Ok, so we came, we saw, we conquered! And we left with some yummy yummy organic produce!The Twilight Market I mentioned yesterday was a lot of fun. It started at 6pm, but seeing as it was still bright and sunny we waited until 7 before going. First of all, it was fabulous to have a farmer's market so close to home. (We usually have to plan what feels like a day trip to hit up the Saturday or Wednesday morning ones!)
This market is held in The Citadel--a small outdoor shopping plaza in Arrowhead. There was a lot of fun stuff going on! A child's entertainer (complete with balloon animals!), some kind of hair-styling makeover (we didn't stay to watch, but they had two styling chairs up on a stage), a live band and tons of yummy things to eat (ice cream, European pastries, frozen lemonade, etc.).
But, armed with our produce tote bags, we felt a little out of place looking for the stands of produce. We finally spotted some (although, not organic). By the time we wandered over to Maya's Farm stand, I was getting skeptical. For such a small stand, it sure was a bustling place to be, though. We waited a bit and then got a chance to ask Maya about her produce/soil.
What a pleasant surprise! This woman knows her stuff! Her sign read something about "Certified Naturally Grown," which if you're like me, doesn't mean much. Can't anything claim to be natural? Even Safeway and Fry's advertise "fresh, natural" produce.
I was so glad I asked her about the naturally grown certification. She explained that the Certified Organic label as issued by the FDA has lost most meaning to truly organic farmers (she is so right--you wouldn't believe the amount of pesticides legally allowed within the organic certification standards), so she and other local farmers have their own certification in which they adhere to their own, higher standards and inspect each other's farms to insure high quality.
Here's what I found online about Maya: "Maya's Farm keeps the growing process as simple as possible by utilizing organic and biodynamic techniques and laboring by hand to cultivate our land and grow our food. We believe our products are the most natural, fresh and delicious you can find in the Phoenix area. Visitors are welcome to stop by and see our beautiful farm where we sell our products as well as food and handmade goods by other local artisans."
Wow. So impressed. She had great prices and lots of fun, different foods. We packed our bag with cantaloupe, spinach, a purple bell pepper (So excited about this! Did you know green peppers are green because they aren't ripe? A definite no-no for your digestive system.), cherry tomatoes, an onion, a bunch of basil, apples and green beans. She had fresh flowers, eggplant, squash and all kinds of goodies attractively displayed under her bigger-than-it-looks tent.
Overall, it was a huge success! There were tons of people (though we felt like the only ones there to do our grocery shopping), but even more exciting, I learned a lot! Maya's Farm is over at South Mountain and I can't wait to get out there to visit it for myself.
