Farm Fresh Diary: October 23, 2010

The farmers' market was lovely yesterday morning. The rainy season has definitely arrived, but thankfully it wasn't too wet out there; although the rain should make for interesting shopping this winter.

I didn't get too much this time; the eggs are eating into my budget. I did look into Petaluma farms a little bit: The Cornucopia Institute gives them the lowest rating on their Organic Egg Scorecard--a rating that I was grudgingly anticipating. The eggs were OK, but I have to admit that I was a little more than disappointed when I cracked the first one open and discovered that the yoke was a pale yellow and not the bright orangey-yellow that I had hoped for. I've read that this is the kind of egg yokes that well fed (i.e. free range) and generally more well cared for chickens produce. So this time around I shelled out an extra $1.50 for the Judy's Family Farm organic large eggs. I used one yesterday to make pancakes. The yoke looked a bit better, but after consulting the Scorecard (Cornucopia gives Judy's Family Farm the lowest rating as well...which considering the fact that they are a subsidiary of Petaluma Farms makes sense) I think I'm going to forgo buying eggs from this vendor and do some research to find a more ethically produced egg that we can easily get our hands on.

Enough about eggs. I picked up a bunch of basil (most likely the last of the season), some beets (they were 3 for $5; I think I'll roast them), two gigantic summer squash, three pretzels, and a bunch of marigolds-- Day of the Dead is next week and I'm hoping they last until then.

I don't normally participate in Day of the Dead celebrations--I wasn't brought up doing so--but I do like to bring some aspects of that celebration into my life every fall. I usually stick to the marigolds, some papel picado, eating lots of pan dulce and Mexican hot chocolate, and keeping my grandmother close to my heart. Maybe I'll do sugar skulls this year; we'll see.