Cape Coral Farmer’s Market

 

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Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred—Proverbs 15:17

If you love wandering aimlessly about fresh food vendors, well this is the place to be on a Saturday in Cape Coral, Florida.

My wife and I recently ventured to Cape Coral to see some family and escape the dreary Kentucky winter.  We had a week to spend in this part of the greater Ft. Myers area on the southwest coast of Florida.  We purposely flew in on Friday and not Saturday so we could go to the farmer’s market.  This is the best farmer’s food market I have seen.  It is lively, it is friendly, and it is packed.  So if your idea of shopping for vegetables is a leisurely stroll through the fresh food section of your local grocery store, you will be out of your element here.

Don’t get me wrong, you can get locked in here also, as I did when I discovered a thing called a star fruit.  A lady from Boston was looking at these as I was being inquisitive.  She said, “Don’t ask anymore questions, just get them, you’ll love them”.  And she was right.

This is the second  time my wife and I have been to this market and we will keep going back as long as my in-laws spend the winter in Cape Coral.  Heck, they don’t even have to invite us to come down.  We will just get a hotel.  It would be worth the trip to eat this produce for a week.

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Star fruit

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Honeybell oranges are the best.

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Though not as tasty as our Kentucky fresh tomatoes, these are still a welcome treat in winter.

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Plant City strawberries

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My only meat purchase, a beef empanada.  By the way, this was my first time eating one of these tasty delights.  It was a welcome break amidst all of the fruits and veggies.

 

Here is a link for the market.     http://capecoralfarmersmarket.com/

 

Ligurian Delicacies

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I just don’t like my main entree concealed in a heavy sauce—Barney Fife

This is my all-time favorite food quote. This is a good beginning to my new blog.  My goal is to share some of my experiences with searching for good food, some travel, and some pictures.

This will not be a typical travel blog or a food blog.  My wife and I are in our middle ages.  Of course I am closer to getting out of the middle ages than she.  So we do some traveling, spending time with grandchildren and search for good food wherever we are.  Neither of us are accomplished chefs and wouldn’t pretend to lead you on.  However in the recent years after raising our children and me getting closer to retirement, we plan on doing more traveling and cooking.

This photo is where my taste awakening began.  We traveled to Italy in 2010.  Part of our trip was to Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast of Italy.  These are five villages cut into the rocky coastline that was absolutely stunning and so relaxing.

This dish was served to us in Riomaggiore, the southernmost village of the five.  We ate lunch at a small restaurant called The Bar and Vinni A Pie de Ma, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. This is a photo of the dish that aroused my desires for food.  On this plate is cipolline onions, olives, salami, fresh anchovies (put aside everything you think anchovies should taste like in America), cheese and bread.  This was the best dish I had in Italy.

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Market in Riomaggoire

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Manarola

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Vernazza

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Vernazza harbor with Santa Margherita di Antiochia church on the left.