This past Saturday was the eighth week of Burlington Farmer's Market. The day-trippers have me plum worn out.
It was "Chew Chew" weekend, supposedly the last, ever; it brought a boost for local tourism, a few more cheese buyers, and an influx of "Grazing-types".
Many food vendors offer samples for people to try, especially if what they have is unique; carrots, for example are not sampled out, but farmstead cheeses are. The Granola Guy does it, the Cake Lady does it, and the prepared food vendor next to us, Folk Foods, does it, too.
I offer tastes of all our aged cheeses, as the flavor profile can vary each week. My samples are small squares the size of peas; they break and fall off a toothpick if you try to stab more than one at a time. It's key to have some portion control when sampling, or you wind up giving all your product away.
Over the years, most of the people who tried my cheese have bought some, but about two percent of all visitors to my booth have been Grazers; of those 98% are tourists, a small remainder are students; the common factor is that they have no intention of making a purchase.
(They are quite different from people who don't anticipate buying, but can be enticed by an amazing product.)
Pure Grazers fall into the following categories:
A
Professional Grazer will complain that the samples are too small, and that I don't offer accompanying free bread and crackers. Some have even taken these items from other cheesemaker's booths to eat with a piece of cheese from our table.
Opportunistic Grazers call out for their friends/relatives/children's children to come over because there are "...free samples over here!"
Drive-by Grazers grab a sample and walk on, and may return again and again, until the dish remains empty.
Allergy-free Grazers will eat anything without asking what it is first, as though our table were located at the end of an aisle at Costco; a few each season will spit the cheese out into their palm, and look around wondering where to wipe it off. One has tried to hand it back to me!
The most common Grazerspeak at our stand, while eating samples is: "I'm on vacation and can't buy anything". Number 2 is: "My doctor won't let me eat cheese unless it is fat free/salt free." (So, just plain "free" is okay?) The third is: to say nothing. Or to continue to talk to their friends, or on a cellphone without acknowledging us, as though they were helping themselves to hors d'oeuvres at a free buffet.
I realize that I am in a venue where product sampling is entertainment - it's all part of the day, it creates a festive atmosphere. It drives sales.
But there are those who would seek to take advantage of a generous nature, and they might want to consider the courtesy of a smile, and offering a "Thank you," even when away from home, or while on vacation.
Dan lets the turkeys roam between their pen and the reserve chicken pen twice daily for about 10 minutes at a time.
They love to eat the tall grass seeds.
If you stay still for a few minutes, they will come near enough to get a good look at you, but they won't come close enough for you to touch them. The next step is to let them out into their pasture unchaperoned during the day, but they still seem too small to be left alone for that amount of time.
Perfectly rare!
Grilled beef flatiron steak accompanied by a grilled vegetable medley from farmer's market.
This is a two-pound steak that was 2-inches thick on one end, tapering down to 1/2-inch - so I cut it in half to get it to cook evenly.
I coated it with Dizzy Pig swamp venom for the habanero heat, and let it mellow 1/2 hour in the refrigerator.
I STILL can't find my Weber veggie grill trays - I'm thinking I may have loaned them out last year - so I put a piece of aluminum foil on a grill set to medium heat. I closed the lid for 5 minutes, stirred everything, then put the cover back down for another 7 minutes.
The result is beautiful roasted veggies, and the big surprise was the fava beans, as they were "bleh" when eaten raw, but became wonderfully sweet when roasted.
I cranked the grill back up to high, and put on both steaks. The 1/2 to 1-inch steak went 5 minutes per side, and the 2-inch thick steak was on for ten minutes per side. After the sear, I took the skinny one inside to the counter, covered it in foil and a heavy towel. I moved the large steak to the side of the grill that was "off", put the grill cover down, and turned the high burners down to the lowest setting for 20 minutes. No peeking during the baking stage!
Mmmm, burrito.
It's the Breakfast Burrito from Folk Foods, Dan's first choice for breakfast on Saturday mornings in City Hall Park during farmer's market. It used to be mine, too, but - you know - I can't eat wheat anymore.
My husband is not the only one with breakfast and lunch in mind at this busy stand.
There are 3 other sandwiches available, plus you can buy their hot "Master Sauce," and vegetarian wheat gluten patties and crumbles to take home. They cheerfully supply recipe ideas, too.
That's Dan getting his burrito from the owner, Jason Frishman.
Really, any sandwich with an egg in it is filling fare, and I find that I can't look away from the psychedelic designs as they sizzle away on the griddle.
Practically perfect veggie patties await turning, and completed sandwiches are warming on the planchet.
As a bonus to being the stand beside this one, I get to inhale the aroma of toast and eggs all day. Mmmmm, toast. (I miss you! Kiss, kiss!)
(They are currently out of the Master Sauce, but more will be available, shortly - I have a jar of my own in the refrigerator.)
What are you waiting for? Come to market!
There was a cool breeze all day, and sales were brisk after 10:00 a.m.
This is the burger from Jericho Settler's Farm stand which Dan ate AFTER consuming a breakfast burrito from Folk Foods, and a raised donut with chocolate Amaretto frosting and sliced almonds from Dinky Donuts.
I really must find a pair of socks like this for myself.
Most adorable doggie of the day, and his little girl.
Our entertainers; I think they moved around, or burned out, I didn't hear them for long.
