First Farmers Market of the Season [2016]

I’ve been thinking a lot about my inner earth goddess (aka inner hippie) lately. I think we all have one and more often than not we end up ignoring her. Unknowingly of course. You can feel her awaken when you pause to take a deep breath or spend time in pigeon pose. My inner earth goddess is my strength and determination. She is fierce and protective, but whispers in my ear when I should do something that scares me. She is a fermenter of all the things! She loves feeling the earth between her fingers, under her nails, and packed against her bare feet. She knows the strength of self-healing. She loves reading about chaga tonics and empowered humans. She feels alive and renewed after time spent with grounded friends. She appreciates the wind washing through the tallest trees and the densest moss. When she is grounded she feels her energy root her to the earth’s energy. She is alive.

I don’t mean to ignore her and I’m always surprised when I’m aware that it’s happened. A few months ago I received a Four Sigma coffee mushroom blend in a Vegan Cuts. I began thinking why couldn’t I make this myself? So, I ordered a few things. Then I got thinking about how Dara Dubinet creates all of her tonics—many with reishi and chaga mushrooms. Didn’t she make an ebook? Yes. I went and bought it and I was reading her words and recipes and I just felt alive. It was pretty late at night if I remember correctly. That’s the night my little goddess opened a tired eye in my direction. And the spell was broken. Part of me awoke and I’ve been trying to keep her awake ever since.

I felt her strength yesterday at our first farmers market of the season. Happy 2016, it’s a new year! The buzz of people. The humming of freshly cut plants, bright green and filled with nature’s most powerful resources. I was excited!

Our Discovery

It’s berry season and the main berry seller had gorgeous strawberries to offer. We bought a box for $16. Every single one has such strength and power in its flavor. Unlike anything you’d buy at Safeway.

It wasn’t long before we spotted morels and wild greens. My inner goddess led me through throngs of people to view the spread. We bought a bag of nettles, fiddleheads, and a basket of morels.

I’ve had nettle leaf tea, but never had such a fun treasure to play with. I found my first resource for learning about nettles. Nettle pesto? Yes please.

I’ve seen gorgeous pictures of sautéed fiddleheads, but never cooked with them. As I do, I threw them into a pan with sliced morels, a little olive oil, and fresh minced garlic. As I cooked I wondered how long they had to cook for.

Are they like asparagus? About 5 minutes?

I’ll check google.

😒 Oh really. They’re highly toxic?

Fiddleheads need to be boiled or steamed first. Please tell me more.

I scoured and scoured to find an article validating what I had just done. Nada. Learn from my mistake and google uncommon vegetables you haven’t cooked before. The fiddleheads went to waste, but I pulled out the cooked morels, because morels. Delicious and expensive af. I hope I get a second chance to try fiddleheads next week.

This is the first time we’ve bought morels. In Iowa Jeremy has morel-hunting uncle. To say it is one of his top ten skills would be an understatement. We were once gifted a Jewel shopping bag full of them.

I’ve seen a few morel pictures on ig this week and my mouth and creativity have been watering. It got me thinking about going on my own foraging adventure. I started to look up forums online for the pnw.

Our next stop was a tamale vendor. Sorry I didn’t get their name. But when I saw vegan tamales on their board my feet carried me over the pavement before I had time to say okay.

We weren’t hungry, but saw you could buy a ready to freeze supply of 4 for $12. They’ll last several days in the fridge or can be frozen for later use. They were our dinner last night. OMFG. So amazing! The earthy nuttiness of lentils mixed with corn masa and seasonings? Heaven.

As we made our way around I remembered there was a stand with herb-y looking things that I wanted to go back to. My mind had bookmarked it and we just had to find it again. It wasn’t where I remembered it and for a moment thought of Harry Potter and Diagon Alley.

But then I saw it. Tinctures, lemon balm, tea blends, and more. My inner goddess was standing on tiptoes and radiating moon beams. This beautiful business is the work of Dr. Linda Kingsbury. She is an herbalist and owner of Idaho Herbs. She offers classes, consultations, and products. Yesterday I was drawn to her tea blends and class schedule. She has so many offerings. I am very excited.

I picked up her Calendula Morning and Rose Relaxing blends. Each jar makes about 33 cups of tea. I can’t wait to use the calendula one in a batch of kombucha!! We ended up talking about WordPress, websites, and Instagram. It was so nice meeting you Linda!

Also, if you have lemon balm growing in your yard or pick some up, place it in a pitcher and cover with water. Drink like you would lemon infused water. It’s light and refreshing and boasts several healing properties.