On Saturdays in Franklin, we have the best ever farmer's market. It's held from 8 to 1 every Saturday, year 'round and it's so popular you can hardly find a parking spot. People come with huge baskets or large tote bags on their arms to walk from booth to booth filling them up with every goodie imaginable. All the products are grown or made locally and people bring their pets along and everyone is so friendly and full of information.
We took Tubby with us once and barely got a chance to look around with all the attention he was getting. Everyone wanted to stop and take his picture and pet him. Today, my favorite friend and neighbor went with me and when we're together, we talk a mile a minute nonstop, so Tubby stayed home so I could devote all my attention to my visiting and giggling.
This mornings' market was a good one! From the minute you enter the grounds, you're bombarded with scrumptious scents, colorful sights, smiling faces and toe-tapping music. They have a bluegrass band that plays in one corner and you can sit and have your coffee and a fresh-baked scone or muffin and listen to the fiddle and banjo players pick out their tunes.
We saw fresh-baked breads, cakes, cookies, pies and muffins, buckets of fresh-picked flowers sold by the bunch, goat cheese, homemade soaps and honey. There were baskets full of plump, juicy blueberries and blackberries, tomatoes, squash, onions, cucumbers, lettuces, herbs, cabbage, greens, juicy peaches, apples and plums. There was handmade jewelry and artwork by local artists, handcrafted furniture and home decor, bird houses and yard ornaments. So much to see and be inspired by!
I bought some homemade whole wheat pasta from a little Amish family that travels to the market from nearby Summertown, and then some arugula and goat cheese from someone else. I bought a loaf of fresh-baked foccasia bread infused with fresh tomato and basil and had the beginning of the yummy dinner I had planned for tonight.
After the market, my friend invited me up to her garden to complete my list of dinner ingredients. She gathered tomatoes and basil and peppers from her bountiful garden. She even picked me a bunch of brightly colored zinnias to put in a vase. I thought WE had a lot of butterflies in OUR yard! You should have seen how many millions of them that graced her garden! She had butterfly bushes planted along a fence that were as tall as a house and were just covered with the hugest yellow, blue, gold and brown butterflies. I never saw so many in one place! It was magical.
Dinner turned out wonderful, if I do say so myself. When I got home, I chopped up some fresh garlic and chicken breast and sauteed it in olive oil. Then I chopped up some tomatoes and peppers and walnuts and added that to the mix. I boiled the whole wheat pasta and when it was tender, drained it and buttered it and added it to the chicken and veggies. I added Parmesan cheese and chopped up the arugula and put it in last, with a little salt and pepper. I sliced up some of the yummy foccasia bread and warmed it in the oven, then chopped up some basil and crumbled the feta cheese to put on top. It was scrumptious!
Saturday mornings like today are so special and fun! Good food, endless conversation and laughter and the best of friends to share it all with! I can't wait until our next trip to town!
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