Our village of Mishicot has a nice little market every Wednesday morning. Early. In the interest of distance and the fact that we just like our little village, we set our sights for our grand entrance in fresh-from-the-farm marketing at Mishicot.
Collin was in for sure, with his Clucker's eggs, and Lee thought it sounded like a good adventure for a budding entrepeneur. Grandma was along for the ride. I can count on fun and adventures when I do anything with the punks.
Gardens have been hit and miss this season, some folks have had to depend on the markets for quite a bit of their fresh eating. We didn't have a lot of produce, but that didn't stop us. An unexpected apple-picking foray provided some nice Transparent apples, which are just coming in season. Had a few kohlrabi and some nice salsa peppers. Some crabapples from the tree at the end of the driveway - "What on earth do you do with them?" I could just hear it - so I printed up a recipe for spiced crabapples to go with them. Since I love to bake bread, that went on my own list. Now all we had to do was pull it off!
At 5:15 a.m. Wednesday morning I was up with the sun and headed for the garden to pick the kohlrabi and peppers. The peppers are still in the garden, because the turkeys had decided this was THE morning to push their gate down and go gardening on their own. By the time I got them persuaded to go back in their ROOMY pasture pen, there was only time to snag the kohlrabbis and dash for the farmhouse to pick up the punks.
We were at the market right at 6:30 a.m. and got the spot I had scoped out - if you park just right, you can stay shaded all morning, which is important on an 8o degree day.
I had suggested to the boys that wearing their Scout uniforms would make a good impression and draw sympathic attention to our meager booth. They looked real spiffy when I picked them up. Lee was so excited - he had been up and dressed since 4:30 a.m., much to his brother's surprise.
We parked next to an older gentleman I had bought some veggies from the previous week. He immediately made use of the Scouts. In his 80's, with a bum arm and health issues, this fellow still gardens avidly and makes the rounds of several markets each week. He knows all the tricks of the trade and was generous with advice . He really really appreciated Collin, and having some extra hands to get set up.
The 'burb has a lift-gate which I counted on for supplying the canopy shade I knew we were going to need. It worked really well for displaying the signs Lee and Jayden had made, depicting farm life - cute, eh? Lee pitched right in, setting up and labeling all our goodies.
Collin had lettered our white-board sign the night before. This whole booth setup was pretty much the punk's show. I supplied French bread, Banana snack cake (which Max had packaged two to a snack bag - his idea!), a pot of flowers, and a few suggestions.
It was wonderful to see how the guys just stepped in and did what needed to be done, efficiently and with suprising knowledge. All those trips to markets with me over the years must have sunk in! They are really observant punks!
By 7 a.m., as the sun peeked over the treetops and the roof of the Mishicot Family Market (which generously lets the Farmer's Market set up in their parking lot each week), we were all set!
The same folks tend to come to the markets each week. It was fun to be part of the "gang" that I had come to know over the past couple years of buying from them.
Those Scout uniforms were like porch lights to moths - once the folks realized the punks were good reliable and cheerful helpers, they were drafted for good deeds left and right!
Good job, fellas! Made a gramma proud to be with them!
We sold all the eggs we had brought, and could have sold another half dozen. People staying at Fox Hills Resort, a few blocks away, are always good customers because they stay in condos with kitchens and love to come to the market for eggs, fruit, veggies, and other treats. I had printed up a fun Puffy Popover recipe to hand out with each carton of eggs.Next time, along with bread, I think I'll bring some popovers and scones - the Scone Lady informed us it was her last week, she is a school teacher and school starts next week. I'll be happy to fill her shoes, her scones were popular items. This week was Blueberry, and White Chocolate Raspberry. Fun stuff!
Our apples were the only ones there, so they went over well. The fresh French Bread went quickly, as the word spread there was some "good bread down there". The punks were praying one loaf would be left, they were drooling over it the prospect of noshing on one of their favorite breads on the way home - their wish came true. We even sprung for some butter from the store to go with it, as a reward for our morning's work.
Lots of exclaiming over the Kossack Kohrabi - it is huge and doesn't turn woody. Sweet and crisp, it's a good veg I'll be planting again. That's an icecream bucket it's sitting in, to give some size scale...
Our adventure was a success on all fronts. We made $40, gained some new friends, learned some more Hmong words and phrases, arranged to deliver some chickens we sold to one of the vendors (another $28 in the kitty), and had a great morning.
We're already planning for next Wednesday morning! The Market stays open through mid-October when the village has a Pumpkin Fest.
We love living here in amid the farmland and small villages - have I mentioned that?!
2 comments:
I was pretty sure those were Kossacks. One goes a long way, doesn't it?
Way to go group!!! Great pictures of the day too!
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