Friday, May 24, 2013

Farmers Market Friday -- Strawberries


Watsonville, California.  It's the very same place my Multi-Cultural Education in the Classroom textbook that I used back in college said is also known as "Little Mexico".  I laughed.  Not because it wasn't true, but because I knew it to be very true, as a place where several of my teenage years were spent very close by.  I knew of the fiestas that took place on Cinco de Mayo (NOT Mexican Independence Day as many think) and more importantly -- September 16th (the actual Independence Day for Mexico).  I saw the cowboy hats and boots as I walked through the downtown.  I practiced my Spanish all day long while I worked at Target.   So when I read this in the textbook, I laughed.  At the truth of it and how cool it was that some place I knew so well would show up in my studying one night.


But Watsonville is more than "Little Mexico", as the book described it.  It is a town that is located in a fertile valley close to the beach, keeping the climate pleasant and the produce delicious.  Strawberry fields abound, as do artichokes, apples, and mushrooms.  And a trip to the Farmers Market in Watsonville provides you with all this fruit, plus SO MUCH MORE...


Stalls of food line the market.  From papusas (what you see above), a typical food from El Salvador to chunks of barbecued meat, fresh corn on the cob to horchata, a cinnamon-rice drink popular throughout Latin America, and of course every type of homemade Mexican food you can think of... it's all there, the smells beckoning you to drop a few dollars here or there.  

It is totally worth it.


And then, to the sounds of Mariachi bands playing in the background, you can pick up the produce you need for the coming week.  Or, if you are like me, you can bump into family friends of yours who saw you go through those awkward teenage years... 


End the end, I wound up with cauliflower, an artichoke, some excellent apricots, fresh peas, and some garlic.  Plus a belly full of deliciousness. 

Another successful day exploring farmers markets!


Being Watsonville, with its miles and miles of strawberry fields, I thought it is only fitting to have strawberries as our find of the week.  Link up your strawberry recipes below so we can share in the juicy-red-goodness that these sweet 'berries' provide.  (Yeah, they aren't berries.  Did you know that?  Fun fact of the day, Friends!)

And then go hit up your local farmers market and let us know what you got :)

The 'link-up' tool isn't working, but if you drop your strawberry recipes in the comments I will come visit, for sure! :)

5 comments:

  1. So fun!!!! Everytime I read these posts of yours I think why oh why do I not visit our Farmer's markets more frequently!

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    1. Yay! That is my goal, to encourage people to get out there :)

      Why don't you do it, report back to me, and I will share. I think this is a great plan!

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  2. I did this with my students the other day... they loved it! We had pounds and pounds of strawberries, but they washed, cut the tops of (with scissors ;) ), cut them up, made the biscuits, and even the whipped cream. It was a blast! But I never do it at home. Why oh why?!

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  3. Hey! Nice to meet you, I'm Rebecca from www.brazilmeetsamerica.wordpress.com I read your about me and tried to comment, but I don't think that it's allowed there so I shall comment here! I saw that you are interested in Brazilian food, but from what I understood you aren't from Brazil, are you? How did you get interested in the Brazilian culture?
    Love your awesome posts!

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    Replies
    1. Oh! Maybe I wasn't very clear about that in the About Me, oops! My husband is from Brazil! Actually, we met there, fell in love, and I brought him back here ;) So a good part of our life is Brazilian, and every year we spend time down there (usually two weeks, but one summer it was two months!). Good to have you here!

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