Yesterday my husband and I took an impromptu trip to the farmer's market.  My goal was to make a meal using as many local products as possible.  We bought ground beef, watermelon, potatoes, heirloom tomatoes (a whole other post),  corn on the cob, and apple cider.  Many of these things we had grown in our own backyard garden, but it is picked clean (next year - bigger garden).  Ann Arbor has an awesome farmer's market, the only thing that makes it diffucult is the minimal parking.  Sure, I can park far away for the exercise and the smug feeling of being environmentally conscious, but as I struggle back to my car with watermelons and gallons of cider, smug is not exactly how I'm feeling...  Ok, this particular time I did not struggle, Russ happily toted things back and forth while I comparison shopped.

The dinner was tasty, and it spurred a good conversation with our kids about buying locally and the value of knowing where your food comes from.

One of the great things about a farmer's market is that you can see what is possible to grow in your own yard.  Another thing is that it is best way to get organic produce cheaply.  Talking to the farmers is a huge bonus.  I wanted to make a peach pie, but was told that the peaches were better for eating - you don't get that kind of information at mega-mart.  One stand had 6 different varieties of potato - a find since I've always wanted to try fingerling's but didn't want to pay $8/lb, and better yet, the person behind the table knew which of her potatoes went best with which cooking application.

I think we'll go again on Saturday morning, but this time have the boys take backpacks that I can just fill as we go.  The prune plums look like they'll make an excellent tart, or Joy the Baker's Honey Roasted Plums, which I adapted for a quick waffle/pancake topping for my son. 

To market...to market!