It's amazing what eight days and one phone-call can do to make a two-year-old dream melt like a magnificent ice-sculpture in the heat of summer.
The purpose of this blog "Journey to the Farmer's Market" was to have a place to archieve all the fun, frustrating, and exciting preparation that happens behind the scenes of a farmer's market vendor.
It's a bad habit, but I can be a really good procrastinator if I put my mind to it, and this blog motivated me to keep going. It's like accountability. If I know someone--yes, faithful reader, I mean you--is sharing this journey, it motivates me to make that call, start that menu, make an ingredients list...and so I did.
Last Thursday I called the Linn County Health Department and asked a woman what it would take for me to sell ice-cream at the Noelridge Park Farmer's Market. What she said next made the ice-sculpture's nose literally dive off it's face and dash into a pile of slush (okay, I'm being dramatic. It's for effect...bear with me).
She explained that I would need to get a Food Processor’s License, and gave me a name and number to call for info. To make a long story short, she said potentially hazardous foods (like ice-cream…yes that includes soy) must be made in “a separate facility other than a home.” It has to be packaged in an authorized plant. So, I won’t be selling ice-cream at the Farmer’s Market...not unless I want to get the license (which I'm pretty sure is not free) and make the ice-cream someplace else.
I felt like slush (aka "crushed"). What if I had found that out two years ago? Why did I wait until I bought the awning, made a home-made menu etc. etc. etc.
Here it was. A fork in the road. We're always faced with a choice. We can sit down and throw a tantrum. We can regret ever starting the journey in the first place. Or we can choose the third option: Have your cake and eat it, too (after all, if you come to a fork in the road, use it!)
So, I am. I'm in the kitchen again, making ice-cream for friends and family. My market will look different, maybe it will be a birthday party, or a backyard picnic...but I'm going to keep learning. And who says I couldn't use an awning for that?
Keep your dreams alive. And, don't forget to let yourself eat a little cake.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
What's Your "Why"?
Okay, maybe you're wondering what I plan to sell at the Farmer's Market if has nothing to do with leafy green veggies, sweet corn or fruit. Here are a couple of hints. It's cold. It's wet, and it's something you might crave on a hot summer's day (and no, it's not water!) and it doesn't have anything to do with my e-mail address serenasmoothies. I could just blab, but I'd rather begin "once upon a time."
This is an excerpt from my ice-cream dairy...you're a very privelaged reader:
September 18, 2008 - When Melissa and I were at a top-notch shop in Wyoming, I came across an ice-cream recipe book! My mouth filled with water and my heart did a satisfied “sigh.” But when I showed Melissa, she said she wouldn’t know how to make ice-cream without dairy products but that she believed I would find a way. I remember that my heart sort of sank. I wondered, “That’s not fair. It doesn’t seem fair; there’s gotta be a way to make something like ice-cream without dairy. And something that tastes good.”
That's sort of how it started. I began researching ice-cream makers and fell in love with the ICE-40 by Cuisineart. It is a 2 qt. double-canister ice-cream maker, and PERFECT for indecisive people (i.e. "Hmmm...do I want to make blueberry ice-cream, or vanilla? I know, I'll make both!) Nothing is ever impossible; impossible is only a state of mind. When I put that recipe book back, I felt like a dream inside me died. Later, I began to see that was only page one of a much more exciting book. Melissa was right, there's always a way.
This is an excerpt from my ice-cream dairy...you're a very privelaged reader:
September 18, 2008 - When Melissa and I were at a top-notch shop in Wyoming, I came across an ice-cream recipe book! My mouth filled with water and my heart did a satisfied “sigh.” But when I showed Melissa, she said she wouldn’t know how to make ice-cream without dairy products but that she believed I would find a way. I remember that my heart sort of sank. I wondered, “That’s not fair. It doesn’t seem fair; there’s gotta be a way to make something like ice-cream without dairy. And something that tastes good.”
That's sort of how it started. I began researching ice-cream makers and fell in love with the ICE-40 by Cuisineart. It is a 2 qt. double-canister ice-cream maker, and PERFECT for indecisive people (i.e. "Hmmm...do I want to make blueberry ice-cream, or vanilla? I know, I'll make both!) Nothing is ever impossible; impossible is only a state of mind. When I put that recipe book back, I felt like a dream inside me died. Later, I began to see that was only page one of a much more exciting book. Melissa was right, there's always a way.
8 Tips for Successful Selling at the Farmer's Market
For those of you who are interested in selling (or are already selling) at the Farmer's Market in your town, here are 8 wonderful tips from Cee Belair's article "Tips for Successful Selling at a Farmer's Market". Even if you're not selling veggies or fruit (like me) it can be applied other food product. Enjoy!:
1.Make sure your display is neat and attractive. Make it easy for people to see what you have displayed.
2.Display your products at least 6 inches off of the ground. Make sure you have a sturdy table or display area to prevent falling onto the ground. Remember there will probably be a lot of people and things can get knocked over easily.
3.Post your prices. Consumers want to see what your asking price is! A lot of people feel uncomfortable having to ask, which can cost you a potential sale.
4.Replenish your containers as soon as they get emptied. Keep your table full of attractive colors and arrange them for great eye appeal!
5.Bring your highest quality plants or vegetables. People don't want to see brown lettuce or rotten tomatoes.
When you are preparing to head off to the Farmer's Market, there are a few things you might want to consider bringing with you.
1.Bring a spray bottle with good quality drinking water to spray your vegetables to keep them looking fresh!
2.Bring a cooler for things like eggs or meat. You don't want anything to spoil while you're there.
3.Bring paper towels and soap to keep your hands clean.
4.Consider bringing a canopy to protect your produce from the sun. Some Farmer's Markets run for quite awhile and the sun can do a lot of damage to your plants, and to you!
5.Bring plenty of paper or plastic bags. It's a little awkward to carry a dozen tomatoes without one.
6.Bring a tablecloth to freshen up your table and give it an inviting appearance.
7.Don't forget a first aid kit, it's a good idea to have one on hand. Most Farmer's Markets don't have a high incidence of injury, but you never know!
8.Bring a cash box and plenty of change to break big bills. Also keep on hand some paper and pens if you need to make notes or write anything down.
(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/178395/tips_for_successful_selling_at_a_farmers_pg2.html?cat=32)
1.Make sure your display is neat and attractive. Make it easy for people to see what you have displayed.
2.Display your products at least 6 inches off of the ground. Make sure you have a sturdy table or display area to prevent falling onto the ground. Remember there will probably be a lot of people and things can get knocked over easily.
3.Post your prices. Consumers want to see what your asking price is! A lot of people feel uncomfortable having to ask, which can cost you a potential sale.
4.Replenish your containers as soon as they get emptied. Keep your table full of attractive colors and arrange them for great eye appeal!
5.Bring your highest quality plants or vegetables. People don't want to see brown lettuce or rotten tomatoes.
When you are preparing to head off to the Farmer's Market, there are a few things you might want to consider bringing with you.
1.Bring a spray bottle with good quality drinking water to spray your vegetables to keep them looking fresh!
2.Bring a cooler for things like eggs or meat. You don't want anything to spoil while you're there.
3.Bring paper towels and soap to keep your hands clean.
4.Consider bringing a canopy to protect your produce from the sun. Some Farmer's Markets run for quite awhile and the sun can do a lot of damage to your plants, and to you!
5.Bring plenty of paper or plastic bags. It's a little awkward to carry a dozen tomatoes without one.
6.Bring a tablecloth to freshen up your table and give it an inviting appearance.
7.Don't forget a first aid kit, it's a good idea to have one on hand. Most Farmer's Markets don't have a high incidence of injury, but you never know!
8.Bring a cash box and plenty of change to break big bills. Also keep on hand some paper and pens if you need to make notes or write anything down.
(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/178395/tips_for_successful_selling_at_a_farmers_pg2.html?cat=32)
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Journey to the Farmer's Market: Beginnings
This is so exciting! Having a blog, that is. The title kinda makes it sound like the journey to the Farmer's Market is just beginning, but really it started back in December 2008. My siblings and I were sitting around a round table coloring. Yes, we had all the markers, crayons and colored pencils we could ever dream of (my sister-in-law is an amazing artist, after all). The goal? Create a picture of your new year's resolutions.
I can almost see mine now. It's pinned to my bulletin-board...we'll it's practically buried under all the papers, business cards, and my calender...but I don't have to be able to see it to know one of my 2008 resolutions: I will sell smoothies at the Farmer's Market in July-Aug.
I could go into all the details--visiting the Noelridge Park Farmer's Market, and talking with some of the vendors, visiting the owners of Tic Tac Toe who sold at that market, and finding out costs of venues from the Market Master etc. etc. etc.--but I think that would be tedious. And the first blog shouldn't be tedious. So, here's to New Year's and resolutions and an exciting journey ahead! Let's go!
I can almost see mine now. It's pinned to my bulletin-board...we'll it's practically buried under all the papers, business cards, and my calender...but I don't have to be able to see it to know one of my 2008 resolutions: I will sell smoothies at the Farmer's Market in July-Aug.
I could go into all the details--visiting the Noelridge Park Farmer's Market, and talking with some of the vendors, visiting the owners of Tic Tac Toe who sold at that market, and finding out costs of venues from the Market Master etc. etc. etc.--but I think that would be tedious. And the first blog shouldn't be tedious. So, here's to New Year's and resolutions and an exciting journey ahead! Let's go!
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