Missing California Farmers' Markets

Last weekend we visited my husband's family in LA for Mothers' Day. While we were out there, we stopped by a farmers' market in Simi Valley. It was wonderful, as expected. We bought a lot of berries & vegetables for our Mothers' Day brunch. There was a lot of the same produce that is available here (or will be available soon) like broccoli, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower, asparagus, strawberries, blueberries and much more. What made me miss my San Francisco lifestyle was the California produce that I can't find in Iowa like oranges, clementines, grapefruit, lemons, limes, artichokes, and avocados. I can't say that I am never going to eat those foods anymore because they don't grow here in Iowa, but I don't eat them nearly as much as I used to. It's easy to feel deprived when I go back and see how much is available in California, but honestly there is a huge variety of produce that is available here in Iowa. Our diet is anything but deprived. It does make me appreciate the trips back to California even more and makes those California treats like a sweet persimmon even more special.

We missed the Downtown Farmers Market last weekend because we were in LA. So, this week I was not able to buy as much local produce as I would like. I bought a few local things from Gateway (tomatoes from Graddy's in Carroll, asparagus, lettuce, bread) but bought a few things from out of state too. I am looking forward to visiting the farmers market next weekend and to my first CSA box.