Fruitful Saturday

Last Saturday I got the opportunity to visit The Atlanta State Farmers Market.  It consists of approximately 150 acres of merchandising booths, where local farmers and vendors come to sell their products.  At first, it is quite overwhelming; rows and rows of booths with hundreds of boxes of produce.

I went with three of my girlfriends and we explored for about an hour, searching out the best produce with the best prices.  Some of the booths had quite unique items, so "what is THAT?" was heard a few times.

So I have to ask, what is the cactus looking plant next to the green beans? Do you eat it and if so, how do you cook it?

I just loved the colors! I know those farmers we're probably wondering what in the world I was doing taking pictures of their vegetables!  Just call me a city girl, who can appreciate finding REAL produce!

A lot of the items were priced best when you bought in bulk, so we bought cases and divided it amongst ourselves.  For example, we got one box of yellow squash for $9.  Well, there were over 90 squash in the box, so divided by three people, you get 30+ squash a person for $3.  This touches on my healthy eating and frugal living goals!

These were our purchases for the day!

This is my portion of the goods!

I got 30+ squash, 20 peaches, 2 onions, 3 bell peppers, 5 plums, 4 cucumbers, 2 packages  of strawberries, and green beans for only $12.50!! I was thrilled!

We'll go through the strawberries in a week, because we love them! :) I already made one squash casserole with the squash, and I prepared the rest of the squash by cutting it up and freezing it.  I froze it in three separate freezer bags, with enough in each bag to make another casserole.  $3 for 4 squash casseroles is great!  The peaches I am loving, they are the interpretation of a Georgia peach!  I'm planning to make a cobbler with them tonight, so I'll let you know how it goes.

I encourage you to seek out nearby farmers markets, as you can buy local produce and get better deals!