I know I said that I try to only go to the store once when hosting a dinner party, and that is true. But if I deviate from that plan, it might be to head up the street to the Farmer’s Market for fresh produce (if we don’t have it in our garden).
Remember this post on planning your menu according to what’s in season? Your menu comes together easily when you can save money and shop for what’s in season rather than for food items that are hard to find (and more expensive off-season).
Do you take advantage of the Farmer’s Market in your area when you shop for your menu? Or, maybe you are blessed with friends who share with you from their garden?
I love My First Kitchen’s post on shopping the market.
Don’t forget to visit my 31-Day friends …
Chatting at the Sky, Nesting Place, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, My First Kitchen, Life With My 3 Boybarians, Remodeling This Life, The Inspired Room (The above photo was taken in downtown Dublin, when my husband and I visited.)
Hi, I'm Sandy. Five years ago I stocked up on beautiful glasses from the Dollar Store. As I started writing about dinner parties, I realized that this “icon” portrays a great message. 
We go to the Rynok (market) where you can literally find anything and everything. There are some larger grocery stores with decent fresh fruits and vegetables, but most locals go to the outdoor markets. Some salespeople don’t even bother with the market and set up shop on the sidewalk or in the metro stations- fresh chickens, rabbits, jams, fruits, potatoes, etc. My housekeeper has a dacha about 3 hours away and she’ll bring me fresh goods every now and then, too.
Tara G.´s last [type] ..Party at the Marine House
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I would love to shop at Farmers Markets more, but our nearest one is 30 minutes away, which isn’t bad, but not always convenient. I love to share my garden goodies and I’ve been the recipient of goodies too. In fact that reminds me that I need to walk to my neighbors and pick some apples.
Kirstin´s last [type] ..Loving Manual Mode!
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Oh, how I love the market. For us here in Michigan, it ends this weekend.
The Italian Dish´s last [type] ..BlogHer Food 2010 in San Francisco
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I LOVE the Farmer’s Market and hit it EVERY week.
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Oooooo I love Farmer’s Markets! Mine is so so so much smaller. This one looks quite wonderful!
http://ashleyanderic.blogspot.com
Ashley Hasty´s last [type] ..Ski Like a Rockstar
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Our little village has a Farmer’s market and a good produce store so I feel very lucky. I love shopping them and coming home with bags of wonderful fruits, vegetables and bakery goods. Our Farmer’s Market will be closing for the season so I will be shopping at the produce store where the prices are a little better, the selection is huge and they have a fresh meat counter, a deli with fab prices and an European style bakery. This year our tomato crop was great, the herbs were great , but our friends gardens were really lagging.
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We love our small town farmers market!!
Debbie Smith´s last [type] ..Its Friday
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2 more weekends for ours then it’s a wrap until late Spring. I miss it already; it’s truly the highlight of the warm months here in Des Moines.
darcy @ m3b´s last [type] ..When natural light won’t cut it Day 19
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