Broadway Farmer's Market opens!

Happy Earth Day! What better way to celebrate than to buy some grub from the Broadway Farmers Market on opening weekend. I had this idea to buy all the food I eat exclusively from PNW Farmer's markets, but given the price and the diversity of goods, I've decided I would feel less overwhelmed if I started small by getting to know a couple of new veggies and work up my "locavore" muscles.

I've been raised on the notion that if I'm not getting a deal on cheap food than I am getting ripped off. So naturally, I was a bit apprehensive about paying 3 bucks for a tiny bushel of broccoli. But this penny pinching anxiety about spending a little extra money on food stems more from a miseducation about agriculture than from a sense of cheap deal entitlement. So I aim to educate myself, and what better classroom than Capital Hill on a sunny spring afternoon among eccentric mushroom masters and a lady, ecstatic to tell me about RAAB kale.

Broadway Farmer's Market stats: I started small: a bushel of broccoli for $3; "German Butterball" potatoes grown at Olsen family farms, 2.75 a pound; and a loaf of almond sourdough bread for 2.50. Next time I'll relax enough to remember where the food comes from and give the producers due credit.

Earth Day wouldn't be complete without a row around the arboretum, Audobon Birds of North America Manual, and some of my best friends.

Happy day!