I Heart Farmers Markets

I like Tuesdays. It's the day I ditch my boring packed lunch and head out to get some food, fresh air and sun at the Torrance Farmers Market.

I seek out Farmers Markets. On vacation, locally, just about anywhere, I'll stop to peruse the stands and check out the local produce. It seems each market has its own personality. Some are small and intimate with just a handful of vendors selling fruits and vegetables. Others, like the Torrance market, have stands selling various cookedfoods, from tamales and pupusas to omelettes and my favorite, Kettle Corn (!!!), making it a popular spot for a lunch hour bite. Then there's the destination markets like the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers Markets and Santa Monica's on Third Street Promenade that draw chefs, home cooks and tourists all together to enjoy the farmers' labors.

I sometimes go to a Farmers Market just to walk it. I just like to stroll from stand to stand to see what's being offered. Right now, cherries are in season, though only for a few weeks because of a bad season. Strawberries are starting to taper off a bit, but that means summer stone fruits are coming (cue drool). Peaches have started, but they're still rather small.

This is probably my favorite time of the year for Farmers Markets. There's so much possibilities. The multitude of berries to make a berry shortcake or the summer squash to mark on the grill. Also excellent on the grill are peaches and plums, to die for with a brush of butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Asparagus and peas are in season, perfect for a simple stir-fry.

And that's exactly what I love most about Farmers Markets - the potential that it holds. The fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, herbs, breads, EVERYTHING! hold potential to be turned into something great. It's a cook's palette of colors. It's a place that I like to let my imagination go...

LA Times did an article last week about the beginnings of the Farmers Market concept. Find a market near you (if you live in Socal)!!!

Flashback to the 80's

Remember the 80's? Or for those who are my age, the second half of the 80's? Big bangs were in, as were jelly shoes and puffy paint shirts. People listened to "Rock Me Amadeus" and girls swooned over Patrick Swayze swiveling his hips in Dirty Dancing. Bob and his Big Boy fed us. Some things were best left in the 80's.

Granted, I have to admit there were great things that the 80's produced. "Say Anything" is still one of the greatest romantic movies and Depeche Mode's songs from that decade still rock. But a good chunk of that memorable decade are best left as that - memories.

I had two flashbacks to my childhood on Saturday.

This past Saturday, the day before Mother's Day, I participated in the annual Revlon Run/Walk for Women's Cancers. I've been walking it for the past six years and raising money to help fund the cause. It's always a great event, lots of people gathered for the same reason. As it's sponsored by the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), they always have celebrities to cheer people along. And every year, they have a short concert at the finish line in the Colesium. Usually it's not anyone that I really cared about so this year I didn't bother looking into was performing.

To my surprise, as we finished the race and entered the Colesium, who was rocking out on stage?

THE BANGLES!! THE FREAKING AWESOME BANGLES.

Their Greatest Hits album was the second CD I ever owned, after Wilson Phillips. Actually, I got them at the same time as a birthday gift from my sister when I turned 12 (I think), but I listened to the Wilson Phillips CD sooo much more, so the Bangles get second billing on order of CDs owned.

As I crossed the finish line, I was singing along to "In My Room." The only point in which I stopped singing was when I was grining stupidly as I received my medal from the cute firefighters who were medaling racers as they crossed the finish line (great new addition to the race!!!). The two highlights of my day in one awesome moment. Ahhhh....

The rest of the set included "Walk Like an Egyptian" with "Mrs. Robinson" mixed in and "Eternal Flame." It was so great. I want to see them in concert now.

That was the good. Now, onto the bad.

So after the great Bangles performance and oogling at the firefighters, my family (aunts, uncles and grandmother) decided to go eat lunch. Walking back to the car was almost just as long as the 5K we had just done. Then we got stuck in traffic. Bah.

But what tops it off is where we ate. Our original destination was to be Grinders, but because of traffic and all, it somehow was decided that we'd go to Sizzler. SIZZLER people. Yes, it was right there. Yes, we were hungry and yes, we were tired. But, but, is there really ever a good enough reason to go to Sizzler?? Name one!!

I don't even want to go into the details of the meal. The place grossed me out in general. The off colors of everything made me suspicious that everything around me was infested with bacteria and covered in a film of greasy dirt. I reluctantly ate some fruit, fearful that it hadn't been washed and had E. Coli colonies growing on it.

I'll rather deal with the pain of jelly shoes and wear pink lipstick than eat at Sizzler again. Unless, maybe, if the Bangles were performing in the restaurant itself...