My day at the Ferguson farmer’s Market started early this week.
I got up at 7:40 in order to get there right when the market opened. Yoli needed fresh strawberries for her entry in the strawberry contest that would be held 2 hours later.
There were tons of beautiful, ripe berries. I also came home with a pound of sugar snap peas, grown in Ferguson at EarthDance farms, as well as some snow peas from Hahn Farm (one of my favorite vendors there).
Yoli made strawberry pizza, which consists of a pecan shortbread crust, a moscarpone cream, and strawberries in a sauce.
For the first time, my parents came out to the market with us. My mom is newly-retired from her job managing the cafe at our church, and this was one of her first free Saturday mornings in a long time. It was fun to be with them, and handy to have their help with the girls.
This week the market had some vendors bring their sheep to demonstrate how they shear them and what the wool looks like. The wool is then used to make various textiles.
In fact, there were a number of craft booths I hadn’t seen before, including one with some pretty cool furniture made from tree branches.
The strawberry contest had 8 entries, and as is typical for us, Yoli’s entry was the second-to-last to be entered. We made sure we let them know that Yoli used pecans and strawberries purchased at the market (counts for a bit of extra credit, I believe)
There were four judges, including the new Ferguson police chief, Tom Jackson.
As it turned out, Yoli came in second place! She won $20 and hopefully her photo will appear in the Ferguson Times. The market folks definitely recognize her nowadays and remember her previous tasty contest creations.
She may not have been the ultimate champion (although I have to say I preferred her pizza to the winning cake entry), but it was still loads of fun. And the pie contest still lurks ahead.
It was alot of fun to see Yoli’s beautiful dessert win a prize. Looking forward to tasting more of it on Memorial Day!
Josh, what lovely pictures of the day at the farmer’s market and contest. How great for Yoli winning 2nd prize! That strawberry pizza looked very yummy. Would like to be there On Memorial Day to eat it with y’all, but I can’t leave Carol alone that long! LOL! Yoli is a busy, busy mommy! Those culinary skills are impressive too!
It’s good to see Joe and Anita out with you, Yoli and your children. My, they are growing like weeds! But they are more cute than weeds by far…. The baby looks so sweet. I hope you two are getting more more sleep now. Kiss the girls, Joseph, your mom and dad, and of course Yoli for us! Have a fabulous and safe Memorial weekend!
Love,
Grandma and Carol
Hi,
I wanted to thank you for this wonderful blog. I honestly don’t remember how I even found your blog, a mix between several google searches I guess, but it was a much needed blessing.
I was born in La Paz, Bolivia. I came to the U.S. as an infant and adopted by a wonderful family. I recently met a wonderful man who is currently in China for the next few months,(and when he comes back he’ll be starting law school). I’ll also be finishing up school, and are relationship will be long distance. Anyways, reading your story about how you didn’t see each other for 6 months etc. and how now you have a wonderful family etc. I felt like it was a blessing, because all I need to do is trust in God and allow him to direct my life.
I’m not sure if any of this makes sense. But thank-you. You and Yoli are really inspiring.
–
Lori