Purple Is the New Green...At the Farmer's Market

Since Saturday is my Farmer's Market shopping day, I dutifully set out to pick up some more meat. I came home with three packages of bulk Italian pork sausage and put a small deposit down on my hormone- and antibiotic-free, free-range, pastured turkey for Thanksgiving. It's kind of neat knowing that someone is actually raising a turkey for me, but also cool to know that it will be the healthiest Thanksgiving turkey I have ever in my life eaten.

I'm trying to put up good meat for the winter. After watching some of the recent food documentaries I've seen, the most recent being Food, Inc., I have trouble walking down the meat aisle at the grocery store. I've seen the conditions under which the animals live who are packaged by familiar labels, such as Tyson and Perdue; I can't stand the thought of contributing to the industrialized food system. So I'm stocking away meat each week...and I still have quite a ways to go if we're going to eat off the farmer's market meats all winter.

One of the things that makes our Farmer's Market fun is the fact that a variety of performers entertain the crowds. I caught a young lady in mid-dance and the balloon-animal guys preparing a treat for a young girl. Throughout the market, a number of musical acts were performing, and part of the market includes arts and crafts. It's quite the cultural endeavor, and it happens every Saturday morning downtown!

Another wonderful aspect of the Farmer's Market, which I've mentioned before, is the fact that you can buy organic and heirloom varieties that aren't available in the grocery store. Last time, I tried the purple cauliflower. This time, I picked up some purplish carrots (Purple Haze variety) and some purple beans which, according to the farmer, will turn a dark green when cooked. I'm looking forward to trying these new varieties to see how the taste compares to the common varieties. I have to say that the purple beans are absolutely beautiful; the Purple Haze carrots are more of a brick red, I think, than purple. I will, of course, let you know how the taste test turns out!