Do you ever find yourself feeling alone like David Bowie's Major Tom---isolated, connected to others by an electronic tether? I do. Sometimes I find myself texting instead of talking. But loneliness sets in; I yearn for face time with my friends and friends, wanting for warm and personal, one-on-one connections. I spend hours behind the computer and, don't get me wrong, I feel really connected with my computer friends, but I yearn for personal human connections, and tangible human touch. Today, I made it a priority.
My husband and I met my sister, Susan and her husband, Arthur, (pictured on the above) at Saturday Morning Market in St. Petersburg, FL, the largest open air market in all of Florida.
We joined up at the market to be together in a fun, exciting atmosphere and well, of course, to eat and then eat a little more. We also wanted a chance to connect with others in our community who are committed to local food and organic and green living. Arthur Halttunen, a 56 year old local dentist and 13 time All-American in swimming (while in dental schoo!) already qualified this year for the Ironman in Hawaii and is always looking for healthy ways to fuel his body. So we hit the food vendors first. The picture below is a display of empanadas that caught my eye.
Most of the vendors are passionate about healthy and green living so it is fun to trade ideas and share experiences. You will find local farmers selling their locally grown produce and herbs. You can actually talk to the person growing your family's food or raising the chickens providing the truly farm fresh eggs. . Vendors galore provide prepared food items and gourmet baked goods as well as other local artists displaying their artwork and crafts. I sampled the empanadas, which were a treat, along with sugarless blackberry cider. The variety of food products was astounding from Bread Artisans whose products are made from age-old Italian recipes to Empanada World, (samples pictured above) with 31 different homemade empanadas with the most incredible crust to the non-food vendors such as Adale Farms displaying a interesting variety of microgreens. This is just an small example of the vendors participating.
These markets are a pleasant way to join with your community in a forward-thinking manner as well as a way to support and reach out to the market vendors. I enjoy conversing with them about their passions, their products and what inspires them. It was also fun to look around and see everyone interacting and becoming acquainted as visitors have no choice but to share tables with others.
If you do not know of a market in your area, Local Harvest can help you. You may not find one as large as the market in St. Petersburg, Florida but if your area has a small market and you go, and your friends go, it will grow and grow. The Saturday Morning Market in St. Petersburg started small and now reminds me of a much improved organic version of the local town fair. Neat to see an example of what we celebrate on the belist--the new old, a concept of going back to basics in a modern way. Today's new old version, thankfully, has replaced the noisy rides with outdoor bands and musicians, and the cotton candy with healthier more upscale eats. That being said, my husband, happy with his recent 24 lb weight loss, located a traditional "fair- type" vendor and wolfed down (I am not kidding!) a sauasge sandwich with sauteed peppers and onions. Almost immediately, he regretted it. He was amazed with the change in his taste buds now that he is following eating fundamentals which include lots and lots of water, a wide variety of veggies and healthy whole foods and the elimination of processed foods and soda of any kind.
This market as most are dog friendly giving dog lovers another avenue on which to connect to share stories. Drex and Turner accompanied us on our tour of the market.
Going once a week gives me an opportunity to buy my eggs from the actual egg farmer, most of my produce and bread for the week, and a chance to buy a fun new item to try. Today, I purchased organic cider made with no sugar. With Valentine's Day, approaching I could not resist homemade chocolate candies.
It was a fun venture, relaxing and productive. I would love to hear from you if you have attended the Saturday Morning Market and want to talk about your experiences.
Carol at www.thebelist.com
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