Visiting the Tallahassee downtown market
This past Saturday Kurt and I finally went to the Tallahassee Downtown Market! This farmers market has been running from March through November for twenty-one years and offers the residents of Tallahassee a chance to buy fresh produce, bread, honey, and other handmade goods from local farmers and vendors. It's relatively small, taking up just a couple of blocks downtown, but we loved the overall vibe - very casual and friendly!
You'll remember from this post that one of the goals I have for this year is to find a community here in Tallahassee. Since Kurt and I know this isn't a long term living situation for us we've hesitated a bit to jump in and take advantage of all this city has to offer. But after one Saturday morning at this little market we're already talking about what we might purchase when we go back next weekend!
Even though it was really hot outside, we enjoyed the time walking around and looking at everything that was set up. There was live music at one end of the park - French music for Bastille day - and along with the fresh produce there was artwork and other handmade items available. I also saw someone selling homemade popsicles that I think we'll have to try when we go next weekend!
You could smell these peaches long before you got to this stand. I love the smell of peaches - they really represent summer to me!
On our short drive home I asked Kurt how much we had spent on these few grocery items and how that compared to a regular grocery store. I was so surprised when he shared with me that, with the exception of the loaf of bread, everything was less expensive! Knowing that another of my goals this year is to become more financially stable I love the idea of visiting the farmers market every weekend to pick up what we need for the week. Not only are we spending a little bit less, we're supporting local growers and producers!
We picked up a loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread from the basket in the back. I also thought the french onion mozzarella loaf in the very front looked delicious!
Kurt has long told me that if I use honey sourced from local bees it will help with my allergies. The man selling the honey at this lovely little stand shared the same thing, so we bought a small bottle of the North Florida Wildflower honey so I could test this theory!
In total, we purchased a bushel of peppers, some peaches, a bunch of rainbow carrots, a loaf of sourdough bread, a container of figs, a bottle of honey and a small print that we are going to hang in our gallery wall that I shared with you last week. We did a quick taste test of everything we purchased when we got home and have really enjoyed incorporating these yummy food items into our meals throughout the week!
I'd love to hear about farmers markets in your hometowns - what do you pick up when you go? What new things do you try just because they are there? What tips do you have for maximizing your visits to the farmer's market? Share your thoughts in the comments and share your farmer's market photos on Instagram with #youmeserendipity so we can follow along too!