Hi everyone!
I should probably start off by introducing myself. My name is Sarah and I’m usually found over at the Little Boy Green. I write about raising my son, Atticus, as naturally and eco-friendly as possible while living here in Nashville. It is very important to me that Atticus learns where his food comes from and meets the people who put their whole heart into making and growing wonderful food for us to eat.
My husband, Mark, Atticus, and I moved here last July after living in Clarksville for the last 5 years. Last year, before moving, Atticus and I drove all the way from Clarksville almost every Wednesday just to attend the East Nashville Farmers Market (ENFM.) You have no idea how excited I was when we moved closer. This summer we plan to attend ENFM as many Wednesdays as we possibly can and I can’t wait to tell you about our adventures.
Unfortunately, last week we didn’t make to the market. Go me! Missed the first day of the year. That’s like skipping the last day of school! So this week I made a point to be there… and early too boot!
The market officially opens at 3:30pm but Atticus and I pulled up at 3 sharp. With kid strapped to my back and basket in hand along with a wad o’cash, I was ready! Ready to see, smell, taste, and of course buy ENFM. We didn’t stay too long because, as you may know, our warm spring weather seems to have been eaten by mid-November!
First we said hello to a few people and learned that this year ENFM will be accepting EBT, Food Stamps, and Snap cards. You just go to the information tent and they will set you up with some tokens! Now there are even less excuses as to why someone can’t shop the market.
Our first stop was the Raw-Food Warrior tent. They didn’t have anything to sell but they did have quite a few yummy raw foods to try. Eating raw doesn’t mean just fruits and veggies and they totally proved that with falafel, crackers, chocolate cake, and a delicious apricot & something or other tart. Atticus seemed to like everything. In our house the saying is “if Atticus eats it, it MUST be good!”
Next we visited Green Market Farm’s tent. They are a small, organic farm from Gallatin, TN. We discussed growing garlic and onions. Atticus tried lentil sprouts for the first time and loved them. I bought a carton of sprouts, which he snacked on all the way home and then had more for dinner!
We made a quick stop by Rainbow Hill Farm for some delicious sugar snap peas before heading over to The Bloomy Rind for some cheese. Even though Atticus typically doesn’t “do” dairy, I let him try some Thunder Mountain Swiss cheese. I love all cheese so I didn’t sample any before jumping in and buying a wedge of the Swiss. The cheese wasn’t made locally, but rather in North Carolina and then packaged here in Nashville. I’m almost embarrassed to say that when we got home I meant to sample some of our new cheese and may have possibly eaten the whole wedge in one sitting!
I have to admit that I have a slight addiction to Noble Springs Dairy’s goat cheese. So to feed my addiction, I bought a log of The Busy Bee. Just imagine a log of chevre that has been rolled in honey and cranberries. Ummmm… YUM! Every time I think I’ve tried all their varieties, my surprised that there is one that I’ve missed.
Atticus loves baked kale chips, so our last purchase was a bunch of Kale from Delvin Farms. It was fun seeing all of their CSA boxes for pick up. If you’ve never heard of a CSA I highly encourage that you do some reading about them. They are a really great way to help support agriculture in your area.
It was so much fun browsing the different tents and listening to the music. Many vendors were familiar from last summer like Peaceful Pastures and Flying S Farms comes to mind. My goal is to visit and make at least one purchase from every single vendor of the course of the market season.
We can’t wait until next Wednesday!
Love, Peace, and Good Eats!
Sarah
Email: lbgsmama@gmail.com
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