Finally, I got myself to the farmer’s market today, just a short time before they closed. I don’t know how busy it usually is, but by that time there weren’t many vendors left. But that was okay, because what I was seeking was good deals on produce still available at the end of the day.
I was hunting deals, and the prices weren’t anything to get excited about. I noticed two stands that had reduced produce, but even the reduced prices weren’t remarkable. One of the stands’ reduced produce looked unappetizing and I wouldn’t have been interested unless they had been asking drastically less than they were. I asked the man in charge of the larger stand about what was labeled ‘seconds’ – he said it was the same produce, but not number 1 quality. It actually looked pretty nice, but the price was kind of high. I inquired if he had larger amounts than the small containers on the table, and if the price went down if I bought a larger amount. He did, and it did. Remember, ask and don’t assume that if there’s a good price that it will be obvious to everyone!
I got a case of tomatoes (I think he said a bushel – or a half bushel??? – I always mix up these terms – but it was 21 pounds) for $12, about .57 lb. They are beautiful, perfectly ripe, not mushy or rotten at all. I also bought a case of peaches (26 pounds), also seconds, for $15. My kids were happy to see me walk in with the peaches, but after they tasted the peaches, they were ecstatic. Seriously. They couldn’t stop telling me how amazingly delicious they are. They are huge, perfectly ripe, sweet and juicy (in another couple of days they would be overripe if not refrigerated, and that’s probably why he’s selling them as seconds). I ate one and then I saw why they were telling me about how good they were – because they really are delish!
The problem with all of this is, I want to can a bunch of the peaches to enjoy in the winter, and my kids are protesting. They like them so much that they want to eat them fresh. I told them that I didn’t buy 26 pounds for them to gobble up in two days, though they think it would be a very appropriate way to eat them.
Since I have a busy afternoon ahead (my 9 year old and a friend are baking cookies in the kitchen right now for their new money making venture :)), I have a meal to prepare and deliver to someone with an ill mother, and a performace to take the kids to of ‘Seussical’, or something like that), and I only have 2.5 hours to finish everything I’m in the middle of and get everyone fed, I’m not going to deal with the canning until tomorrow. But tomorrow I’m going to do something, not only with the tomatoes and peaches, but I also need to turn my attention to the 80 lb of apples we picked yesterday morning, I have another 20 lb of Seckel pears in the fridge from our pear picking that I also want to process, and one container of all the peeled peaches from my bartering venture waiting to be turned into something yummy, too. Busy, busy, busy. I feel like the ant who is busy preparing for the winter in the summertime. 🙂
Avivah
