to market we go

So I ate my way through New England this weekend.  Not really (yes, sorta!).  Not only did I stuff myself with brie and tomato omelets and cinnamon-y french toast at the B&B we stayed at, but then there was the chocolate-raspberry wedding cake, too!  I wish I had been more hungry, though, because I didn’t get to overindulge in one place I usually do – the farmer’s market!

After a refreshing mountain hike up Gile Mountain, we stopped at the Norwich, VT farmer’s market.  This market was as crisp and cool as the fall New England air!  The fresh cut flowers were cheerful, and the organic smell of wool abounded.  You could pretty much have breakfast, lunch, and pack up dinner here in one stop.  We made room for some homemade sugar donuts (who wouldn’t?) but wished we had room to indulge in the cozy display of fruit cobblers, carrot cake, tea biscuits, and something called ‘chili pie’.  The same elderly couple who fried up our donuts also had a vat of steaming veggie soup and a giant warming dish of pulled pork for sandwiches.

The stall was bordered by this giant wall of jams.  And jellies.  And spreads.  Oh, also, preserves.  And a few sauces.  And dressings.  Plus, pickles.  All homemade?  Of course.  This picture is just a section of the giant wall of condiment heaven.

Amidst the expected (but still comforting) offerings of neat amber rows of maple syrup, and giant cousin-It sized balls of dyed sheep’s wool yarn, was the most popular stall of all.  No, not the wild game freezer with the foreboding biker-proprietor.  Nope, it was the African food stall.  A long line of hungry people waited for their North and West African fare, from crispy hot falafels to an aromatic savory veggie stew over rice.   Apparently, stew is delicious even at 11AM when the spicy smell is too enticing to pass up.

My favorite stall, however, was the pepper pile-up in the back.  Gorgeous, glossy peppers by the bushelfull, spilled out over a table in all different colors and shapes.  If I weren’t so wimpy, I’d be plucking these up and popping them like little nuclear candies.  And so, peppers make way for pumpkins as summer turns to fall – and I’ll be visiting my local farmer’s market again to bring home more fresh fruits of the harvest, and hopefully leave more room for tasting it all.