Columbus Foodie

We knew ahead of time that today would be an abbreviated market morning – with the nightmare that is Market Days that is Worthington (you think it’s crowded on a normal Saturday? we learned our lesson last year), and since we’ve changed our Clintonville trip to once every two weeks, we hit the North Market hoping we’d find everything we were looking for. And for the most part, we did.

Since we weren’t in a rush to get anywhere (except the Creole Kitchen for beignets and breakfast), we actually slept in a full 15 minutes later than we usually do, and got out of the house around 7:30-7:40. It was a really yucky morning – overcast and dark, and had just stopped raining when we left. I guess it beats the pants off of 90 degrees and sweltering, right?

We started out by getting some apple cider (yum – apple cider doughnuts are on the menu for this week!) and more Honeycrisp apples from the Orchards of Bill and Vicky Thomas – yes, I made my way through last week’s bag because I snacked on them constantly this week. I also picked up a basket of various heirloom tomatoes to make another heirloom tomato tart from Quiverfull Farms, along with some sweet peppers from K and R Garden Fresh Produce.

I picked up what’s probably nearing the end of the season for sweet corn – a half dozen ears from Rhoads Farms that I’m planning on using this weekend in a recipe. She also had some Brussels sprouts – I didn’t get any this week because it wasn’t on “the list”, but hopefully she’ll have some next week and I can plan my menu accordingly.

I never realized that the berry season was this long! She also had more lovely raspberries and blackberries – again, I admired but didn’t pick any up because Paul’s been leaning on me about the grocery budget.

Sweet and hot peppers everywhere. My hot peppers here at home are on their last legs, but the sweet peppers are coming back for another round after being dormant for a while after the first harvest of peppers earlier this summer.

From Persinger Farms, I picked up a ton of stuff to make some pea soup this week. First things first, I picked up several pounds of onions – something that is a staple item for me and something I prefer to buy locally when it’s available.

Additionally, I picked up some turnips and red potatoes for the soup from Persinger as well.

They were certainly decked out for the changing season in their stall, decorating their tables with these pretty ornamental gourds.

I got some rainbow chard, cilantro, and salad mix at Elizabeth Telling Farms. And finally, Wishwell Farms had most of their tomatoes on sale for .99/lb., so I stocked up on some greens, several red and a couple of oranges – they have excellent slicers. Add a couple of eggplant to the mix, and I was a happy camper.

So while I didn’t buy as much as I usually do, but I took that into consideration when I planned this weeks menu. I’ve got to say it was kind of refreshing to keep it simple for a week. I never realized that as much as I love going to my Saturday markets, trying to do 3 in one day is pretty stressful.

We went inside and got a couple of things – some cassoulet from NMPG, a cinnamon roll at Omega, some cheese at Curds & Whey, and a couple of supplies I needed for making tarts at North Market Cookware, and then I was on my way… I’m looking forward to next week, although I may end up supplementing by hitting a few roadside stands this week. Any recommendations?

So where did you go and what did you get on this dreary Saturday?