Miniature Cherries? Yes, please! - Cache Valley Gardeners' Market Haul (June 16, 2012, Logan, Utah)

Looky what I got at the Cache Valley Gardeners' Market, our local farmers market here in Logan!

My Gardeners' Market selections. Prices and details included below.

We hit the Cache Valley Gardeners' Market at Merlin Olsen Central Park in Logan a little after 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. Several stands were offering fresh greens, herbs, and berries, as well as flowers and gardening starts. Cheeses, breads, salsas, honeys, and jams were also in abundance in addition to craft items like jewelry, decor, and soaps. Since it was Pollinator Day there were a few booths with information and displays about pollinators, mostly bees. My boys loved watching the bees in glass hive boxes and admiring the mounted bee specimens. I was amazed by the variety of bees, from tiny ant-size bees to very large ones. Beekeeping clothing was available to try on, and there was a plexiglass box one could put one's hand into, full of buzzing bees that were supposed to be of a "kind, fuzzy" variety. I didn't test it out.

I picked up some purple basil for $1, a huge bunch of beet greens for $1, and a container of miniature sour cherries for $3. I expressed my affinity for sour cherries in my other Gardeners' Market post, and wished some would be available in the coming weeks. I had never before seen this tiny, bush-grown type, which I couldn't resist. Tiny = cute + sour cherries = taste good = = must buy. They look like overgrown salmon roe and have the tiniest little pits. My two-year-old completely ignored the pits and just stuffed the baby cherries in his mouth by the handful, so I couldn't let him have them. Did you know eating (especially chewing) cherry pits and apple seeds can cause poisoning? (See article here: Yes, Apple Seeds and Cherry Pits are Poisonous)

My last take-home purchase was cheese from local dairy Rockhill Creamery. Their booth offered tiny samples of six or eight varieties of cheese, to be selected with toothpicks. My toddler got his hand on the toothpicks and soon it was like a game of miniature pick-up sticks up in there. Arg! I bought a small wedge of Snow Canyon Edam for $6 and a small wedge of Peppercorn Gouda for $4.50. We ate some of the Edam with slices of Braeburn apples yesterday. Delish!

One of the best parts of the Gardeners' Market is running into friends and acquaintances who are out enjoying Saturday morning at the market. I was able to meet some friends of my husband's and I ran into a dear college roommate whom I had been meaning to reconnect with since moving back to town. She was picking up her CSA half-share from Appenzell Farm. We set up a lunch date for later this week. Yay!

Just as we were about to choose items for lunch I got a text from my sister. She lives in Salt Lake City but had been camping in Logan Canyon with friends the night before. I knew the Gardeners' Market had been a weekly tradition for her and her husband when they lived in Logan, so I invited them to meet us for lunch. I had a $6 combo plate of vegetarian Ethiopian food, which was served with several pieces of a sour, spongy bread called injera. The rest of the adults had Mexican tacos, tamales, and tortas. We got a chicken and rice bowl from Pauni catering for the kids, but my husband ended up eating most of it because the boys couldn't be tempted away from the playground to come and eat. Other available prepared food options included a crepe station and a booth that served ebelskivers and Swedish pancakes topped with berries and whipped cream. I would have been greatly tempted if I hadn't been more in the mood for a savory lunch. My sister was disappointed the pupusa stand wasn't there, as that is her fave. Maybe later in the summer?

The Gardeners' Market is such a great Cache Valley and Logan, Utah event. I hope to make it a Saturday tradition throughout this summer and fall. Can't wait for the corn and tomatoes!

FYI, a few other communities in Cache Valley also have farmers' markets. I know Richmond and Paradise both do, and possibly also Providence. I will look into these and post more info at a later date.

LLL

P.S.: Did you hit the market? What did you buy? What do you like to do on Saturday mornings? Is it your cleaning day, or is it a fun day? Do you like to make a big breakfast at home, or go out, or just eat like a weekday? I love to go to yard sales on Saturdays and I also love going out for breakfast or brunch, though we don't do it too often.