Farmer's market

While my five little tomato plants are doing well and producing lots of tomatoes, I'm not getting enough to do more than make some spaghetti sauce, salsa or salads for a one-time use. Since I was anxious to try out my handy-dandy new pressure canner on tomatoes, I decided to take a trip to a local farmer's market to see what they had to offer.

There were lots of stands at the market, selling everything from tamales to jewelry. It was a fun, craft-fair atmosphere. Either because it's earlier in the season or because of our late frosts this year, there weren't too many people selling vegetables. I did find exactly what I was looking for though.

If you are a seasoned farmer's market customer, you probably already know this but... everything was much cheaper if you bought it in bulk. The stand was selling large tomatoes for a dollar each - or $25 for a big box! So even if you don't need the Lifetime Supply Box, maybe go with a friend and split it. Also the workers are quite helpful. I told them I wanted ripe tomatoes to use right away and he selected the nicest, reddest box and topped it off for me. They even carried it to my car (I had Bart and Lisa with me, clamoring for gelato from a neighboring stand).


Returning home with my prize, I discovered something that I hadn't really considered. I could barely lift the box! The last time I bought a box of tomatoes it was a half-bushel box and it weighed 30 pounds on the bathroom scale. This box... wow. I wrestled the thing inside and onto the kitchen counter. When Joe woke up (he is on the night shift and sleeps during the day) I had him estimate the weight of the box and he put it between 60 and 70 pounds. Compared to the store prices of tomatoes right now, this was an excellent deal.

I made salsa and spaghetti sauce to bottle and store and I'll be posting those recipes this week.