Mid-Michigan Dining

Shoppers looking for deals at the farmer's market at the State Capitol

I know it’s hard to believe but I actually got my butt out of bed this morning so we could make our way to the State Capitol for the farmer’s market.  We parked along Michigan near the roundabout and headed towards the Capitol.  I was really surprised at just how many people had already started checking out the booths at just a little after ten o’clock.

The sidewalks on the east lawn were lined with pop-up tents full of flowers, produce, fish, herbs, cookies, and much more.  One of the first place we stopped had zucchini and squash 3 for $1.  I just picked up a pasta recipe that uses both of those, so my girlfriend snuck through the crowd and grabbed a few.  As she was paying, she also noticed pints of Traverse City Cherries.  After handing me the bag of zucchini, she went back for cherries. 

The next stop was for me.  The thing I love about farmer’s markets is fresh herbs.  I’ve tried growing my own, but I get impatient and I usually end up killing the plants.  I’d rather just spend a couple bucks and buy small bunches as I need them.  I picked up a bunch of basil and oregano for a couple meals next week.  I love the smell of fresh basil and it made the car smell good the rest of the day.

Browsing for produce at the State Capitol

A few booths down we found some lettuce.  We usually grab a couple bunches of red leaf lettuce at Horrock’s, so we picked one up here instead.

I had a hard time passing up the fresh lamb, but I figured I’d be eating that alone, so I passed.  They did seem to have pretty good prices on the cuts.  As I was looking at lamb, my girlfriend noticed corn on the cob going for $3.50/doz.  We’re not going to eat a dozen and she likes it more than I do, so I told her to pick up a couple and I’ll throw it on the grill tonight while I’m making dinner.  She got two ears of corn for $.60.

A Raspberry Pie from Sweetie-Licious Pies in Dewitt

Along the way, my girlfriend picked up a free sample of a cookie.  We were going to make another loop around and get some, but when we got back to the beginning, she noticed pies at a stand for Sweetie-Licious.  Thursday’s are “Treat Thursday” at her work.  They had a banner hanging declaring wins at two Food Network Challenges and we’ll pretty much do anything Food Network tells us to do.  Looking at their website, they also had three winning pies at the National Pie Championships.  When she came home for dinner, she said her office polished off the pie pretty quickly and she confidently declared it better than the pies we had gotten from Traverse City Pie Company…and she loved those pies too.

With the pie, we spent probably $35 and got some good stuff.  I have a lot of produce in my fridge now that I’m trying to come up with menus for.  It was great to see so many people downtown.  I’m sure a lot of them work at the Capitol or in the area, but at least they got out of the office and enjoyed the day.  The weather couldn’t have been better.

Here are some stories the local media did on the event.

Shoppers Turn Out for Farmer’s Market at Capitol – Lansing State Journal
Buy Local, Buy Fresh – WLNS TV6
Farmer’s Market in Lansing – WLAJ ABC3

And another blogger’s take.

Farm Market Update – Good Food Hunting