To Market, To Market

My first memories of going to a farmer's market are a mixed bag of joy at simple pleasures and annoyance. When I was younger my parents would sometimes go to a market in the next town over (our own town didn't offer one, I don't think) held in the parking lot of a church. We'd casually stroll down the rows, most frequently picking up fresh corn and, if we were good, my sister and I would each get an array of stick candy offered at five cents a pop. These were candies that didn't have fancy wrappers or cartoon characters, weren't offered in the regular store or advertised on TV - but they came in a variety of flavors and jeweled colors, so to me they were a major treat. The only thing I didn't like was that going there meant hauling myself out of bed early on a Saturday morning (sacrilege!) to walk about on the shadeless pavement.

I am now older and wiser, but damn if I still don't have a hard time getting up early on a Saturday, now compounded by the fact that I don't get home from work until well after midnight. However this past Saturday a magic thing occured, one of those rare miracles like a solar eclipse or a butterfly landing on your hand to rest for a moment: I woke up early on a Saturday. And I mean early. Like, "Hey, I forgot what 6:00 int he morning looks like!" To celebrate this wondrous event, Loverman and I decided to take a swing down to the Rochester Public Market.


Now there are plenty of farmers' markets all over the place, and I could rattle off several locations off the top of my head - including a few places that are closer to our home than the Public Market. But these small, town markets are nothing compared to the Rochester Public Market.

The first and most obvious difference is that the Rochester Public Market is a permanent fixture. As I understand it, the venders do need to bring there own stands (or at least some do), but there are buildings with roofs, or at the very least beams with eaves (there needs to be some shelter from snow come winter!). More to the point though, is the sheer size of the Market. Whilst the markets in the towns usually take place in parking lots of various businesses, the Rochester Public Market consists of three large, sheltered buildings (the term "building" used loosely, as some of them are, as mentioned, just beams supporting eaves), several small businesses (mainly food stands, tiny breakfast joints, at least one coffee shop), and even a sort of "customer service" stand and a You Are here map that reminds me of a mall. They also run events occasionally, including Market Flower Days, a community "garage sale," local artists, and more. Live music is a frequent feature, and Saturday we were serenaded by a gentleman with a washboard who fancied himself to be something of a Dylan-esque singer.

There are all manner of foodstuffs to be found at this market. There is, of course, the local produce from local farmers (with several organic varieties available), but then there are the specialty pastas, the array of butchers, the handful of fishmongers, the local businesses that show up (such as Health & Harmony Natural Foods, a store in Victor where I bought gluten-free lentils and beans on this trip, and The Pierogi Guy who, well, sells pierogies), some hippie-dippie clothing stands, fresh eggs (I also saw live chickens - not sure if they were for sale), designer knock-off purses, and a number of stands I tend to think of as Random Crap for Sale - stands with supermarket bread still in the package, or an assortment of cardboard boxes with cheap plastic Made In China toys or "fashion." There are the regional goodies, like local honey, local cheeses, Mennonite pies... I stopped by the stand of a local vineyard, Arbor Hill, where I could not only buy their wine, but also their honey, their preserves, grape pie filling (a regional specialty in the Finger Lakes), and a prouct new to me that I could not resist: "grape twists," which are kind of like if Twizzlers were grape-flavored and not overwhelmingly sweet.

Loverman and I walked away on Saturday with the aforementioned grape twists, lentils, and beans, but also with two varieties of sausage (garlic onion, which became dinner the following night, and breakfast maple, which became part of a delicious breakfast thanks to Loverman when we got home), an array of local cheeses (fresh mozzarella balls, crumbled gorgonzola, a lovely round of colby jack, and a chunk of muenster that also made it into our awesome breakfast), a quart of blackberries which became a miserably failed attempt to make fruit leather, 2 tilapia fillets which became a rather unsuccessful gluten-free beer-batter (lots of food mishaps this week, it seems), 2 tuna steaks, 3 lemons; a pint each of peaches and apples, 4 oranges, a cantaloupe, and a pineapple (yeah, there are some non-regional foods there too) that became a fruit salad thanks to Loverman. I took out $60 at the ATM and didn't spend it all - and though that is partially because Loverman also paid for some of it, we still got a pretty danged good haul. I mainly stopped looking because my string-beany arms were getting too overloaded.

Some time ago I friended the Rochester Public Market on Facebook, and I kept receiving these updates asking me to vote for them in a national competition for best farmers' market in a contest sponsored by American Farmland Trust. Well guess what, folks? It won! When it comes to the large-market category, we officially have the best farmers' market in the country!

Every time I go to the Market, I get a little overwhelmed by the crowds, but I am ultimately seduced by the many, many possibilities at my fingertips, crying out to be cooked, boiled, mashed, or just enjoyed raw. As the weekend approaches again, I am thinking to myself "You know, maybe getting up early on a Saturday isn't such a terrible thing after all."

Flour-Less in the Flour City

Today I was surprised and also somewhat ashamed to discover that if one runs out of bacon, yet is craving something salty and vaguely meat-like, frying Oscar Mayer bologna in the pan is a fairly acceptable alternative. Certainly not a perfect substitution and nowhere near as fulfilling as bacon, don't get me wrong, but in a pinch it can make do.

Unlike most people, before I boldly slapped my bologna in the pan, I not only read the ingredients, I Googled more specific nutrition facts. Daring, I know - a terrifying notion to most - but in my case, I had no choice: Just prior to New Years 2010, I was diagnosed as having gluten intolerance, aka Celiac Disease, an autoimmune disorder that prevents the body from digesting the gluten protein.

Gluten is found in many naturally occurring grains (such as wheat, rye, barley, bran, bulgur, durum, einkorn, faro, semolina, farina, spelt, triticale, kamut - just to name a few) but where it becomes tricky is all the hidden gluten to be found in food, particularly artificial ingredients that might have a gluten-containing base. Even trickier are those foods that are naturally gluten-free, but are prepared in areas where gluten-containing foods are as well, thus contaminating what should be "safe" foods (oats are a good example of this: naturally gluten-free, but prepared with wheat or other "dangerous grains"). Thus my quest to learn all the unsavory parts I was contemplating consuming in my bologna before just going ahead with my mad culinary scheme.

As you can probably guess from reading the above list - a list which I assure you is by no means comprehensive (side note: this list is incredibly helpful to learn more about safe/unsafe foods for someone with gluten intolerance) - changing from a "normal" diet with no limitations to a gluten-free diet is incredibly challenging. Think about it: After years and years of eating anything and everything you wanted, now you can't have traditional bread, crackers, pasta, croutons, pastries, pizza, beer, anything breaded (deep fried is difficult too because the vat of oil may be shared with gluten-containing items) - and now all of a sudden those polysyllabic artificial ingredients in your processed foods become pretty darn important to know what they actually mean. It forces one to become more conscious of what one eats, which is not always a fun thing.

At this point I find it appropriate to inform you lovely people that one of the first nicknames of Rochester is the Flour City, owing to the mills along High Falls making the then-fledgling city the number one flour producer in the United States in the mid 1800s. Nowadays the moniker has been changed to the Flower City, honoring the bounty of blooms in Highland Park so celebrated during the Lilac Festival. A homonym, I know, but to me the newer version sounds much cutesier and thus pleases me more. But I digress.

So with all this temptation around me - an abundance of bakeries, a gaggle of gourmet pastas all locally made - why not just give in and eat gluten anyway? After all, I had been eating it all these years. Well, as I mentioned, Celiac Disease means the body can't digest gluten. When a person with Celiac consumes gluten, it produces a wide variety of symptoms, most commonly severe intestinal distress, but also migraines, asthmatic responses, depression, anxiety, vitamin deficiency, even neuropathy, delayed puberty, short stature, and difficulties with fertility; my own doctor informed me that Celiac Disease manifests in so many different ways, that one could tell her any number of physical symptoms was due to Celiac Disease, she wouldn't be surprised. It really is something that can affect any body system, and as a result it often gets misdiagnosed as other illnesses like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and a variety of other ailments.

So you may be wondering to yourself, "Dude, why did it take so long for you to get diagnosed? Didn't you know something was wrong? Didn't your parents take you to a doctor as a kid? What tomfoolery is this?!" Well, believe it or not, my situation is pretty common. Since the symptoms are vague, it's not always a doctor's first suspicion. Hell, I only got tested when my older sister was diagnosed in November since there tends to be a genetic link. It is estimated by the Center for Celiac Research that approximately 3 million Americans have Celiac Disease, most of whom are undiagnosed.

Sadly, in this country medical research tends to be largely funded by the pharmaceutical companies. However, there is no pill that can cure or treat Celiac: the only treatment is to follow a gluten-free diet. Since there is no money where there is no option of a cure, research for Celiac Disease in this country is profoundly lacking.

Those of us affected by Celiac Disease know this is a huge problem. This Saturday, 6/12/10, is the ninth annual fundraiser Making Tracks for Celiacs, a walk to raise money towards Celiac research. It is the hopes that the more research is funded, the sooner people will be diagnosed with Celiac Disease and possibly the more food producers will be aware of the need for clearly labeled products and the need to prevent cross-contamination. In the Finger Lakes region, the walk will be taking place at Brockport High School with registration starting at 9AM and the walk kicking off at 10:30AM.

You may be asking, "Lex, you've only known you have Celiac Disease for, like, six months. How are you able to talk so much about this fairly new diagnosis?" Well firstly, when you know the only way to treat your ailment is to avoid certain foods, you learn quickly to adapt - admittedly with some growing pains (I can't count how many times I wailed, "I JUST REALIZED I CAN NEVER EAT *INSERT GLUTEN-CONTAINING FOOD HERE* AGAIN!"), but acceptance does come, in time.

Secondly, I cannot be grateful enough for the help of the local chapter of the Gluten-Intolerant Group, the Rochester Celiac Support Group. They have not only basic information on Celiac Disease for neophytes like myself, but a compilation of members' recipes, local shops that carry gluten-free products (some even specialize specifically in gluten-free baked goods!), and my personal favorite, a list of restaurants that have gluten-free options. While not comprehensive, it was a good jumping off place for me: The diagnosis, for me, meant a lot less eating out, but I didn't want to completely deprive myself of the occasional bite out, and it was good to know there were options out there that would understand my dietary needs and not just cock their head and ask "Wait, you're allergic to what?!" Their listserv is quite active and offers helpful hints as to local offerings that are safe - and also not so safe. Their information has made going flour-less in the Flour City not such a challenge.

Two members spoke on the local news on the upcoming walk in Brockport, as well as some basic information about Celiac Disease. There is no link for just the video, but you can watch it here.

If you have gluten intolerance or know someone who does, please look at the website for Making Tracks for Celiacs and consider donating. This is something that would not just benefit Rochester and the Finger Lakes, but overall health nationally. I know both my sister and I would have had considerably fewer health problems throughout our lives if we had been diagnosed sooner and we both feel much healthier than we ever have following a gluten-free diet. We'd like to see a world where other kids don't have to struggle to figure out what was wrong as we had to. My sister is even participating in the walk (yay!). No dollar amount is too small - if you are able, anything would be appreciated.

Be a Hedonist!

Valentine's Day is fast approaching meaning we can expect more overpriced roses, tacky lingerie, and cheap boxed chocolates than you can shake a stick at. You know, assuming you were inclined to shake sticks at things.

What's that? You want something fancier? Something that's still budget-friendly, but better quality? Something that helps support the local economy? Well, my dear friends, you are in luck.

Hedonist Artisan Chocolates are among the most fabulous of fabulous chocolates I have had the pleasure to eat - and I am a big fan of chocolate, folks. I first tasted their wares when they were at the South Wedge Farmers' Market - and to sweeten the deal even more, the ladies were just lovely human beings, very friendly. In my opinion, it's one thing to have a good product, but it's so much better if you're a nice person. They even have a blog!

The flavors they had are unusual but never contrary; no matter how unexpected, they somehow match in such a way as to make me think, "And why didn't I know about this before?!" My personal favorite is the lavender truffle, something I thought would taste like someone poured a scented candle on a ball of chocolate but instead was delicious: It was rich and savory with an earthy taste that edged on a pleasant sort of bitter from the cocoa and the flowers. Floral notes not your thing? They do also have truffles from the Keuka Lake wine trail, spiced truffles, drinking chocolates, fruit and nut collections, and various barks.

Not only this, but their chocolates have been earning them national attention as of late. They got a small spot in Country Living in a feature called The Online Farmer's Market. They were also mentioned in Wine Enthusiast Magazine's Unreserved A Chocolate Lover's Buying Guide, so if you like sweets and wine together, know you're in for a treat with these bad boys.

Their chocolates are available several places locally and in the Finger Lakes, including farmers' markets, Hedonist's brick and mortar store, and also online. Hear that, folks? No matter where you live, you can get them right now. What are you waiting for?

Edit: The business is owned by life partners and has been featured in the top ten lesbian Valentine's gift ideas, so I have added the LGBT friendly tag.

In addition to the feature in Wine Enthusiast Magazine's Unreserved, they have been featured in the local newspaper, Democrat and Chronicle with wine pairings, so I have added the wine tag as well.