To market, to market, to buy a...nice cabbage?

Steven and I have discovered two diamonds in the rough this week. Actually the people I work for told us about them so we really cannot take the credit.

Since our finances have balanced out and we've recovered from last years disaster of unemployment, we have been buying a lot more fresh vegetables and higher quality of meats. Unfortunately eating healthy costs more and when you are lacking in funds, hamburger helper and hot dogs are your diet. Now that we are buying things that are better for us, we are realizing that the quality of produce in our HEB is iffy and they don't always have what we want. For example, last week they had no fresh spinach and the tomatoes were expensive and overly ripe, and an onion I bought was rotten in the center when I cut it open.

Well, the lady I work for sometimes asks me to start dinner for them and yesterday she wanted me to start a roast in the crock pot but she was out of onions. She asked if I didn't mind getting one and that it would be easier to go to the "Farm Patch" because taking the triplets to a grocery store is hard. I, being new to town, had no idea what the Farm Patch was so she gave me directions and the kids and I headed out after breakfast in search of an onion.

Let me tell you... This place is AMAZING! It's a local produce market in every sense. All the produce is locally grown, it's excellent quality and wonderful prices!!!! And it's a really cute market place. Everything is in a covered area but it's open on both ends so if feels like it's out doors. I couldn't pass up a cantaloupe for Steven and myself because they looked and smelled so good. I was so excited about this place that Steven and I went after work and got lots of good things. We got a nice big cabbage, some new potatoes, corn, onions, and even some yummy honey that was harvested locally. They also sell locally made tortillas. You can get 20 flour tortillas or 50 corn tortillas for $1.50! They also had pure sorghum syrup and I think I may have to get some next time. It's a really neat market and very clean. Steven and I have decided that from now on, that's where we will get our produce.

Another great thing we found out about is the local meat market. Sam (my boss), gets all of her meat at this place and I've been noticing what good quality it is. I assumed it would be expensive and not in our budget so I never asked about where she bought it before, but yesterday when I was making the roast, I noticed the price had been written on the paper and it was very reasonable and cheaper than meat that Steven and I looked at in HEB. So again, I asked her about it and she told me where it was and we went there after work as well. It was so neat too. It's almost felt like stepping back in time when we went to these markets. It made us much more conscious of what we were buying and it was a lot more fun!

Sam is from College Station so she knows all of the best places. This has been invaluable to us. They've helped us so much since we moved. I really feel like God provided them for me in more ways that just a paycheck. Liking the people you work for isn't a given and it's most certainly a blessing when not only do you like them, but they show you how they appreciate you as well.

So since the roast I "crock-potted" for their family smelled so good when I left yesterday, I decided to make one for us at home. Lately I've been putting the crock pot my sister gave me to good use. It's very handy on school days when I know I'm going to be tired in the evening. This is the first time I've made a roast for us to eat so...we'll see how it goes!