Lovin' Local!

Theo and I spent yesterday morning lovin' our local farmer's market. What's so exciting to me is that this one is in our neighborhood, a lovely morning walk from our house.

I've always been a lover of the market. In all of the places I've lived, I make sure and find my local spots for fruit & veggies. There's something so wonderfully intimate about meeting the person who grew your onions and placing your dollars in their hands. Talking with the woman who grows organic garlic and then shares her recipes using the scapes and bottles the honey from her bees...You can't help but walk away smiling. A woman who makes her own soaps handed me slice after slice of this and that to try..."this one is for your swollen feet..this one is extra rich for your stretching belly...this one will just make you smile". Another wonderful thing about our new neighborhood market~the fountains. Taking a break, watching the scene, smelling the new soaps in my bag and watching Theo play while soaking my feet in the cool water makes for one pleasant Sunday morning.

A while back, on Soul Mamas blog, she wrote about the River Cottage Cookbooks. The day after I read her review, I checked them out at my local bookstore. I was instantly addicted. For weeks, I'd go on my lunch hour and actually read these books (Confession: most often I don't read a word in a cookbook other than the recipe) and then I'd head back to work and tell my coworkers stories about what I'd just learned~like how to properly kill a chicken if your left handed. I now own the books and love the recipes but what I love most are the messages: grow your own, buy locally & organic and STOP supporting factory-farmed meat.

I also want to share a website I came across a few months ago. I was searching for farms that I could take Theo to this summer. http://www.pickyourown.org/ is a great site to find local farmers in your area with farms that you can visit and pick your own veggies and fruit as well as buy plants and trees native to your area.

Hope you're enjoying summer so far and keeping it local & lovely, too........