Sundays in My City: Specially ordinary

Location: In a gorgeous backyard somewhere in Indianapolis, Indiana

Occasion: None. Just girlfriends getting together to enjoy each other's company.

So imagine my surprise when I walked into my friend Bonnie's backyard to this beautiful scene:

The food was just as spectacular -- make-your-own grilled pizza, grilled pineapple, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, fruit pizza, and fancy cupcakes.

Better than the scene or the food was the company. I've known this group of women through activities at church for a long time, though I've not really been social with most of them. But my wise friend Ann has been kind enough to invite me to join these ladies for a prayer group and for social events known as "porch therapy."  This latest gathering had us laughing until we were crying well into the night.

I'm generally a no-frills kind of girl, but I was surprised to see how special this ordinary evening felt just because of a few details like flowers on the table, cloth napkins, food not served straight from the bag.

That's Sunday in my city. What's happening in yours? Visit Unknown Mami to see what's happening in other cities.

Sundays in my City: Hidden Treasure

I love the idea of farmer's markets. All that fresh, home-grown produce set out in friendly spaces. Card tables full of delicious goodies that I love to eat, but am ill-equipped (or too lazy) to grow myself. But the problem with most farmer's markets is that they take place on Saturday mornings when I want to be sleeping or at least still lounging in my jammies.

My friend Ann told me about Your Neighbor's Garden, a farmer's market just off the path I drive on a daily basis. I'd seen the simple "Farmer's Market" signs with arrows pointing the way, but had never followed them. But one day last week, I had the hankering for some fresh fruits and veggies and decided to check it out.

I knew I was at the right place, when I saw this sign in front of the house:

But when I'll pulled up to the market at the end of the driveway, I was surprised to not find picnic tables or card tables piled with produce and someone sitting with a small cash box. Instead, this sign, posted on the side of a small building greeted Robbie and me.

We walked inside and found...air conditioning, which was amazingly welcome on the 90+ degree day that we were there! The walls were lined with white-painted shelves offering fruits and veggies, each section tagged with the name of the produce and its price. There was a scale for weighing your selections and that was it. No one else was there. It turns out that Your Neighbor's Garden is a self-serve operation. You add up your purchases and leave your cash or check or a Visa voucher in the safebox.

Robbie and I looked around at all we had to choose from. I picked up some zucchini because Annie has wanted to make zucchini bread. Five ears of corn for that night's dinner. At 40 cents each, they were slightly more expensive than the ears I'd bought at the grocery store. But I found when we cooked them that they were 10 times better in taste! A couple of big tomatoes because something is eating the few tomato plants I managed to get in the ground this year. A pint of cherry tomatoes for Charlie.

Robbie asked if we could get blueberries. I went with the pint for $2.50. I wish I'd bought the quart for $4.25. They were so juicy and sweet. Of course Robbie wouldn't know, because when I offered him a few when we got back to the car, he said "Eww! Yuck! I don't like that stuff!"

He also asked for cabbage. I said no, I didn't think we'd buy cabbage today. But he insisted. "Please Mom? I love cabbage!" So now I have a head of cabbage I don't know what to do with. Any easy suggestions (my reputation should precede me) are welcome.

The last thing I slipped into my sack was a beet. I had never bought a beet before, but I was inspired by Eternal Lizdom's recent experience with beets. So I selected just one beet and promptly called Liz to tell her that I bought a beet because of her and what the heck was I supposed to do now. (Peel and quarter it. Drizzle it with oil, sprinkle it with some lemon pepper seasoning. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes. It was good! Kind of had a bit of a sweet potato taste.)

Maybe next time I'll try the rhubarb.

Then I weighed what was sold by weight, added up my total and left $15 in the safebox. Here's what my money got me:

Your Neighbor's Garden does sell at some of the farmer's markets around town. But there's something about going to this hidden gem that appeals to me. This week they'll have lots of new stuff including peaches, raspberries and green tomatoes. If you go, leave some for me.

Note: I'm linking this up to Unknown Mami's Sundays in My City. Click here to visit cool finds in other cities.