emma judge: day at the farmers market

Hola everybody! I went to the farmer's market this past weekend with my lovely mom and aunt and we hit the jack pot on some seriously FRESH and LOCAL goodies. Not to mention they were an amazing deal!

We got baby eggplant and green peppers 10 for $1 (YES, ONE DOLLAR) aka 10 cents a piece people. A beautiful, Organic 30 pound Moon and Stars heirloom watermelon for $10, the farmer gave me a discount for carrying the melon up to his register haha :) We also got 5 pounds of local, spray-free heirloom tomatoes for $10 (or $2/pound). I was so grateful to have gotten these when I saw the price of heirloom tomatoes at Whole Foods later that day - $6/pound at WF! Finally we picked up some shitaake mushrooms for $7, not a great deal but still nice to support local growers.

This just goes to show you that although some people think fresh produce is too expensive you can make it fit your budget if you know WHERE and WHEN to look. This means buying LOCAL and SEASONAL fruits and veggies as much as possible. Because when you buy something that was grown locally (within 200 miles or less of where you live) it will be fresher and most likely cheaper since the farmers don't have to pay as much to transport it. Buying produce in season is also very important in cutting costs and enhancing deliciousness!

I'm definitely no expert, but I found a ton of great resources - including the seasonality charts - HERE on CUESA's website (stands for Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) so make sure to check them out too! The charts on their website are specific to the greater Bay Area and may not be applicable to all regions, but are still a good guideline to help gain a basic understanding of what is in season when!

Warning: this post will be pretty much ALL pictures. But isn't that all we really care about when looking at blogs anyway...?