How to Enjoy a Farmers Market

What fun to wake up on a summer Saturday morning and head out to a Farmers Market.  No need to make special preparations.  Good walking shoes, maybe a sun hat, and a little money in your pocket are all you need for a good time.

My husband, Wayne, and I are especially partial to the Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market, held on Main Street in downtown Las Cruces, New Mexico, about an hour's drive from our home.

Main Street, Las Cruces, New Mexico

Several blocks are blocked off for pedestrians, making for easy strolling on pavement and sidewalks, especially for patrons wearing summer sandals.

Street scene at market

Most of the good things in life can be found at the market.  Loads of tempting food and drink items, often with a southwestern flavor, are sold in food trucks.

Food Truck

Different varieties of live music, classical, rock, folk, Latin, can be heard on every street corner.  I especially like to leave a tip for the high school age performers who are brave enough to share their musical skills in public. 

Wayne likes to sit and visit our friends, Hopper and Katy Shannon, who have a blacksmith booth at the market.

Blacksmith booth

Hopper is a blacksmith artist who produces original items such as griddles with a chile pepper handle,(I would like one of these for my southwestern style kitchen someday!).  Handmade cooking utensils, knives, and hangers of various sorts are among his other creations. 

While Wayne is chatting, I like to wander by myself and soak up the festive atmosphere of the market.  And I delight in snatches of overheard conversations.

A father is explaining to his daughter that he is going to build a waterfall bathtub.  The creativity of the artists at the market must spill over to the customers! 

Two ladies of a certain age are sitting on a bench in the shade, engrossed in an animated conversation about life, I'm sure.

And I overhear several intriguing conversations by dog owners.  One elderly gentleman in front of a store, assures his small dog, "It's okay.  She'll be out in a minute."  Another less patient dog owner of a dog pulling at his leash tells his wife, "Well, then YOU take him."  

We made two purchases that Saturday morning.  Apricots were $2.00 a pound, so we bought two pounds.  What a flavor!  And I chose a good-sized fig tree for $15.00 to replace one that didn't make it in our yard.  Sadly, before I could plant the new tree in the courtyard at home, our southwestern weather hit the triple digit mark. The leaves of the new plant burned to a crisp.  It is now convalescing in a plant triage area, being given daily drinks of water and profuse apologies from me.

A children's water park looked like a great way to beat the heat.  Oh, to be a carefree child again!

Water park

The Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market is a top-rated event on Trip Advisor.  Regular opening times are Wednesday and Saturday mornings.  Check their Facebook page for special night openings for the summer season.  And have a great time!

Southwestern Cultural Mix Has A New Player

Street side door of Salt + Honey Bakery Cafe

Happening upon a new restaurant in my home town of El Paso, Texas is one of my secret joys, bad for the waistline but great for the spirit.  My husband, Wayne, and I discovered Salt + Honey Bakery Cafe soon after returning from a trip to Ireland, when our fun meter was still going strong.

Salt + Honey Bakery Cafe is located in a restored building in what is known as the Five Points area of El Paso.  The location is in an older neighborhood which has recently begun to undergo gentrification. I have great memories of the area, which used to have one of the few department stores in town, a Sears store, and a movie theater, the Pershing, which always brings pleasant memories of childhood.  Now an upscale coffee shop and several new restaurants can be found, among them our new discovery.

As we walked into the bustling Salt + Honey Bakery Cafe, my first impression was of a well-stocked bakery case, multiple seating areas, and light colored wood. Part of the original black and white small tile floor was still in evidence in the main cafe, and a hardwood floor had been added in another area.

First impression of cafe

Ah, Toto, we were not in El Paso anymore.  I could almost imagine I was in Los Angeles near the Grove/Farmers Market area, where my son, Clayton, and his girlfriend, Melissa, live. My hipness quotient went up considerably just by being a customer at the Salt and Honey.

One quality I like about El Paso is our mixture of people of different nationalities, social groups, and languages.  I wouldn't say we have reached cosmopolitan status, but we are a border city and a bit of a melting pot. The seating in the cafe reflected the concept that all are welcome.  A counter was available for customers who want a quick cup of coffee and one of the scrumptious-looking homemade pastries.  

Counter customers

The counter seating  reminded Wayne of the old-fashioned drugstores of his youth.  We vowed to return some morning soon.

Techies are welcome.

For those of us tied to our electronic devices (and who isn't these days?) stations are available with plenty of light and plug-ins to commune with your favorite electronic friend or even human one.  

Customers wanting a softer seat and a living room atmosphere can sit on a sofa in one area of the cafe, while traditionalists can sit at regular tables.  Seating by the front window would have been perfect for me to look out on the street and watch passers-by. 

But how about the food, you may be wondering.  I found many items on the menu to try, surprising for the picky eater that I am.  The Salt + Honey offers choices for all-day breakfast, brunch and lunch. Breakfast choices include Vanilla Chia Pudding, Baklava Pancakes, and The Londoner. Some of the brunch items are Hummus Avocado Toast (my choice), East Coast Bagel, and La Huevona.  La Huevona is a egg dish (huevos are eggs in Spanish), but the joke is that huevona is a slang word for "lazy" in the El Paso area.  Lunch items include The Black Friday, Summer Burrata, and, of course, a hamburger (not your father's hamburger, to be sure). More information about the cafe is available here.

The Salt + Honey is a place where different cultures and influences come together— 

Middle Eastern, international, traditional, and modern.  I'm ready to return already!

A Bit of Southwestern Serendipity

The restaurant reviews in our local newspaper, The El Paso Times, are tailor-made for readers like me.  I love to try out new restaurants, not so much for the food, but more for a different dining experience.

"Indulge your taste buds in Las Cruces" read the article's headline. So much the better, I thought. Here is a good chance to travel to a neighboring city and really try something new.  Las Cruces is located in the state of New Mexico, about 60 miles from my home town of El Paso, Texas. During the hour's drive, the mind relaxes as farms, pecan trees, and homes built with pleasantly rounded corners come into view.

We located the Indulgence Bakery and Cafe in a small shopping center on Main Street. The newspaper article mentioned that the Indulgence had risen from the ashes of a former popular bistro on the same location.  I heard several locals complimenting the restaurant manager and giving best wishes for continued success for the bakery.

The article also mentioned that the Indulgence is like being in a friend's home. I felt it was very much like relaxing in the kitchen of a friend who was a very good cook.  The Indulgence's varied menu made ordering a challenge, a very different experience from eating in chain restaurants that have proliferated in our area, where food is often pre-packaged and, well, boring.

The Indulgence decor was unique as well.  A chalk message on the wall gave a mouthwatering list of baking ingredients, as well as a slogan, "Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy."

  

The walls were attractively decorated with copper pots and pans

and a old-fashioned coffee poster.

We ordered coffee and made our decisions from the menu.  A new restaurant experience called for a fresh breakfast choice, so I threw dieting to the winds and ordered strawberry blintzes.

My husband, Wayne, the traditionalist, went for biscuits and gravy served with scrambled eggs and hash browns.

The bakery counter had a steady stream of customers.

Maybe it was the cream puffs that were the big draw?  The two lemon ones we ordered for dessert were, in a word, luscious.

I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant, with all types of local customers.  The waitress was friendly and found time to chat with us.

"Serendipity"  (what a great word!) is defined as "good luck in finding things not sought for."  At the Indulgence, we found not only breakfast, but also a relaxing, memorable place to return to soon. Getting out of one's rut is good for the soul!

You know you are a true southwesterner when...

The Desert Southwest has a culture all its own.  You know you are a true southwesterner when ...

You order Eggs Benedict prepared with a special southwestern sauce;

You get your camera ready for a snow shot, because you know the snow will melt soon;

You celebrate the Christmas season with a breakfast cookout in the desert;

You never tire of listening to a mariachi band play traditional Mexican music;

You celebrate every cactus bloom in early spring;

You earmark recipes containing the words "Texas"and "beer";

You brag about your skill in making homemade flour tortillas;

You  prepare migas instead of plain old scrambled eggs for breakfast;

You get excited when a desert plant blooms;

You are always on the lookout for new landscaping ideas.

Can you add your own favorite experiences of living in the Desert Southwest?