There was lots of good news from the farmer’s market today. The market will meet every other week until Spring, and Mara and I will make sure to get there every day it operates—some good news for today. I love watching these gifted and creative people—most, but not all, of them young—move forward and into the future.
There are people in the world who complain about things and people in the world who do things.
Our Farmer’s Market is full of the latter.
They support one another, encourage each other, and inspire the rest of us to stop complaining and start living. I’m married to one of them, but the people in the market are new to me, and they make my life better and more hopeful.
The future is here, and it isn’t in Washington. There’s some great energy coming out of the Farmer’s Market, and it’s great to see parents hauling their kids around with them.
The good news today:
Kean McLLvaine, the Washington D.C. refugee and owner of Covered Bridge Bread, is now making whole-grain focaccia, an excellent food for people with diabetes. I thank her for doing that; she makes the most beautiful bread and enriches our breakfasts. I did ask for it, but I never imagined she would do it.
Kean also makes whole-grain bread that is both healthy and delicious. I have two great breakfast choices.
The good news is that she is opening a bakery just down the road from our farmhouse that will be open year-round.
That is an excellent deal for us; the kind of bread she makes is tough to find here. I’ll be around beating the drums when she opens on Route 22, one or two miles from the farmhouse. Kean came here from Washington, D.C. She’s putting together the foundation for a long-wanted bakery.
Kean, congratulations on your new bakery. I can’t wait.
Casey Face is just a few weeks away from opening her Coffee/Canteen breakfast and food cafe.
She is from this area and seems to know everyone. She is looking at two or three locations and considering several other ways to structure her new business, which she has worked on for months.
She might occupy a beautiful brick-and-border building right in the middle of town, or she might set up in a former factory downtown where she could serve classy breakfasts and have some wine evenings in the building, or she might work out of the now beautiful horse trailer she has just renovated and re-designed. I can’t give any further details, but they are exciting. I’m following her dream when I can.
I love seeing Casey at the market with her year-old daughter, who is usually asleep. This baby will probably end up in the food business, too. She never wants her children to grow up without being around her.
Casey has worked in food businesses for much of her life and was trained as an interior designer. Her head is spinning with plans, new ideas, and decisions. She makes me dizzy with so many ideas, but I am impressed by her focus and determination.
Casey’s thoughtfulness is impressive. She has talked to every person in the area who has ever opened a cafe or coffee house. Of all the dreamers here, she seems to have the most focused bead on what she wants to do. Her real challenge is where to do it. She says she is very close to deciding. Our town could use a coffee and breakfast place. I’m following Casey’s story; I’ll share it with you.
Exceptionally gifted women are reimagining food in our community. They are just bursting through the old country barriers.
I’m fascinated to see how they do it.
They are focused on avoiding their elders’ mistakes and troubles. None of them have a lot of money, but they have something as valuable—enthusiasm, good friends and supportive families, and a great deal of imagination. They brighten the world around them. They don’t seem to waste any time complaining or failing.
Casey moves ahead slowly and carefully; I’ve appreciated following how she is building her dream. It would be a grave mistake to underestimate her.
Above, the Adirondack Seafood Co.
Jim and his family from the Adirondack Seafood Company in Queensbury, north of our town, are this year’s biggest and happiest surprise at the Farmer’s Market. I never imagined getting excellent fresh seafood here in Cambridge every Sunday. I love seafood and would have it for every meal if I could. Now, at times, I can.
Today was a morning of seafood treasure; I wish I had enough money to try all the creative and different seafood offerings. Above, I got three fresh wild salmon cuts (in the bags), some stuffed scallops in a sale, shrimp salad, two Maryland crab cakes (with lots of real crab meat), and enough lobster meat for three meals.
Jim is one of the nicest people I have met anywhere. He knows his seafood.
I look forward to seeing him and his family on Sunday. They are just a pleasure to know. They work hard, are cheerful and creative, and constantly surprise me with their new and different ideas for eating seafood. Jim says he considers the intake every week (always different), and he and his family decide what to make. Today, I’m having the stuffed scallops for lunch. We are having company for dinner; they don’t get to eat the seafood.
I look forward to the market on Sunday. I’m finally learning the meaning of community, and I love watching these innovative and hard-working younger people use their skills and imagination creatively and successfully. They are lighting up our town. Most importantly, they are all supporting each other. This is something new and important.
These are the people who ought to be in the news every now, not aging political ghouls with nothing to offer but hatred and whining. The Adirondack seafood people are refreshing and encouraging; they lift me. They aren’t just talking about life; they are living it, like the other dreamers and hard-working farmers in the Farmer’s Market.
I’m not forgetting Cindy Casavant, our friend, the Crazy Goad Lady. She is still feeling and milling new goat babies, which means she has cheese and fresh soap and will soon be back at the market.
