Livin’ la Vida Locavore
Nobody I know wakes up and says, ” I’m going to try to get the most tasteless produce available today, something that doesn’t look like it came out of the ground. While I’m at it, I’ll make sure it’s out of season here, and get it from two continents over.”
But one day it happens: you scan the fridge and the vegetables du jour consist of hermetically sealed pre-cut pineapple rings from Brazil, a jar of cocktail onions and a plastic bag of carrot nubs emasculated with a lathe. How? The allure of one-stop shopping is irresistible at times.
Why shouldn’t the smug taskmaster within us be seduced by the ability to gather pallets of toilet paper, an XL bag of onions, a daughter’s Hannah Montana glasses prescription, soccer snacks, a signed copy of The 19th Wife and new tires all from the same place?
Still, why get bell peppers from the Netherlands whey they grow them in Irvine? I found Orange County Certified Farmer’s Markets almost 20 years ago. Here are the top eleven reasons why I can’t stay away:
1. Flavor: once you’ve had a Tehachapi-grown Pink Lady with it’s dense crispness and tangy sweet flesh, you can never go back to the mealy, cold-storage supermarket Red Delicious.
2. Variety: Juicy purple carrots, buttery-fleshed blue potatoes and sweet yellow raspberries make your plate pop with Klee-like whimsy.
3. Diversity: Check out those short-window seasonal artisanal goods and exotics that aren’t marketable to stores due to small production. Sugar cane, oyster mushrooms, baby squash and blood oranges for starters.
4. Non-size standardization means you can find diminutive Fuji apples just the right size for lunch boxes and an artichoke the size of a medicine ball.
5. Localicious: I get a little jealous when my salad fixin’s have racked up more air miles in a few days than I have in the last year. Most goods at these markets don’t come from further than central California, and many are grown in OC.
6.Zinnamon Doodles: Bread Gallery in San Clemente makes a super moist applesauce-based roll packed with cinnamon the size of a beret.
7. Cabernet Brownies from Black Market Bakery. Tender, dark chocolate brownies with an outspoken smoky jamminess that comes from wine flour.
8. Convenience With ten markets a week, you’ll find one close to you. The Irvine Market on Saturday morning is the biggest with over 100 vendors. Markets also feature bakeries, honey, olive oil, cheeses, and fair trade non-agricultural items like clothing and bath products.
9. No pesticide. Most vendors who aren’t yet certified organic are moving towards that rigorous, time consuming and expensive process by not spraying. Supporting these small guys insures they’ll eventually get there.
10. Community It’s tough to have a relationship with a Styrofoam tray. At certified farmer’s markets, you learn about your food by talking with the people who had a hand in making it. I have met beekeepers, cheese makers, farmers and bakers who take great pride in bringing their exceptional quality goods to market.
11.Fun! Shopping outside in the sun with the guitar guy playing Memo from Turner beats Muzak and Kardashi-tainment headlines any day.
The Orange County Farm Bureau can be reached at (714) 573-0374. Go to hppt://orange.cfbf.com for the their list of certified farmer’s markets.
As a former flight attendant, I know first hand how long-range flying ravages your skin. I watched my complexion transform from glowing Maxfield Parrish model material to Hartz rawhide chew in the dozen hours it took to get from LAX to Melbourne. Sure, it was nothing a gallon of water, black-out drapes and a tub of Creme de la Mer couldn’t fix, but your perishable produce doesn’t have that luxury.
