Saturday, January 31, 2009

A Berkeley Saturday Morning


Today marked the return of the Small Tribe to the Berkeley Farmers Market! Between having a baby and the holidays, we stopped going to the farmers market and just went to the grocery store around the corner. But with the gorgeous, almost 70 degree weather today, we shook off our winter blahs and returned to our regular weekend ritual.

One of the glorious things about living here in the Bay Area (aside from Spring- like weather in January) is the availability of fresh, organic food. I've been reading Alice Waters The Art of Simple Food which discusses the importance of eating locally grown, high quality food that has been cooked simply. I'm very much a novice cook and find her message to be compelling and accessible. The book has been inspiring me to eat better for me and our planet. Having the incredible good fortune to live in a city with- count them- THREE (!!!) farmers markets a week, year round and all within walking distance from my home- there's really no excuse for me not to.

I thought I'd share some images of the fresh loveliness from this morning....


This is some chard we bought for dinner













Red cabbages











Organic Rillen Zeml Bread









Carrots, not as sweet this time of year as they are in the late summer when we eat them like candy












Alien Broccoli looking things which we have yet to try, but looked pretty cool to take pictures of











My boys like to play in the park next to the market

Every picture of Nico is an action photo

Matteo at the Wall of Peace

Luca sleeping on me (as usual). It was pretty bright and sunny out, so I covered him with a playsilk :)

We ended our morning with lunch from the Brazil Cafe, a funky shack across from the University that has Bossa Nova music playing from outdoor speakers.

...And here it is, your moment of Zen...

Happy Weekend and Happy Eating!


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a delightful time! And such gorgeous produce! I can't wait to get back to year-round farmers markets!! I love winter markets, especially. Will add Alice Waters' book to my "must read" list. Have you read Barbara Kingsolver or Michael Pollan. They talk about similar issues :-)

Jen said...

I'm jealous of your year round market and beautiful weather!

Gorgeous pics of the boys, too.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I am so jealous! :) I live in the wrong place...

Micha said...

Thanks for the Photos of the famous farmer's market. I read the Alice Waters book too and try to cook with organic vegetables and fruits.
Greetings from Germany, Micha

cari said...

I miss living in California!

Lisa said...

Beautiful photos!

Marina said...

Thanks everyone for all nice words! Was feeling slightly guilty for posting such sunniness when it's snowy elsewhere...

Jumbles- Love the Omnivores Dilemma, though I'm slightly put out he doesn't share where he finds his mushroom here in Berkeley. Been meaning to read the Kingsolver book, thanks for the recommendation!


Calynde- I didn't know you had lived in CA! Come back! So glad to see you online, was wondering where you had gone :)

Jenne said...

Sounds like a great time and I loved the photos! Don't you just love Berkeley???

cari said...

I'm actually a California girl with a Swiss dh...love makes us do crazy things I guess...like move to a tiny, cold country! haha We went to CA last year and spent a few days in Alameda and Berkeley. I love it there! We had fun at Cafe Gratitude and ate many burritos at some Mexican food shack. :-) Winter makes me homesick...feel free to post as many Berkeley photos as you like!