Since the start of the pandemic, I have been doing my best to minimize my trips to the grocery store. By the end of this past week, I was running low on vegetables but was not at all enamored with the idea of heading to the grocery store with all the other 4th of July shoppers and tourists preparing for the weekend.
I decided I would hold off until Saturday morning and hit the local Farmer’s Market instead. I headed over there with visions of fresh, local veggies dancing in my head. When I arrived, I was delighted to get an amazing deal on some fresh lettuce… a lovely mix of red and green just picked this morning.
I was looking forward to getting some other veggies to make a nice salad but, alas, all that any of the vendors had to offer was more lettuce or other greens, such as kale and some rhubarb. Instead of more veggies, I ended up with some locally raised bacon, pork chops, steak tips and fresh caught summer flounder. I also got some lovely gluten & dairy free dark chocolate sweetened with local maple syrup… YUM!
For dinner, we pan-seared the fish and I made a makeshift salad with the lettuce, some purple cabbage I had in the fridge, some leftover steamed broccoli and a bit of sliced pineapple. Though not my original idea of what my salad would look like, it was tasty and fresh…and I felt good about supporting our local farmers. It was a good reminder of what is and isn’t yet in season in my area (as evident by the green tomatoes in my own backyard).
What compromises do you make to support local businesses?
Here in the UK I get a veg box deliver and select UK only to eat as seasonally as I can. It’s been slim pickings over the pandemic I have to say!