First day of market

On my way out the door this morning, I hoped that the rain would soon stop.

And it did, and the market was well attended. I walked around all morning eating things and chatting with people while Yeon took notes and chatted with people. At the end of the market, we were both a little tired, and Yeon was starving. But we both had picked up some really lovely produce, plants, baked goods, meat, cheeses...

I ran into my friend Lauren, who had a beautiful dahlia. Minutes later, I saw my friend Jeanine with a dahlia, and I told her that she had the same thing Lauren did. Jeanine said, "I know, I saw it and had to get one."
I thought this lady's basket was pretty with all of the herbs in it. It reminds me that people really enjoy the farmer's market experience.

Lots of stands had herb plants; there were so many wonderful varieties. I bought some from several different stands like Persimmon Pond Plants and So Very Special.

I bought a Mexican herb today called papalo because Nancy at Chesapeake's Choice challenged me to figure out how to use it. It had a currylike smell. It's the plant all the way on the right in the back, kind of looks like basil.
I ate a ham sandwich while I was paying for it, and stood around the Rohrers' booth for several minutes talking to my friend Jerica and her three-year old son. He bought a pound of bacon.

I ran into lots of friends. Here's Farmer Rick from Summer Creek farm helping Yeon carry some stuff to her car. They are talking about how to market the market. And Rick shared the idea with us of a senior citizen's day, which I really liked.

Hilda Staples, co-owner of Volt and keeper of their awesome blog, visited the market with her husband John and their two cute kids. I ran into Neil the sommelier and one of the chefs from Volt; they had a large bag of garlic and a big butt of pork. They are going to make sausage for the charcuterie at the restaurant. Hello, delicious.

I got bundles of asparagus from two vendors, Summer Creek Farm and Scenic View Orchards. They were totally different. Summer Creek's had tall, thin green stems and Scenic View's had short, stout purple spears. Get your mind out of the gutter.

I came home and drank half a quart of vanilla milk from South Mountain Creamery after I mowed the lawn.

We had a great first day of the market. If you were there, tell me what you thought.