Food for Thought : Farmer's Markets

Farmers markets are great places to learn where your food comes from. They also make it very easy to eat locally grown foods. Farmers markets can help you save money, too.  Luckily, our area has a few farmers markets to choose from so you should be able to find one fairly close to you. In order to make any shopping trip successful, especially one to the farmers market, you should do a little planning.

Here are a few tips:
1 .  Know the market. Many markets will post their vendors and the layout online or in brochures. Look over these to know what is available. Keep in mind markets with multiple days per week of operation may not have the same vendors every day.

2 .  Have an idea of the meals you would like to prepare over the next week, but be open to substitutions. You may have planned for carrots, only to find this week your favorite merchant is out of carrots. Look for other vegetables to substitute. Also, you may find a great deal on something you had not planned on purchasing.

3 .  Take your own bags and small bills with change. This makes transactions go quickly and smoothly. Having your own bags helps protect your purchases, as many times bags provided by vendors are thin and flimsy.

4 .  Do not overcomplicate your meals. Let the flavors from your local produce come through by planning and preparing fruits and vegetable in simple ways. Not only will you save yourself time in the kitchen, but you may also be pleasantly surprised at how wonderful they taste.

Words of Wisdom :

In the eyes of a child you will see the world...as it should be.

 You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.

Many people have ideas on how others should change; few people have ideas on how they should change.

It requires wisdom to understand wisdom; the music is nothing if the audience is deaf.

Just because someone hurt you yesterday doesn't mean you should start living life today in constant fear of being hurt tomorrow.

"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge; That myth is more potent than history; That dreams are more powerful than facts; That hope always triumphs over experience; That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death."

The road to success is not straight. There is a curb called Failure, a loop called Confusion; speed bumps called Friends; red lights called Enemies; caution lights called Family. You will have flats called jobs. But, if you have a spare called Determination; an engine called Perseverance; insurance called Faith, and a driver called Guidance, you will make it to a place called Success!!

 A Proud Grandpa G.