October already. These colder mornings arouse the desire to cook big, deep dishes of food. Even though some days are still pretty warm, the cooler evenings have me cooking beans and stews for the first time in months.
The market has gotten more local-centric as the tourist season winds down a bit. I get the sense it never fully dies in Healdsburg, logically enough. But it definitely slows everywhere after Labor Day, which is too bad for visitors, as they miss out on October: arguably one of the most glorious months of the year for this area, and for our market.
I love seeing kids shopping with their parents. They’re back in school now, so relish Saturdays. It’s so important to not only feed them healthy food, but to cook with them, and inspire them to cook for their families in the future. Cooking is rapidly becoming a lost art. You can pop into your local market and buy premade everything these days. I know there are times when eating this way is necessary, but the more you cook, even if it’s something simple, the more healthy you and your family eat.
Shopping the market gets you eating healthier so easily. You see something cool you have to try and then it’s in your kitchen, waiting to be cooked up. Your produce bin is stuffed with the gorgeous goodies you couldn’t resist, but now it’s time to make something out of them. Maybe your kids can help by searching out recipes. Maybe they can help you shop by planning meals before you come to the market. Building your children’s relationship with cooking and market shopping can create a lifetime of healthy habits.
Speaking of kids at the market, those of you with young ‘uns, put Oct. 28 on your calendar and plan on coming down to the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market Pumpkin Festival. This is quite the event: more elaborate than last August’s enjoyable Zucchini Fest. We’ll have pumpkin decorating and racing, as we did previously, but this event includes a scarecrow competition, pumpkin carving for young and old, and a cooking competition offering not only splendid fun but great prizes.
For the month of November, a third aisle will be open for a bountiful and intriguing craft market. Besides being the market manager, I produce the Bodega Seafood, Art & Wine Festival. If you’ve attended it, you know it is a stellar art and craft event. I promise new, unique artists will be doing the November craft market in Healdsburg, along with your favorites, so you can shop for groceries and gifts at the same time.
One thing I love about this market is how it’s like a high quality craft festival. I was once a craftsperson, travelling all over the country doing shows. To me, if an event had imports, manufactured goods or poorly made craft it drew a non-appreciative, non-buying crowd. I only did festivals that had high ratings for quality craft.
This market only lets in the growers of its produce. Like a quality craft event it requires work made by the applying artist. That’s what a certified market means: the person selling you the produce is the one who grew it. So you can count on the craft market to maintain that standard. Come buy direct from the producer. Keep farms and small business alive, and keep our lovely community farmers’ market thriving.
Janet Ciel is the manager of the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market. She can be reached at [email protected].
