Rapid City Farmers Market

These are volunteer sunflowers in my garden. I am going to try and roast later this summer.

Today, my work lunch meeting was canceled so I was in search of a 'local' lunch. At Family Thrift (that used to be Albertson's), I asked if they carried any local produce. The gal just gave me a blank stare and said that 'there's a farmers market somewhere in town". Then I rephrased it asking if THEY (Family Thrift) carried anything grown local and she got it and said, "Oh no, we don't do that". Here's the deal. We need to keep asking that question of all food markets, big and small.

The Rapid City Farmers Market is on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday off of Omaha where the fish sculpture and sand volley ball courts are.

I was really excited to go to check out more local items. Well, it's a little early in the season but I was glad I stopped by because I bought some of the more delicious homemade bread. It was oatmeal bread. I got over there around 12:30pm and there were four stands. I saw the chalkboard listing different types of breads but the table was empty and the couple and their cute new baby were packing things up. I asked what he had left and when he said, "one loaf of oatmeal bread", I said, "I'll take it!". It was $4.00 and was a regular size loaf-pan loaf and really heavy. I couldn't wait to have it for lunch! The market opens at 9:00am and I am guessing they sell out quick. The next table had a great assortment of jams, spreads and jellies. I loved the jalapeno and jalapeno with habanera and would have bought some but they had food coloring in each. Next time I see the jam girl, I will ask her to consider making either without food coloring and I will buy it. It was hot and fantastic. She also had several live herb plants for sale and I bought a lime basil for $1.75 which really smells like lime. All of her basil looked very healthy so I may buy a few more plants. Mine are not looking too good in the garden.

The third table had more jams, some sewn potholders and the fourth offered meats with no hormones or drugs. Cool but I did not have a cooler and I have a freezer full of beef from the quarter we purchased a couple of months ago. Which BTW is from a local SD cow. Anyway, she also had pickled eggs which, well, I thought were a bit weird but when I got back in my car, I wished I had one to go with my bread. Oh, about the bread. It was not sliced so I just tore off a hunk of it and enjoyed it that way. It was heavy, flavorful and a little sweet. Fantastic!

This weekend we are going to head off to some of the local veggie stands and see what's happening there. I've seen signs for tomatoes and I think they are from the green house in Newell that does them hydroponically. Bring them on!