Food comes first at the Local Farmers Markets

Well here I am again . . ready to blog again, or so I hope. I took a little hiatus from my blog due to busyness. A word that i generally dont like using, because i think it is way overused. Everyone is busy, I know, which is why it isnt a very good excuse for not doing something that you value. I vaule expressing myself with food and with words, but at times, i feel that i spend so much time studying food, that at the end of the day, i dont want to write about it. Since my last blog, i have only cooked a few times, and none of them were great masterpieces, except that my boyfriend and I made about 5 bowls of Emerald City Salad one night until about 1 am! It was very exciting, because it was his idea, and he is a meat eater, who never gets too overly excited about kale and collard greens. I was estatic when he asked me if we could make it one night, and the outcome was that we made enough for an army and ate it all weekend. However, I wouldn't recommend making it in such large batches, because after about 2 days, the kale and collards start to taste bad. Other than that culinary experience, i have been telling myself that i was just too "busy" to cook. In writing this, i realize that there are other things in my life that i don't put value on, even though i want to, for example being more mindful and slowing down in life.

This morning i finally made time to walk to the University Farmer's market. (check out www.seattlefarmersmarket.org for a listing of all of them ) So close to my house and i was very impressed by the amount of vendors and people shopping around. I love watching the families with their small children. I evesdrop on their conversations about what they are having for dinner, and listen closely to how they describe the produce to their children. I thought how lucky those children are to grow up going to the farmer's market with their parents and hoped that they would establish a lifelong love for food. I hoped that food always comes first in their lives and that they always make room for it no matter what other things go on in their day. These of course are still areas that I am cultivating in my life, but i hope this summer to make it a more regular event to visit the farmers market. Not only is it a great experience, local, and sustainable, but its great to be around other people who love and appreciate food as well. Now im off to make some black bean mango salsa lettuce wraps with my goods from the market!