San Mateo Farmers’ Market

This is a blessedly abbreviated market. I love such open-air affairs as much as the next girl, but early on a Saturday morning, surrounded by California hippies and all their self-righteous airs, not to mention parents with their 4×4-sized pushchairs…Well, twenty minutes to do the whole thing sounds about right to me.

Last weekend, I filmed some video of the whole affair with my mobile. On this morning, I was most enamoured of the Parisian-style rotisserie chickens and potatoes (which I admired but did not purchase or sample). But speaking of samples, EVERYONE gives them out at this market, so there really is no need to eat breakfast before you leave home. My favorites were the Afghan dips and flatbreads being offered by a cute guy named David, though I knew better than to buy any of those (my friend did). I did purchase two six-packs of sugar-free, low-carb cookies from Sweet Temptations – the vanilla chocolate chip are the best, and I bought another two packs ($9 for both) this past Saturday. The cookies are made with pure almond meal instead of flour, and malitol instead of sugar. Not something one can scoff in great quantities, but a nice treat when a celery stick will not suffice.

With the low-carb mentality in mind, I also managed to avoid buying or sampling anything from the bakery stall, with its magnificent breads and majestic patisserie. I did try a lot of the fresh fruit on offer from the farmers, falling hard for some stunning cherries, yellow peaches and white nectarines. With the addition of two sugar-free bags of flavored almonds (chilli con limon and tamari spice), I was good to go.

Best find of the market? A man wearing a t-shirt which read: “All God’s creatures are welcome…right next to my mashed potatoes.” I was wearing my “Save the humans” t-shirt with a delicious whale on the front, and was heartened to see that I wasn’t the only bloodthirsty carnivore in attendance. Reason enough to keep devoting 20 minutes per week to this place.