This weekend we stopped by one of our local nurseries because they now have a local Farmer’s Market a couple of times a week. Which is wonderful! Our town has an awesome Farmer’s Market in the downtown area that we love, but this one is now closer to our home (and it is on my way home from work) so it does make things a little more convenient. And since my surgery, my diet has changed somewhat. I crave more fresh homemade foods and less eat out meals. Which is better for both of us anyway. In fact, since my surgery we have only eaten out twice. That’s twice in two months. Pretty darn good considering we used to eat out a couple of nights a week.
I have always had a problem with preservatives and prefer to eat organic fruits and vegetables when I can so buying locally usually is the best option when it s available. Our grocery stores don’t always have a great selection and recently I have been having a hard time finding organic apples. So, that led us to the nursery since we didn’t feel like heading into downtown. There are about a dozen vendors and we scored big time. I found some wonderful locally grown, organic Golden Delicious apples, freshly dug new potatoes that we used for dinner one night and a bag of fresh baby greens for salad this week.
And that was not all. Of course they give out samples. There were fresh baked breads, a Hungarian caterer, a lady making crepes filled with meats and cheeses and a guy grilling sausage. The sausage really caught our attention. The sample was delicious. It was a German breakfast sausage and the taste reminded me of the brats we had on My Viking River Cruise this last spring. Really delicious. So as we were paying for the breakfast sausage, the guy says, “It also comes in brats.” Yes, please! Happy Day. It was super nice to be able to find a flavor that I enjoyed from Germany! And it was locally grown, fresh and no hormones or antibiotics, another win for me!
And we also found a farm that was selling free range, non hormone and all that other good stuff beef, poultry, lamb and pork. And they had a tri-tip roast! Another score. Tri-tip is a cut that is more common in California, where Keith is from. We have a really hard time finding it here. We usually have to ask the butcher. They never put them out because they say they won’t sell. Not sure what they do with them, I know we don’t buy them all….but we brought that home along with our sausages and produce and a sweet desert from the Hungarian caterer. It was their version of Tiramisu and it was really yummy.
I am so glad that our local nursery started doing this. It is so nice to get fresh food that is locally grown. You know where it comes from and you meet the people that grow it. While we were there we did walk through the nursery and I took a few pictures. They had their pumpkins out.
Like these Peanut Pumpkins. These are really strange looking. The one above was completely covered in “peanuts.”
The growths on it’s shell resemble peanuts, thus the name. It is thought to be a cross between a Hubbard Squash and another, unknown variety and is said to have originated in France.
Underneath the “peanuts” is a pinkish skin. The growths come from sugars seeping out of the pumpkin and hardening.
The flesh is supposed to be very good for baking and is sweeter in nature, thus the “sugar peanuts” on the outside.
And they had some colorful Turk’s Turbans. Proof that green and orange go together!
The Mini Boo Pumpkins looked adorable in this bushel basket!
I really love this variety.
And their cousins also looked adorable in a bushel basket, ready to go home and be part of someone’s holiday décor.
They had beautiful hydrangeas, like this one that was starting to turn.
And lots of berries, like this Pyracantha. Another orange and green combination. Mother Nature knows best!
Our favorite berries were these Beauty Berries. We have two bushes growing in our yard. But these were loaded.
You usually don’t find them covered like this at a nursery. The birds love to eat these in our yard. We don’t usually have them last in this condition very long because of that, but we are always happy when the birds are happy.
They also had some seasonal yard art. We liked this witch made from upcycled old metal. We would have liked it better if it would have had a cat riding on her broom. But she was bewitching. We enjoyed our visit to the nursery in so many ways this weekend, through the food we ate to the inspiring Fall displays. We will definitely be back for more food and more inspiration!
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