Market Season

Huzzah and hallelujah, it's market season again in Point Richmond! Our little farmer's market opened last Wednesday and will be open until mid-October. I was dog tired that afternoon and was reluctant to go down, but the need to support the market was greater than my sloth, so I dragged down the hill with my market basket and was swept into the fun.


Our farmer's market is as much a community get-together as it is a chance to get ripe fruit and fresh vegetables. They block off one of the three main streets in town and rig the booths down either side, leaving the middle free for neighbor-greeting, baby-admiring and chatting. It was a lovely day and everyone was there making the most of it, from our handsome Irish neighbor with the lilting Dublin accent to our local retired politician and his charming wife.  Little kids ran through the crowd, buskers laid cheerful tunes on the air, and hot food vendors sent perfume wafting past our noses.


My strawberry guy is back. He sells the best strawberries in the entire world, sweet and fragrant and lusciously red. He was so glad to see me (I'm easily his best customer and his best advertising, too) that he gave me a big hug before filling my basket with the best of his fruit. 


We now have two cheese vendors, up from one last year, and the hot food vendors have added tables and chairs so we can eat on the spot and listen to the music. My organic produce guy is back, too. He barely speaks English so we speak Veggie, pointing and smiling and raising thumbs up.  


He had leeks and green garlic this week, stiff spears with creamy white bulbs on the end. I immediately made a nice pasta dish with the garlic, a spicy Italian sausage, and broccoli as the headliners, with oregano and tomato playing supporting roles. Ladled over green and white linguine and topped with a drift of Parmesano Reggiano, it was a simple celebration of the return of market season to our little burg.