Hello. It’s me. I was wondering if after all these months you’d like to read a post.
It’s surely been a while since my last blog post. Time really does get away from you with a busy school schedule, busy Netflix schedule (kidding, but also not really), and then a busy internship schedule. But if I’ve taken anything away from this busy Spring/Summer, it’s the importance of taking time for yourself. Now of course, there’s a lot of different ways to refuel yourself, and for me, I actually prefer to be with other people when I take time for myself. I know, it sounds odd, but give me a chance to explain.
One of my favorite ways to give back to myself is through yoga. After taking my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training course this past year, I am officially a certified yoga teacher (humble brag). And while teaching is super rewarding, there’s nothing more fulfilling than taking a good yoga class and really being present in the moment. If there’s anything yoga has taught me, it’s the importance of showing up and being present in everything that you do. In fact, one of my favorite quotes is “be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyways” (it’s even been my Twitter AND Instagram bio quote, go figure). But I’m really not here to give you a big lecture about the yamas and the niyamas; I’m actually not here to lecture you about yoga at all.
There’s a lot of different ways to be with other people and feel like you are taking time for yourself. It’s as simple as spending time with friends completely engulfed in your conversation. Or going shopping for a day with no intent to buy anything in particular and no time frame (although truth be told, these are usually the trips where I end up spending the most). But one of my personal favorite ways to give back to myself in the Summer is by going to the farmers market.
Over the past month, I’ve gone to 5 different farmers markets; slowly, this has become my Saturday morning ritual. But this is nothing new for me. Growing up, my parents went to the farmers market in Downtown Saint Paul every Saturday (before CHS Field was even a place, but still, go Saints). I would always come with to get stuffed animals and these really good bagels that were grilled instead of toasted, but I really think I took the experience for granted. To this day, my parents continue to go weekly, picking up farm fresh produce for the week that’s better than anything you could find at Whole Foods. But it wasn’t until the past couple of years that I’ve really taken to roaming around farmers markets for fun. And the biggest draw for me? The food, which is the obvious focus of this post. So without further ado, here are the farmers markets I’ve frequented in the past month, and the delicious food I’ve had along the way.
Weeks 1 & 4: Freight House Farmers Market – Davenport, Iowa
Spending the summer in Davenport, my roommates and I have done our very best to take our free time to explore the Quad Cities. One of our favorite Saturday morning (or early afternoon if it’s a rough one) places is the farmers market in downtown Davenport. The market is right on the Mississippi, and there’s lots of fresh produce, live music, art, and the real reason to go, food trucks. One food truck in particular has captured my heart (or I guess, my stomach): Streets of Italy.
Guys, look at that pizza. If it doesn’t make your mouth water, I don’t know what to say. If you know me semi-well, you know I’m obsessed with Punch Pizza. And while nothing can ever truly top my classic Punch Mimi, this might be a close second. This personal-sized wood-fired pizza is called the Hulk. It’s topped with olive oil, mozzarella, basil, and pesto. And it’s really truly delicious. The last place I ever expected to find amazing wood-fired pizza was at the Davenport farmers market, but alas, here it is. And other markets could really take a note from Streets of Italy; I, for one, would be a loyal customer.
Week 2: Dane Country Farmers Market – Madison, Wisconsin
My first trip to Madison was perfect. It was the first place I’ve ever been that wasn’t the Twin Cities or Iowa City where I ran into friends without any planning whatsoever. It was also the first place I’ve ever been that had a farmers market with a location that could compete with some of the ones in the Twin Cities. The market is surrounding the Wisconsin Capitol building, and it certainly was busy. One of the funniest things for me was that there is a literal flow of traffic there; if you try to go the wrong way, there’s basically no getting anywhere. Half of the experience is just walking around and taking it all in, even if you don’t buy anything.
In addition to the beautiful location, there was lots of great food (obviously lots of cheese), flowers, music, and produce. I started off the morning with the most delicious cinnamon roll and a smoothie, perfect for a sunny and hot day filled with walking. On the list of great food was Stella’s Bakery, which had a huge selection of fresh baked breads (no surprise that I loved it). The line was long, but it was definitely worth looking around the case and picking up a pretzel.
Week 3: Mill City Farmers Market – Minneapolis, Minnesota
While the Downtown Saint Paul Farmers Market will always be the OG and the market my dad goes to at 6:30 am every weekend (not sure why/how he does it), my favorite market in the Twin Cities is Mill City. It’s much less of a produce market, but it has a lot more to do, and the view is unlike anything else. To be completely honest, the Mill City/Stone Arch/Northeast area of Minneapolis will always be my favorite area, so I might be a bit biased. But you really can’t go wrong with a market that overlooks the Mississippi (especially in Minnesota, sorry Quad Cities).
In true fashion of that area, the Mill City Farmers Market is very urban. What they lack in fresh produce, they more than make up for in beautiful bouquets of flowers, food trucks, fresh pressed juices, and bakeries. Always a classic when they are in season, you can’t go wrong getting a bouquet of sunflowers (or my favorite, peonies). While you’re there, you also definitely need to stop by one of the bakeries. During my brief 36-hour stint in the Twin Cities, I stopped at Solomon’s Bakery’s tent to pick up a delicious chocolate croissant, and a giant lemon macaroon with fresh raspberries along the outside (sadly, not pictured).
Now, the beauty of Mill City, is that once you have had enough, you can go explore the area. You might take a walk along the Stone Arch Bridge (my favorite bridge, because who doesn’t have one of those), head over the Gold Medal Park and just lounge around, walk over to North Loop, explore the views from the Guthrie; the options are really endless. But no matter what you do, you can’t really go wrong because you’re in downtown Minneapolis (can you sense the homesickness through whatever device you’re reading this on?)
Farmers markets come in all shapes and sizes, with a wide variety of goods and things to do. But if you haven’t explored your local one, 10/10 would recommend putting it on your summer bucket list and making it one of the boxes you actually check off. I promise that you won’t regret it. You might even find that it’s a pretty relaxing way to take a morning and do something for yourself. Because in the end, isn’t that really what Summer is for? Or at least the weekends if you don’t get a true Summer. So if you’re looking for me on a Saturday morning, you now know where you can find me!
XOXO, Chloe
Stylish and Starving at Twenty Something
Stylish and Starving At Twenty-Something 