Peachtree Road Farmers Market is Back!

Recipe for a great Saturday morning: pick up a cup of Batdorf & Bronson coffee, buy two jars of Hope's Gardens basil pesto for $11, and take a walk in the crisp morning air through the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. See, who says I don't know how to cook?

And what's the perfect morning recipe without bacon? New to the market this year is Avondale Estate's Pine Street Market. They were serving samples of their Applewood Smoked Bacon and Sopressata Salami. Oh. Yes. Must buy this every week.



Also new is the Riverview Farms Meat CSA. Now you can sign up to get monthly deliveries of sustainable meats grown by nearby family farms just like you've signed up to get your regular delivery of produce/eggs/honey from Moore Farms! My friend Suzanne (that's her cool blue truck in the back of the bacon photo) can fill you in: suzanne@grassfedcow.com.









When it's early in the season and there's not a lot of produce yet, the artisans really fill out the market. Tracy Hartley does some cool stuff with recycled materials like the rooster art above. He has some work at Holeman & Finch and I was thinking maybe he should have some work at the new world headquarters of Melissa Libby & Associates. This would look good in a loft, yes? I also loved the ceramic lamb salt/pepper shakers by artist Karen Fincannon - she assured me I could find them on Etsy if I didn't purchase today.
Last stop of the day is always at Taj Ma-Hound. Norma Jean is a big fan, as are all the dogs who visit the market. Her cookies are so healthy and you should see the decorated ones - adorable! Since Norma's on a diet, I got her the Low Fat Cinnabones.
I think Norma Jean pretty much sums up this recipe: A yummy way to start your Saturday!

Melissa Makes a Local Meal

Okay, most of you know that eating is my forte, not cooking. So the eat local "challenge" was doubly challenging to me. But you know what? It was easy!

I started out with a trip to Via Elisa Fresh Pasta. Got my fave: porcini ravioli. Anyone can make this and it's super delicious. You just boil the water, put the raviolis in carefully, stir once, wait 10 minutes and it's ready. Yes! I chose one of Elisa's sauces - Sofia's Sicilian Caper - to go with it. All of this is available at Whole Foods too.

Honestly, I could just eat the pasta and be happy but it seemed like I needed a salad or something green. I stopped by the Peachtree Road Farmer's Market and, while I saw many great products and even got a glass of homemade lemonade, I couldn't find the simple green that I had envisioned as my side. So over to Whole Foods Buckhead. They had tons of local micro greens from Sweetwater Growers and I selected watercress - my favorite. Then I found a yummy local dressing from Onion Guys. It's called Vidalia Vinaigrette. To add a little color to the salad, I included a tomato bought at a roadside stand in Alabama (thanks, Mom!).

Lastly I chose a wonderful red blend from Dahlonega's Wolf Mountain Vineyards. It was the 2006 Instinct. Delish.





I decided that my golden retriever, Norma Jean, should eat local if I was so I got her some homemade treats from Taj Ma-Hound while at the market. She loved them!
The Whole Foods Eat Local Challenge was a lot of fun and I'm going to try to do it more often!