The Winter Market

Lord I hate the alarm going off at 8:00 am. On a Saturday, especially. It’s almost sacrilegious. But I’ll do it, albeit grudgingly, and once my eyes fully open, I’ll be grateful I woke up. My mood will lighten with the wrapping of my raggedy old scarf and the donning of my coat just like so many other Davis residents. Still, I could be a farmer with my alarm going off at 3 in the morning. That’s dedication.

It’s dedication like this that brings people to the Davis Farmer’s Market every single Saturday. With winter starting to show it’s nippy self, and the possibility of drenching rains, it’s surprising how many bundled up people you see out browsing and bartering amongst the various booths piled high with produce. Everyone is willing to brave the cold for that perfect organic bunch of kale, the golden butternut squash, that tart and slightly pernicious bite of a dried apricot.

Though, I suppose it’s not simply dedication, but a sense of joy and community that comes with it. People congregate to socialize, catch up, see local performers, and support local growers. Your ear catches small parts of conversations; “Are these green beans organic?” “My child’s whole class seems to have caught the flu.” “I haven’t seen you in forever!” “You have to taste this, it’s simply divine.”

A close community, you can’t but help run into co-workers and friends. I ran into a few people I hadn’t seen in lord knows how long, so it was nice to spend a moment to catch up. Chance encounters like this are a priceless part of the experience.

My friend Sarah was kind enough to accompany me this chilly morning and peruse the stalls with me as we both had shopping to do. Our first stop was the Village Bakery booth, a local artisan bakery in Davis on 814 2^nd Street near the train station. It’s a great place for fresh artisan breads and pizza, and luckily they always have a well stocked booth at the market. Otherwise where would I go for my carb-a-licious supply of garlic parmesan bread? Nowhere, that’s where, and me breadless just isn’t a pleasant experience for anyone.

We then stopped over at Everything Under the Sun’s booth, a spot Sarah has total devotion to as do many other patrons. Their business is family run and 100% organic, supplying some of the best radishes and beets around. While Sarah made her purchase, I talked radish and got some wonderful suggestions for pickling and winter salads.

To read the rest of this article make sure you pick up your copy of Edible Sacramento! Find it at your favorite food vendor for free! It's the first issue I've contributed to, so check it out!