The City Market: Getting Food Together

Today, Alyssa, Caleb, and I went to The City Market along the river in KC. It was probably my first real experience bumming around the city, and there were so many people there! After we picked up some fresh veggies (everything in the photos below was less than $20), we hit up The Farmhouse for some locally grown brunch--french toast served with local fruit and molasses whipped cream, and the best hominy grits I've ever had in my life. I'm glad we made it back home early, though. By this afternoon it was pushing over 100°! Here's a look at our success:

Altogether, we ended up with a few pounds of cucumbers, couple garlic bulbs, a half-dozen ears of sweetcorn, 5 or 6 peaches, a bunch of fresh dill, some freshly ground black pepper (the spice market was my favorite--ooh, the smells!), some fresh-baked pita from a local bakery, and about a pound of jalapenos and serranos. 

As we were leaving, I remarked to Caleb that there is a popular stereotype of the farmer's market shopper's image, and that--while there were indeed lots of hippies and yuppies--I was amazed at the eclectic crowd that had gathered together this morning for the universal act of acquiring food. There is something communal about shopping at an open-air market like this that you don't get in an air-conditioned, fluorescent-lit superstore.

Honestly, as Christians, Alyssa and I are simply trying to have the least impact on the environment as we can manage. And if you consider the scriptural edict that humanity sweat and toil for our sustenance, it seems wrong that a majority of our food comes from mass-production farms that either require little else than pushing buttons and running machinery, or--worse--take advantage of migrant laborers.

Does this mean that we'll never go back to a big chain supermarket again? Of course not. Frankly, sometimes it's just easier to make a quick Target run (for a late-night ice cream craving, for instance). But I feel that we shouldn't let that govern the majority of our actions. Christians should be a little more conscientious about these things; we should be asking more questions about  how we can lead sustainable, ethical lives--particularly when it comes to what we eat and where we choose to shop, whether it means doing your weekly shopping at a local farmer's market, or this: 

.

And that's all I have to say about that.

On a side note, it's been a while since I've canned/pickled anything, and I'm really looking forward to pickling these cucumbers, which are now soaking overnight. I'll post some more photos as I begin the pickling process tomorrow. Looking forward to canning corn for the first time with our new pressure canner, as well!

Peace be with you.

Joshua