Farmer's Market

It was a rainy, cool morning here, so it seemed like the perfect day for an outing to one of our favorite places -- the Farmer's Market! The Little Nguyens love visiting, but for some reason we don't get to go as often as we used to.

As we surveyed the fresh produce, we shared a mid-morning snack (an apple turnover with a deliciously flaky crust) from a charming German baker. The Little Nguyens smelled all of the different herbs from one of the vendors, correctly identifying basil ("Mommy, that smells like Daddy's pho soup!" said the Second Little Nguyen), peppermint, and cilantro, and helped pick out a new basil plant for our kitchen herb garden. We walked along further, with the First Little Nguyen was reading the produce signs and commenting on them. We noticed a crowd gathering around a familiar face. It was Sen. Bob Dole who, of course, the Little Nguyens were less than impressed with when I told them he once ran for President. I wasn't as star-struck as when I saw President and Mrs. Bush and Air Force One, but close. Sen. Dole was strangely tan, though. Almost orange. I asked the boys if they wanted to pose for a picture with him, and they declined, probably thinking, "Why does Mommy want to take our picture with this orange man?"

We picked up a pint of the sweetest blueberries I have ever tasted and nibbled on those as a postlude to the apple turnover. I know they hadn't even been washed, which really isn't good for any of us, but they were so hard to resist. At the end of the building, there were literally truckloads of fresh sweet corn being unloaded before our eyes. The First Little Nguyen saw a sign that read 65 ears for $20 and announced this promptly to his younger brother, the three-cobs-on-Memorial-Day-eating corn lover. The vendor said, "Do you want some corn, son?" at which time the Second Little Nguyen immediately replied, "Yes, I want 65 corns!" The woman laughed and I said, "I think a dozen will be enough." As we were walking out, the First Little Nguyen found some gigantic watermelons. After I coaxed him into selecting a slightly smaller variety, he purchased one along with a cantaloupe and a basket of fresh peaches (can you say peach cobbler!?). We also took home some tomatoes and cukes (my favorites, thanks to my mother) to eat with cottage cheese. Mmm...mmm...the taste of summer.

In the next building over, there was more penny candy than I have ever laid my eyes on. Since our mission today was supposed to be a healthy one, the Little Nguyens looked over all of it, drooled over it, begged for it and most likely left thinking their mother was a meanie for only letting them get watermelon, blueberries, peaches, cantaloupe, tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn. They weren't complaining at lunch, though! We were greedy with our produce today, but the three of us are looking forward to making some yummy stuff! It's such a rainy afternoon and the Little Nguyens are playing so nicely right now. It seems a fine time to blog....but I need to get off my &%$# and bake some peach cobbler with the Little Nguyens!