulk discounts, etc. You're not dealing with a huge faceless corporation here, but one or two live people with needs and reasoning skills. Do you have a service or product to provide? I need to start tempting the honey lady with my jewelry designs...

8) People.

Tuesday, Mike and I bought a raw milk share (finally!). This morning, Mike went to pick up our first gallon and a half of rich ivory dairy- with cream all ready to skim off the top for butter! When he got to the farm, he got to meet 'our' cow and its calf, as well as some happy children who live on the farm. Kid #3 went with him and got to see piggies, cows, horses & chickens. She fed the calf, got manure on her sandals, and generally had a blast. How much better is this kind of life than the sterile, cloistered environments most Americans are used to obtaining their food in?

One day last year a young man occupied an empty market stall. Dressed in 1940s era clothing- white shirt, suspenders, & high-waisted trousers- he played ragtime on his guitar and sang lovely songs, old and new. We bought his CD and threw some money in his hat. Turns out he's an old friend of my brother-in-law, breaking into the major music markets. I went home with salad, fresh flowers, and a lift in my step from the great music. Isn't that better than the same Elton John song over and over on the Meijer radio system? I think so.

Every time we go to the Farmer's Market we form another little relationship. Some of the people there are work-hardened, weather-beaten folks with little of a friendly exterior. But others are just the salt of the earth- with canning advice, stories, and a bit of banter for everyone they meet.

9) Happy Animals.

All of the farmers that I've seen in my area are humane folk. Their chickens are free-range, their cattle eat lovely green grass, and their creatures run free instead of being penned in a miserable dark stall for most of their lives. I know many of you out there do not eat meat or dairy because of inhumane animal practices, but I believe that an animal treated better in its life will just be a better meal.

10) Eat the Seasons.
Strawberries and asparagus grace our markets right now. In a few weeks we'll have blueberries and patty pan squash. Not only are menus easier to plan (for me, at least) when you know what's ready to cook, but I've been hearing a lot of great things about the health benefits of eating seasonal fresh veggies and fruits.

Eating what the Earth produces- when it produces- is ecologically sound, financially beneficial, and tasty. I could not bear one more plastic clamshell container of strawberries last month! Now, for just a short and lovely season, I have ripe strawberries that are actually sweet, have juice in them, and were allowed to ripen in the sunshine!

I can't think of anything more beautiful, more natural, or more perfect than the bounty that the Farmer's Market offers. From maple syrup to hot peppers, you'll find me there sniffing and shopping and eating and living. I hope to see you there, too!

Labels: carbon footprint, cooking, eating, ecology, economy, farm, farmers market, food, fruit, gas, honey, money, natural, produce, vegetables

It's Friday night, you're burned out from a tough week at work, and dinner is an immediate necessity. Calling up your local pizzeria, you casually place an order for your favorite pie, never dreaming that the guy on the other end of the line is judging you by each item you choose.

How do I know these facts to be true? Have I walked the hallowed halls of Domino's? Have I kneaded the bread of the gods at Little Caesar's? Have I crouched for hours in a Pizza Hut?

I have done none of these things. I just know more than you, which is why I write this blog, and you read it.
So without further ado, I present to you
What Your Choice of Pizza Topping Says About You:

• CHEESE

Come on, just plain cheese? Are you four? Of all of the wonderful things on God's green earth, things that can be diced and sliced and baked into nummy cheese, and you pick- just. the. frickin'. cheese.
Cheese eaters not only would make a cool name for a band, but are more often than not afraid of change, afraid of challenge, and afraid of their own shadow. They tend to like partners as bland as their pizza, but secretly envy people who sky dive and aren't afraid to eat jalapeños. Cheese eaters will never get beyond careers as accountants, pencil counters, weed-pullers, and subway sweepers.

• PEPPERONI

Plain ol' pepperoni. A little spicy, a little greasy, a little run-of-the-mill. Just like you. Pepperoni eaters tend to be on 'default setting', often too preoccupied with inanities to break out of their box and choose a more interesting salvo. One thing that I have noticed in this lifetime is that you pepperoni-only eaters are not without hope! Things can be added, slowly and over time, to make your life more interesting. Next time, break out the big guns and have the pizza dudes throw on some, oh, I don't know- ONIONS!! Bwahahahahaah!

Sorry.

Next up,

• SAUSAGE

Sausage eaters are typically perverted, nasty little twerps. Why else would someone eat something that looks like giant rabbits pooped all over it? Sausage is greasy, feels like eating knuckles, and leaves you with heartburn for approximately two weeks. Therefore I must conclude that people who prefer a sausage-only pizza are stuck in dead-end jobs, wear thick glasses with scotch tape on them, and live in those apartments that us normal people pass up because of the funny smell inside. Not that you have no redeeming values, sausage eaters. Someone out there needs to keep making rainbow animated GIFs for their grandma's website. You know who I'm talking about.

• Supreme/Deluxe

Supreme or Deluxe, depending on where you live, generally features an eclectic smattering of meat, black olives, green pepper, onion, mushrooms, etc. Supreme fans are usually fairly well-rounded people, although cheap, with an eye towards variety and fun. They usually take a yearly vacation to somewhere like Mount Rushmore or Yosemite Park, and would be happy being married to the same person for many years, if only that person would content to stop sticking their dirty socks in the clean laundry bin. You, the Supreme pizza eater in your household, try not to wince as your ungrateful wretch of a ten year old picks his onions off of his overpriced pie. Those onions cost an extra $1.50, dagnabit. You eat your pizza, his onions, and then you swallow another Prilosec and guzzle down another root beer. Bowling night's gonna be tough this week.

• HAM

I'm going to go out on a limb here and hazard the guess that you're not Jewish. Or Muslim. Or, for that matter, Seventh Day Adventist.
You could very well be a Mormon, or you could be a Dago. I use the word Dago in the purest, least offensive form of the word, being one myself. There is something about ham that attracts certain Europeans: Italians, Greeks, Poles, Orinthologists. Ham eaters are generally high-stress, analytical, hypersensitive, and manic depressive. Oh wait, that's my family...
Ham eaters tend to be just a tiny bit more health conscious than pepperoni or sausage eaters, in the way that spiders are a tiny bit less scary than tarantulas. You like to trick yourself into thinking that your life is better than it is, that your skills are more than they actually are, that the only reason you've been passed over this time for that promotion is nepotism (it isn't). Ham eaters are destined to live a life of social unrest, due mainly to the fact that think they are better than others.

• MUSHROOM

Ah, the mushroom people. You are like a breath of fresh air. Intelligent, creative, articulate and passionate, you go through life inspiring and encouraging, redeeming and helping. No one could ever resent a mushroom eater, after all, they are cleansing the world of fungus! Wait- fungus? On pizza? What was I thinking!?!? I would have to say to mushroom eaters, besides all of the praising litany above, is that YOU ARE INSANE WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO EAT FUNGUS ON YOUR FOOD HOW DO YOU KNOW IT ISN'T STILL ALIVE AND WILL GROW MOLD INSIDE OF YOUR STOMACH AND THE WHITE FUZZ WILL OOZE OUT OF YOUR EYES AND THEN-

Mushrooms rock.

• MEAT LOVER'S

Well, for one thing, if you aren't morbidly obese, your cholesterol is through the roof. When I was a kid, one didn't see the disgusting love affair that we currently have with meat. Supreme, with pepperoni and sausage, was pushing the envelope. A pizza with only meat, and four or five kind of it, at that, shows that you are self-indulgent, greasy, and probably not kind to animals. Since you eat them all. On your pizza. With curdled cow's lactation on top. And smashed tomatoes.
You are probably also unwashed, stinky, and play too much WoW or some other MMORPG. Swilling down a 2-liter of Mountain Dew with that Meat Lover's also doesn't count as a square meal, in case you were wondering.

• HAWAIIAN

You sick, sick freak. You put what on your pie? A food that belongs on top of a banana split, that's what. I'll bet you can't even spell Hawaiian. Your kind tend to be weird- wearing clothes that went out of style fifty years ago, driving Gremlins, living in little hovels on the ground, voting Libertarian. You are as stubborn as the day is long, your hair is ratty, and your thighs have unequal mass. Find a new kind of pizza, and let the pineapple alone, for God's sake.

• 'WHITE' PIZZA
  

People who eat white pizza are either girls, or gay. Either way, you're high maintenance. If you find it in your heart to throw a bit of color on there, such as spinach or tomato, then I suppose you are salvageable. White pizza embodies all that is evil in today's fast food culture: white bread, white sauce, white cheese white toppings. It's almost racist. Is your entire house white, as well? How do you like your life now that you've finally stopped speaking to your mother and gotten that chin job you've always wanted? Guess what, white pizza lover? It's a dirty, dirty world out there and eating all-white food won't make it any cleaner.

• WEIRD CRAP, LIKE BUFFALO PIZZA

You, my friend, are just plain ignorant. There are things that go on pizza (e.g: tomatoes in some form of dessication, garlic, mozzarella cheese, onion, mushrooms...) and there are things that do NOT go on pizza. This would include anything with high fructose corn syrup as a main ingredient, anything deep fried, anything that should normally be eaten for breakfast (I'm talking to you, Japan!) and anything still breathing. You want Buffalo Pizza, with your Sweet Baby Ray's sauce and your thinly sliced buffalo wings, and your cheddar cheese- fine. It's good stuff. Just don't try blaming it on Italy. Just name it something appropriate, like Redneck Barbeque Cheese Chicken Bread.

Or not.

• ANCHOVIES

This one was almost too easy. Anyone who wants to eat a shriveled, salted, greasy, anonymous fish that probably was scraped off the bottom of a fisherman's shoe... well, fine. Go ahead and eat them, with their little slimy silver skins and their little salty brains and- and-
Seriously, what the hell? I'm not against seafood on pizza- I've enjoyed a nice crab and vegetable pie before- but how masochistic does one have to be to eat these things? Oh, I know, once you've tried them you'll understand, you have to develop a taste for them, whatever. I could also, I suppose, develop a taste for road salt, since thats about what they taste like. Or tumors, since that's what they feel like. Or- I'm going to stop now. Pizza truck is here.

Labels: anchovies, anchovy, cheese, eating, food, life, pepperoni, personality, pizza, sausage, tomato