I love love love farmers’ markets. I feel at home in them.
Their atmosphere says so much about their location. Being at a farmers’ market
somewhere in the world, I feel I can get a sense of the place in general, of
its people, its culture, its idiosyncrasies. It’s just enough to feel like I have
an idea of what it is like to live there, for just a moment. The atmosphere at
a market in Paris, Aubagne, Barcelona,
Tokyo or Bali
is completely different, and yet they have something in common. A sense of
community perhaps? Or just simply the universal need (and love) for food.
Far from Bali, there’s the
little Sherman Oaks Farmers’ market, a few blocks away from our house, a nice
stroller outing on Tuesday afternoons. It’s the little market that could. Yes,
we are in Los Angeles:
we have to walk past a freeway on-ramp, go underneath an overpass and breathe
in that smog that gives us such lovely sunsets, to get to the market set up on
the overflow parking lot of a giant mall. But it is peach season, and we need
peaches. Among other things. So off we go.
As we walk on the lookout for anything with wheels – an
absolute fascination for Pablo – I encounter this bit of grass covered with
purple petals… from jacaranda trees (I finally found out the name of that tree
for this post!). Those are the little gems of Los Angeles. Sometimes, the best views are
either up close or far in the distance, not so much in midrange. Like in
difficult times in life, I suppose. You only get through those by either living
in the moment (which children are so wonderful at), or dreaming far ahead – or
a bit of both. Sure, just outside that shot, there are trash cans and abandoned
front yards of foreclosed houses. But in the distance, there are clouds over
the Hollywood hills. And up close, there is
purple. I needed purple today.
Riding on that purple… we arrive at the market. It is small,
the selection is somewhat limited. But there are lots of peaches, plums, apricots
and cherries. It’s the heart of the season. I’m excited. And Pablo is too!
I know from what I’ve written so far, one might think Pablo
just eats everything. And well, it’s pretty much true. But it sometimes takes
him a few tries. Just a couple of weeks ago, I gave him an apricot for the
first time (he was too young last year). He put it his mouth, because he can’t
help himself. Spat it right out. Weird texture. Not what he was expecting. Ok.
We’ll try again. And again. I have faith in the apricot.
Well, it took the Farmer’s market, and the nice man selling
apricots, to do it! When the man handed him, personally, an apricot, Pablo was so proud and delighted. He tasted
it, touched it and held it like his most prized possession all the way back
home! It made me think the love for food
goes far beyond our taste buds. At the outset, there’s taste, then texture,
smell, feel. And then there’s the whole experience around it. That is why I
love farmers’ markets: a place to experience
food. But back to taste buds…
Peaches have been the highlights of
the goûter (afternoon snack) recently. Mostly just plain and simple. Juicy bites of summer. (Can you
feel the juice dripping down your chin?)
But this afternoon, we experimented on that theme… mixing up
a slightly overripe peach with wonderfully fragrant mint from my beloved topsy-turvy. Pablo
picked the mint himself, and chewed on it happily! I guess the kid likes mint…
and peaches. Let’s mix them up then.
So I give him an apricot to get started (he spits out a
cookie to attack the apricot… happy
mommy), while I mix up a peach with a few leaves of mint.
I take a few pictures, give him the mixture, and then…
… he takes it upon himself to dip the apricot in the
peach-mint compote….
Mint. Yum. Apricot. Yum. Peach with mint. Double yum. Add
some apricot. Pablo heaven.
