Maria's Market

Now that things are more settled inside my new home, I have begun looking more carefully at my surroundings outside. I've had some good finds, but also some disappointments. Finding new grocery stores (easy, peasy), new malls (a partial fail here: you really can't beat Town Center in Boca Raton and the drive is worth it), finding new locations for my old favorites (like Whole Foods and Fresh Market, which I thought I'd have to drive more than 45 minutes back to visit my old stores, only to find both 15 minutes away, newer too.), searching for good restaurants in the neighborhood (unfortunately, there are none. Boo, hiss!), but as if to make up for that: the discovery of a wonderful farmers market chock full of fresh fruits and vegetables....... only 5 minutes away! The green market I frequented before was open only on Saturdays, but this market is open every day, year round and trust me, a different kettle of fish entirely.

Now I was told when someone heard where I was moving to look for Maria's Market. They referred to it as Maria's Barn because it's red but I nearly missed it as the market really isn't very red (although there IS a red house next door, where I imagine the owners live), but if there was a barn, I didn't see it. Never mind, after my first visit, I was totally hooked.

So today, I'm going to take you on a pictorial journey of Maria's. You'll see barrels of beans, rice in bulk....veggies and fruits you've never heard of (and we had to ask), a fabulous display of herbs and every kind of pepper and banana known to man! I also don't think I've ever seen so many different kinds, colors and shapes of eggplant. Outside in front, melons, and in the back, citrus, apples and pineapples. There was a entire room, refrigerated, for veggies and also a refrigerator display in the main room filled with even more veggies; a separate room filled to the brim with all kinds of onions and potatoes. It's a gem of a market (it opened two years ago) and while some of you in bigger cities may be accustomed to markets like this, it's new for me. Look at those two kinds of guavas in the third photo. Guava jam anyone? I think I still have my mother's recipe. She used to pick them on the golf course. :)  
Ya gotta love Florida.
(The photo below on the right is their hydroponic garden.)
Enjoy.

I adore apple bananas!!

Got rice?

(All photos were taken with my iPhone, so not as clear as they could/should be. Sorry about that!)