The Demo Site

Skiers often dream of getting out early for “first tracks” on a powder day, and once in a while I’ve had that awesome experience of cruising through fresh, knee-deep, winter precipitation in total bliss. Today, I had a similar experience at the farmers’ market: fresh, waist-high, deep-winter products from local farms. Although I usually bike (kids-in-tow) later in the day, our regular Saturday morning schedule changed when my friend Alex, a childless first tracks farmers’ market shopper, showed up early and we drove down to market for a luscious first-tracks equivalent.

In alphabetical order, here’s what I bought: apple cider (1/2 gallon), Armenian cucumber (1 huge), baby carrots (2 bunches), bok choi (1/2 pound), broccoli (1 big bunch), chicken (1 whole, free-range, 6 pounds), collard greens (1 pound), eggs (1 dozen), green and red bell-peppers (two large), lettuce (1/2 pound), oyster mushrooms (1/2 pound), potatoes (10 medium-sized), salsa sabrosa (8 oz.), sunflower sprouts (1/4 pound), tomatoes (1 very large, heirloom/hydroponic), veggie and pork tamales (10 count), and winesap and braeburn apples (1 dozen)—all for $94, not bad for cold-season prices! But that wasn’t all…I could have gotten about twenty other types of food (beef, lamb, yak, pork, several types of root veggies, radishes, turnips, goat cheese, nuts, jams, breads, and much, much more!