More farmers market adventures

This summer I've visited a few more farmer's markets in OK and on my travels.  The end of July we went on our annual family vacation to Mississippi for the Beckman family reunion.  We meet at Clarkco State Park near Meridian MS.  We're there from Tues until Sunday.  One of my cousins stopped at the Mississippi visitors center and saw a flyer for a farmers market trail and got it for me.  I was so excited, more farmers market road trips in the future. On Saturday morning, several of us went to the Meridian farmers market at Union Station.  This has become an annual event for us and one of my favorites.  I always manage to find things that I can take back with me to Oklahoma, mostly produce but this year it was also a plant.  I love plants and the majority of my plants have come from farmers markets.  I was walking by one of the vendors with plants and just looking, trying to figure

out logistics with taking something back to Oklahoma. When I asked about one of the plants the lady told me it was a Confederate Rose and because she needed to repot it she would sell it to me for $5.  SOLD! My husband was amused but use to me doing this by now so I brought it back, researched about it online and planted it in a 5 gallon bucket in my yard.  I wanted to get it established before putting it in the ground because full sun in Mississippi is very different from full sun in Oklahoma.  I'll overwinter it inside this year and plant it outside in the spring. One of my favor things to bring back from Mississippi is peaches.  I freeze and/or can them. In August, we planned another Saturday in OKC with our daughter, Tabitha. My husband, John, our dog, Clapton and I went to our local Lawton farmers market before leaving town, dropped the produce and Clapton off and then headed to Norman, OK.  I decided I wanted to add another farmers market to my list so Tabitha met us in Norman and we checked out theirs. Quite a few of the area farmers have booths at the OSU/OKC, Norman and Edmond farmers market but there's still unique vendors to each market.  We enjoyed it and bought produce, cheese and baked goods.  I bought peaches, not that I needed any because I still had peaches from Mississippi but later that week I canned 4 jars of Bourdon peaches plus made a peach cobbler for work with my MS and OK peaches.  Tabitha and I went in her car back to OKC and stopped off at the OSU/OKC farmers market for

yogurt and a couple more things that we couldn't get in Norman.  So that was 3 farmers markets for me in 1 day. Over Labor Day weekend my husband, John, Tabitha and I went to Little Rock, AR to visit my father-in-law and his wife. That Saturday, Tabitha and I went to the Hillcrest Farmers Market by the Pulaski Baptist Church on Kavanaugh Blvd.  We had went there last year when we visited and really enjoyed it so went back. We bought stuff to cook there for the family and to bring back to OK.  I cut up cantaloupe to go with sandwiches for lunch, made tomato pies and on Sunday made my farmers market eggs with veggies for breakfast.  Earlier this month I was asked to speak at my garden club about my farmers markets adventures which was fun. I do love to talk about farmers markets, veggies and cooking and preserving them. Unfortunately, with my work schedule I have to work 2 Saturdays a month so am unable to go to the farmers markets those days but I've converted my husband, John so he goes without me. Clapton also is a big fan of the farmers market, he loves people and most of the vendors know his name and he visits them for pets.  John buys produce and something for my lunch from the food truck, which he brings to me (I bring my lunch everyday but Saturday I get takeout from the farmers market since I can't be there in person). When I get home, I cut everything up and cook my go to dish on working Saturdays which is what I call Farmers Market Skillet.  It's any kind of meat, ground pork, ground lamb, lamb sausage or whatever John has bought and cooked plus veggies.  I add whatever veggies I have, usually a combination of fresh from the market and from my freezer stash, add seasonings, seasoned salt, pepper, herb blend, sofrito, sometimes mustard and sometimes something to make a kind of sauce and top it all with cheese.  It's a quick and tasty homemade meal and one of our favorites.   Farmers market adventures are the best.

Enjoy,

Bamah