Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Charlottseville Farmer's Market



What could be better than buying a locally grown, perfectly ripe, peak-of-the-season peach at a Farmer's Market? Buying three kinds of peaches and two plum varieties you've never even heard of (green gages and damsons). And then eating them.

The Charlottesville, VA Far Mar was positively bustling last Saturday, as I imagine it always is. There you'll find the afore mentioned stone fruits, Virginia peanuts, a serious selection of sheep cheeses, a rainbow of hunky heirloom tomatoes, Egyptian garlic, the best donut you've ever had, Salvadorian peach and pineapple drinks, Bosnian spinach pies, plus a dazzling array of hot peppers.



A farmer's market is a beautiful thing, but without prepared foods it can be a cruel tease, especially when traveling. There's only so many cucumbers you can eat before wishing you had a kitchen to make something more substantial. But a market with both fresh produce and ready to consume grub lets you have your dangling carrot and eat it too. Granted, that's not the best metaphor since you can in fact eat a raw carrot. Regardless, the C-ville Far Mar has both.

But if for some reason you do walk away wishing for meal made from local ingredients, you can have one almost instantly at Revolutionary Soup. More later.

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12 comments:

Epitome of Masculinity said...

Only one donut can be the greatest donut.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

Seth D. said...

what Jay said, and managed to say first.

Debs said...

Green gage plums are delicious! And damson plums are the ones traditionally dried and used in Eastern European/Jewish pastries like hamantaschen and prune danish. At least my grandmother says so, and 87 year old Jewish grandmas tend to know a thing or two.

Debs
Food Is Love

pc said...

what the effity eff, this makes me miss you and c'ville. even though those two things are not very related.

Kajal@aapplemint said...

i have never ever seen chillis that colour !

Karen B said...

damson sounds familiar but I don't think I've ever eaten one--I think I've read about lots of them in Victorian novels! perhaps they were more common then? or there?

Karen B said...

remembered at least one instance of where I'd seen damsons, Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market:

Come buy, come buy;
Our grapes fresh from the vine,
Pomegranates full and fine,
Dates and sharp bullaces,
Rare pears and greengages,
Damsons and bilberries,
Taste them and try:

I've never heard of a bilberry either, and I've always thought Rosetti made up the barberry as children's nonsense. But maybe not? And it goes on.
This is your poem Aaron! maybe you could try to eat every fruit in it.

Aaron Kagan said...

Thanks to J and D for that welcome wave of nostalgia. Yes, I ate it, and now it's all downhill.

Thanks to Debs, as always, for the Jewish connection. I've heard they're also used for slivovitz. Amazing that something so strong can come from something so small.

Sorry, Squires. Just go that taco truck you'd never been to and think of me.

Kajal, I can't believe that in all of your globe trotting you've never seen such a bright pepper.

And Karen, I am amazed. Please, please continue to send me any and all references to food in Victorian literature.

Thanks for all the comments, gang!

EMELINA said...

are the purple peppers real? never never seen such thing...they look so cute...and colorful...are they hot?

Unknown said...

As the person whose hand is pictured holding the peppers, allow me to confirm that the purple peppers are, indeed, real, and are medium-hot. I put them in a recent kimchi and they added the perfect amount of spice, and a wonderful splash of color.

I'm totally a purple pepper eater.

Anonymous said...

What is the name of those purple peppers? My grandpa brought some of those back from Spain in the '60s and the family has been growing them ever since.

I have a few of the plants producing in my garden, but I really want to know their name.

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