My Favorite Farmers Market

From May through November of every year, Downtown Waukesha has a Farmers Market that can't be beat! For years, it was a small group of farmers who got together in the parking lot across the river and sold their goods out of their trunks.

Today, you have to pay to park in that same parking lot because it's grown so popular since it moved to the other side of the river. It spans the entire store line, approximately 3 city blocks long.

There are approximately a hundred vendors who sell mostly fresh healthy food but you can find flowers, candles, bakery, egg rolls, clothes made from hand spun fabrics and jewelry. Very few sell their goods out of their trunks anymore - now they use tents and tables. Summer time is a wonderful time to get all the fruits, vegetables and flowers that are available.

Image credit: JenwithFlash

You can find peppers of every color at the market! They come in beautiful hues of oranges, reds, yellows, and greens.

I was never a real fan of peppers. I especially don't like green peppers but one day someone snuck some red pepper into a dish they were preparing. I've really liked them since then so I picked out one of these beauties and brought it home.

Peppers contain plenty of vitamins and minerals. Not all peppers are created equal but most contain vitamin C, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B2, folate, vitamin A, vitamin E and potassium.

There's so many different ones and they all taste a little different. These would have been so colorful if they had been wiped off but you can still see that they're all different. The bucket was full of green ones, purple ones, red ones, yellow ones and everything in between.

Looking for some great pepper recipes? I don't cook with peppers very often. They aren't my favorite. About the only thing that I make with peppers is stuffed peppers once in a while. I like looking at them though because they look so good.

Fresh peppers smell and look so good! Even though peppers aren't my favorite, I do use them once in awhile. Omelets are my favorite thing to put them in. If you find a good cookbook especially for peppers, you'll find tons of ways to use them in your favorite dishes. You can find some great cookbooks at great prices by going to yard sales or checking out local used book sales. Or you can buy them online at places like Amazon. I had a link to this one at Amazon but per whacky website regulations, I had to remove it. A quick search will help you find it easily!

My Favorite Healthy Food

Just like peppers, tomatoes come in lots and lots of colors! I love tomatoes. I especially enjoy them on tacos and pizza. They really add something extra special.

Tomatoes are super healthy for you too. They are loaded with vitamin C and vitamin A, along with Lycopene, an antioxidant that helps protect you from cancer.

Flowers add a little bit of sunshine to your life.

If you have an ailing friend, bringing them flowers can truly cheer them up, unless they are allergic to them of course!

Flowers are so bright and colorful. Put a bunch on your table and you'll smile when you walk in the room.

Dill is an herb that has been used for centuries for spicing up foods.

My grandma taught me how to make a potato salad that uses dill as a main ingredient.

My other favorite is of course - Dill Pickles!

My grandma taught me how to make this potato salad. Nice and easy recipe that tastes great! You can also make this recipe gluten free pretty easily. When I make it that way, I like to serve it a little bit warm.

Prep Time: About an hour

Serves: 8 people

I had to take another picture of the tomatoes. They look so yummy! You can almost feel the healthy nutrients coming out of them!!

Ok, I really thought that these were just different color carrots but it turns out that the white ones are Daikon. They are radishes!! They are good for soups, salads and stews, along with pickling.

Carrots are loaded with Vitamin A and keep your eyesight healthy!

My horse Flash loves to eat carrots too. They're his favorite treat!

As farmers markets become more popular, so do shopping bags! You can buy bags for carrying lots of healthy food, bags to keep your refrigerated foods cold, and bags made especially for fruits and vegetables.

Reusable Shopping Tote Bags made by ChicoBag. These fashionable bags are reusable and made especially for grocery shopping. They have a nice handle and nice pull string so you can close your bag and keep your groceries inside. The colors that you get are blue, green, purple and red. Very colorful!! I had a great picture and a link to Amazon but per whacky website regulations, I had to remove it. If you search for Reusable Shopping Tote, they should come up.

I never liked cooked carrots until I tried these!! This isn't exactly the healthiest way to prepare carrots but they sure taste great!

Prep Time: About an hour

Serves: 2-4 people

I thought that these pepper plants were really neat looking and inexpensive. I would imagine that you could grow your own peppers right inside your house.

There's so many vendors that it's nice to sit and watch the river flowing while you take a little break. Your feet can get sore from all the walking!!

All of these pieces were knitted or crocheted by hand.

Winter will be coming soon. Keep warm while staying stylish!

Lots of beautiful colors to choose from and all made from the softest of yarns.

Gourds come in all different shapes and sizes. I'm not sure what you are supposed to do with them besides use them for fall decorations. They are sure fun to look at!!

This is Banjo Clete. He provides the entertainment at one end of the market. Passersby offer donations to Good Ol' Banjo Clete.

Here's a short clip of Banjo Clete playing for the crowds.

There's so much fun decorating that you can do during the fall with nature's bounty!! Have fun with it!

Gords and pumpkins, hay stacks and corn cobs!

Weekends are the most fun in the fall time and I love stopping at the farmers market. From haunted houses and corn mazes to pumpkin patches and trees changing colors. Never a dull moment!

With over 100 vendors, someone must have something to say about the Waukesha Farmers Market!