Reub's journey

18 November 2012

Market's end



It was a wet and dismal Saturday, the last day for the outdoor farmer's market, and the crowd was sparse. In the summer months this place on the river front is teeming with people of all ages, plus dogs, bikes, skateboards, musicians, and sometimes actors.



Despite the rain, my photography class went ahead with a photo shoot. Sniffing out good subjects for photography wasn't hard at all, and the overcast skies only helped things look better.




One of the apple sellers must know that his red Studebaker pick-up truck makes the apples next to it look impossibly red on a gray day. The colors were so vivid there was no need to boost them afterwards. How can anything even get redder than this?




A honey seller propped up her table with hive boxes. So blue!



And then there were the veggies. You just can't go wrong taking pictures of them. (I bought 3 leeks for $3 and made potato leek soup in the afternoon.)




The lettuce appears to be celebrating: woohoo, it's the last day of the farmer's market!




Not to be outdone, the radishes were screaming to be bought. I don't even care for radishes all that much, but it's impossible to resist them when they look like this!




Peppers!




More radishes!



Artichokes!




Celeriac root: I bought one of these and plan to mash it with potatoes.




Poblanos. I had to buy a few of these too... what shall I do with them?




Even the mushrooms were aflame with color. I'd never seen oyster mushrooms like this before, but apparently they grow wild around here.




I always miss it when the market closes for the winter. The indoor market that replaces it in January pales in comparison. Sigh.


25 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks Laoch. I was stunned by how vivid the pictures were, straight out of the camera. But it's not my regular camera; it's John's fancy Nikon.

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  2. Oh they all look so luscious. The apples so red as you said, but I love those blue boxes best of all.

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    1. Aren't the blue boxes cool? I almost overlooked them, examining the beeswax candles that lay on top.

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  3. Wonderful pictures, but I really love that apple shot.

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    1. I had to buy a few of the apples. They're called Snow apples, very crisp and solid.

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  4. LOvely, lovely photos. Gray brings out the best, it seems and is certainly your color.

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    1. I think overcast days are the best times to take pictures. And we certainly have a lot of gray here in the Northwest.

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  5. I can't believe how beautifully bright and clean the veggies look! The radishes looked like tomatoes with long noses!

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    1. The radishes and their little roots were spectacular! I wish I liked to eat them.

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  6. I can't believe that you even have a farmers market in the winter. Where does the produce come from? Greenhouses?

    Loved all the photos. Is that all homegrown or small farm produce or vendors who buy it wholesale to resell? There is a huge farmers market in Houston, as well as many small ones, and they have a retail side and a wholesale side.

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    1. Great questions Ellen. The climate here is rather mild & if you know what you're doing you can have an outdoor garden, mostly greens and some root veggies. But there are a number of greenhouses nearby that grow stuff. You can buy local-grown tulips throughout the year.

      All of the produce is locally grown, and mostly sold right here. This area is very fertile & we're lucky to have local meats, cheeses, and produce yearlong. Lots of good bakeries as well.

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  7. lots of gorgeous color and texture in these! i think they should hire you for their brochure for next season!

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    1. It was impossible to take bad pictures on Saturday. When I go to class Wednesday night I will be blown away by my classmates' pics! But thank you.

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  8. roast the poblamos(sp?) .. peel and toss into a salad for some oomph .... i went to our Farmer's Market on Sunday but it was very windy/cold so I bought my apples and headed home now I am sorry I didnt stop to take some pix

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    1. In NYC I bet you have lots of chances to go to amazing produce markets' you'll have other photo ops.

      Roasting the poblanos comes to mind; I hadn't thought to put them in a salad. That sounds good and easy.

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  9. Oh, wow, these are amazing shots! Especially those apples. And I don't even like apples. The red reminds me of my mother; her favorite color. Would those poblanos work in chili?

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    1. What, you don't like apples? I bet you would have liked these, and you would have loved the guy's truck.

      I think the poblanos would indeed work in chile, and now I wish I'd brought more. First maybe I'll paint them (I mean do a watercolor pic of them, not paint THEM...achh, am I clear?))

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  10. Those mushrooms are lascivious. Incidentally, it has been observed that radish burps smell like farts. It has been observed by me, with the radish eater being in close proximity and possibly married to me.

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    1. Wow! Your powers of observation are mighty. I knew there was a reason to avoid radishes.

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  11. Replies
    1. Cornucopia! That's what I should have named this post for sure.

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  12. Tulips and daffodils in late autumn?

    Gorgeous colours, the veg are splendid. Makes me want to rush out to the market (ours goes on throughout winter) and buy lots of them. Have you tried adding an apple to celeriac and potato mash? If I use celeriac as a vegetable side, I add an apple and leave out the potato.

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    1. Tulips year-round, thanks to a greenhouse nearby. The yellow flowers behind the orange tulips are just more tulips.

      An apple sounds wonderful with celeriac! I will certainly try it.

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  13. These make me want to go find a farmer's market!! Wonderful shots!

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