Almost over and more farmers' market fun

Had my first pre-new school year meetings today; more next week, and then I'm back full time... my summer is nearly over. It's been "interesting" this summer, and so in some ways, I'm not entirely heartbroken to be going back. Not only that, but with a new high school building and the IB Academy about to be officially launched, I'm actually pretty excited.

This past week I picked up some goat meat at the farmers' market. That's right... goat meat. Tonight's menu was grilled goat ribs rubbed with fresh garlic and fresh rosemary, grilled corn on the cob, and purple potatoes mashed with parmesan cheese and tarragon. Yum! I'd had goat before, but my son hadn't... he liked it. The goat, corn, and potatoes all came from the farmers' market, as did the garlic and rosemary; the butter in the potatoes was homemade from local cream. So much tasty goodness!

Funky and fruity

One more reason I shop at my local farmers' market. The first peaches of the season have arrived, and... yeah... they are pretty freaking amazing. I had to stand in line at the market to get the peaches, and since it's been almost a year since I've had a fresh peach, there was no way I wasn't going to have some; you know what? They were totally worth the wait.

The funky green thing next to it is romanesca, introduced to me by Mark from Ollin Farms. It's like brocolli, but tastes a little bit different; I like it a lot.

That's what makes shopping at a farmers' market so much cooler than going to a grocery store. In a grocery store, chances are the produce clerk could tell me about the plant, but not much more. Mark was great; told me what it was, where it orginated, and even who recommended that he grow it this year. He even gave me a sample of it to try (and it was tasty!), which doesn't happen often in a store, either.

The peaches? Yeah, use a napkin. The odd weather this spring has definitely helped make this year's crop some of the sweetest, juiciest peaches I've ever had. Ever. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I lived in Georgia for 6 months a while back, and a Georgia peach doesn't come close to a Colorado peach. The farmers' market is open again Saturday! I can't wait!

Biking to Boulder!

Last year I set a goal to ride my bike out to Boulder, and for various reasons, it didn't happen. BUT... this year, it did happen, and it was GREAT. I woke up early as usual, and after taking my pooch for his morning walk, he and I grabbed a bit of breakfast, and I got myself ready to go.

I made it to Boulder about 2 hours later, and first thing I did was head to Spud Brothers for lunch, where I feasted on poutine (a Canadian specialty, and one I used to have back when I lived in New York). Then it was off to The Cup for a Bhakti Chai milkshake and relax a bit more before the ride home.

The ride home, while hot, wasn't quite as bad as I thought it might be. In almost no time, I found myself at Mojo Coffeehouse in Lafayette, where I enjoyed an iced latte. Then it was time to head home.

The day was a bit longer than I had originally planned, but I'm really glad I took my time; I got some great pictures and had fun taking some video while I was at it. The movie below is a little videoblog of my adventure. Enjoy! (Cross posted to Elephant Journal.)