BFM's Forever

      OK, I believe the phrase is BFF, but in this case we aren't talking about best friends but rather the Burlington Farmers Market. Here in Vermont, we are very lucky to never be far from a farmers market, no matter which town you live in. But the granddaddy and probably the biggest of them all is the Burlington Farmers Market. This is a great combination of fresh produce, ready to eat foods and of all things, Arts and Crafts. With such a great variety of things to see and taste and smell, one can easily spend hours wandering the booths.

Garden if front of City Hall and a few booths from the market;

      Fresh produce and prepared foods are the highlight of any market. And you will be hard pressed to find greater diversity than the Burlington market. Just a quick walk around and we found ready to eat food from Tibet, Africa (Samosaman YUM), Jamaica, Nepal, Morocco, China and food items like Barbecue, desserts, brownies and homemade root beer,  numerous baked goods, breads and lots more. In the produce department, every kind of fruit and vegetable you can imagine, fresh eggs, incredible cheeses, Vermont wines, organic meats, poultry and lots of fresh cut flowers.

      We had company coming for supper otherwise I could have spent several hours exploring. We had a quick bite to eat at Orsini BBQue, (try the Porky, half a serving of homemade mac and cheese , half incredible pulled pork DOUBLE YUM !!) And of course, a big shout out to Samosaman with a full offering of samosas and chicken curry and rice.  Next time we visit, we will bring the in-laws (Bro and Sis) and eat our way through the market, offering reviews on all the food. Just a quick thought, if you are planning on coming down to the farmers market to get bargains, think again. From what a couple of vendors told us it is VERY expensive to have a booth here, maybe the most expensive in the state (Thanks Burlington). So prices will be higher than your local mega-mart grocery store. But the trade off is, nothing will ever be fresher, the corn we saw was picked that morning, the eggs we bought laid the night before, the cheeses (Boucher Farms INCREDIBLE blue) fresh from the farm. For us it worth the extra money to A) get absolute farm fresh produce and B) to give money directly to the farmers who are working so hard to supply us with quality ingredients.

      So what did we come home with? Lets see, three different Boucher Farm cheeses, fresh eggs (Eric's I believe?) blueberries (Willow farm), Moroccan Delight Deserts, Stuffed breads (sorry can't remember the booth). These breads were great by the way, mine was a bread roll stuffed with blue cheese and pears YUMMMMM.  Some just picked organic arugula, and of course the BBque we ate while there. I am sure I forgot something, as the bags were quite full. A perfect way to spend a few hours in the sunshine of Vermont.

      Here are a few more pictures;

      A great time was had by all and an activity I suggest everyone participate in. Just think ahead, bring a cooler with some ice (or cooler packs, we did neither, of course, BUT I did remember the camera YEA) and after wandering around the markets, stop for a lunch at one of Burlington's many fine restaurants. We recommend Church and Main, Ri Ra's , Daily Planet and we are soon to try the New El Gato and we still haven't made it to Farmhouse Tap. What's missing? Well off the top of me head, fresh seafood, ( I know the ocean is a ways away but someone should drive to one of the big fish markets and bring back whatever is fresh for the Farmers market), pies, cakes, cookies , whoopee pies, I saw none of these and a HUGE miss is Ice Cream, the PERFECT summer treat and not a bite to eat. If anyone takes me up on these missing offerings, just send me an email and I will gladly let you know where to send the commission checks.  As far as activities go, I rate this one an A.