Saturday I decided to work a little harder on my Go Local Challenge. The local farmers’ markets have been up and running for a month or so and the quantity of produce is increasing. I thought it would be a great way to stock up for a few days.
I left Mission Hills just after 6am on my bike and took a tour down Executive and then out Paisano and McNutt to Santa Teresa before riding back to Ardovino’s Desert Crossing for the 7:30am opening of the market.
Since I was on a bicycle I had to be careful how much I purchased. I had a small pack on the back rack and a messenger bag to fill. I filled them well with 3/4 lb of purple beans, 2 yellow squash, 2 green squash, 5 peaches, a brick of cheddar goat cheese, a jar of chipotle goat cheese spread, AND a dozen eggs and a whole frozen chicken!
Some of it was organic, some was hormone free and it all looked great! El Paso’s roads are not very bike friendly, so the ride home was pretty rough. I was happy to see that my huevos were intact when I got them home (and so was my wife!).
The big breakfast burrito that I had before I left the market got me home and the yellow squash, sauteed with onions and garlic were the best part of lunch. Later in the week I’ll tell you how the rest of the food turned out.
I also saw some friends at the market and one offered to take my purchases home in her car so I didn’t have to carry them all the way. It sounded like cheating. The sense of community that comes from seeing friends and civically active neighbors at the market are also a great benefit of going local.
