Purchasing a Picnic at Pepper Place

Fresh, local produce.  It’s brought in by the truckload at the local farmers market- Pepper Place.  That’s where Eric and I visited early Saturday morning- my birthday surprise!  Get to 2nd Avenue South between 28th and 29th Streets early.  The market is open from 7am until noon.  Local chefs hold a cooking demonstration and pass out samples around 9:00am.

On our visit, it was a cheese tartlet with blackberries and goat cheese ice cream from the Culinard.  Not exceptional, but quite yummy and light on that very hot morning.  From there it was on to the vegetable stalls.  With each step we took around the circle of produce, we began to realize why this was such a happening place.  As we made our way through the crowd of people, many carrying reusable canvas bags, we caught a glimpse- first of a fresh cut tomato, then of a deep purple eggplant, and suddenly, rows and rows of homegrown peppers.  We rounded the corner only to find more tomatoes, these much redder, so we bought a stack for $4.00.  Then it was upon us.  The smell of Chilton County Peaches, stronger and sweeter than you’d ever smell in the grocery store.  Surely these were picked this morning!  We filled a bag and paid.  We also found some small, flavorful cucumbers and a nice, crisp bell pepper to round out our picnic.

Joining our assortment of vegetables and fruit were two cheeses from Whole Foods:  smooth, mild Brie and a bold, tangy blue wrapped in grape leaves called Valdeon.  To whet the pallet, a surprise from Eric: a bottle of Roederer Estate Brut.  Now this was a picnic!

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