Rain or Shine

Yesterday I started my day at 6:30 AM at the Clinton Bailey Market, I wanted to pick up a few things before I did my workshop for the World On Your Plate event. I also wanted to make sure I got there early so I could the things I wanted. The weather was terrible yesterday- the wind was blowing and it was raining cats and dogs, then it would stop for about 10 mins. and then it would start all over again. So I am driving thinking about how terrible the day was and the market still must go on. I got to the market and my friends were just setting up and it seemed like they were a bit behind. So I spend about an hour working with them unloading the truck and setting up, I also sold items when I was there. We are under two tents but the wind and the rain were so terrible my jeans were soaked and wet. The bottoms of my jeans were full of water not to mention my jacket and hair were also wet. So then you get funny customers who think you should sell your stuff cheaper because it's raining... I think the prices should go up when its raining... I mean who wants to stand outside in the rain just to sell. Not to mention that is was pouring rain the day before when everything was being picked. Then some people would run under our tent when it started to rain hard... they didn't buy anything and they wouldn't even look at you or even speak... I mean really. So you feel you can run into my tent and not speak.... It's not like the tents are public tents and the farmer isn't paying rent for the space. Each farmer brings their own tent and pays to have space at the market. So many times I think we forget about the person that grows our food, esp. small family farms.... or what about the many migrant workers that harvest most of our food.... and we treat them even worst because they are not Americans. Why are farmers and migrant workers treated so poorly ? It 's hard work harvest food. Next time you eat something think of the hands that brought it to you ! On a more positive note...Let me tell you what I bought this week from the market.... kale, cauliflower,carrots, celery and parsley. For dinner last night I was going to make stir fry but I didn't have soy sauce so I ended up making beef and barley soup. I pretty much used the same recipe as the harvest soup- but I used beef instead of chicken and I didn't add swiss chard. The more soups you make the more you will learn that most recipe are very similar and once you get the basics down you can free style. I also made tabouli with the last of the tomatoes and the parley I bought from the market.