Field Trip to the Farmer's Market

I grew up in the small town of Belleville in Central Pennsylvania. It had its stereotypical small town features like the "everyone knows everyone" thing, community parades and festivals with tractors pulling spinning tubs as the featured entertainment for kids. There are probably more cows than people in Belleville. And I loved every bit of it. One of my favorite memories growing up was walking to the "Sale Barn" (the proper name, as declared by any Bellevillian, for the farmer's market and auction) on Wednesday morning. They had animals to look at, food, craft vendors, and of course, my favorite, Snookie's Ice Cream Truck.

I have since moved to another small town with my husband located in Lancaster County. Of course, Lancaster has an abundance of farmer's markets and our own town of Marietta has a small market open on Sunday mornings. Unfortunately, our schedules have not allowed us to scope out any of them. Finally, this past Tuesday, I was able to take a trip to Root's Market in Manheim and it was like I stepped back in time to when the Sale Barn was booming.



One of the many produce stands at Root's Market

Apparently, Root's started off as a poultry auction in 1925 and has since become a rather large indoor/outdoor market with stands and stands of produce, baked goods, deli meats, flowers, crafts, and lots of other treats. As I walked into the market I was so excited to just look around. I scoured the stands outside first and then found my way into a big indoor facility with stands upon stands of produce, snacks, baked goods, and even ethnic food. By the time I finished, I managed to buy all the fruits and vegetables I was planning to get at the store for dirt cheap (ironic, these foods do come from the ground.)

My bounty of produce from the farmer's market. I love how colorful it is!

                                           

Since it was close to 100 degrees out and my bag of goodies was becoming quite heavy, I decided I would have to come back another time and scope out more treasures. Between a few of my produce stops, I treated myself to a few snacks to try. I had been really craving almonds and found a stand selling cinnamon coated almonds along with lots of other nuts. I quickly scooped up those and had a few while walking around. Delicious! Then I wondered past the Greek food stand and couldn't pass trying something there. After much debate between baklava and spanakopita, I decided on the baklava which I would share with my husband when I got home. I definitely made a good choice and enjoyed a few bites of that later in the day.

My cinnamon coated almonds and baklava. Both were very sweet, so a few bites
was all I needed to satisfy my sweet tooth!

I finally made my way back to the car, breaking a major sweat and patting myself on the back for getting good deals AND a good workout! And then I saw it, the sign that truly completed my farmer's market experience. HOMEMADE PEACH ICE CREAM. Well, I couldn't leave without trying some of that! (Ice cream is truly my weakness, I wish it really counted as a serving of dairy, or at least a healthy serving of dairy even when consumed in large quantities). As I finished every last drop of my melting treat, complete with fresh chunks of peaches, I had resolved to come back and hopefully bring my husband or friends. I consider my field trip a success!

 

HOMEMADE PEACH ICE CREAM!