Partial Organic Failure, But, I Don't Mind

Other than lunch, I’ve been cooking a lot over the past couple of years. I used to eat out most nights and just got tired of “fresh garden salads,” fast food and chain food.

A couple of months ago, I started trying some of the local “farmers” markets around Atlanta. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered the mother lode: Your DeKalb Farmers Market.

For those of you that are local, don’t wait, run, don’t walk. It’s huge. The produce section is probably 15,000 square feet. It has everything you’ve ever heard of and stuff that, even reading the sign, I have no clue. Much of what’s there is organic.

There are two bakery sections. One for bread, bagels, cookies and pastries. All of it is organic. The other section has more fancy baked goods. All of it is baked there, every day.

The seafood and meat sections, each, are maybe 3,000 square feet and again, most of what is there is organic.

Spices. You name it, they have it.

Prices. Starting with the last subject, a tub of white peppercorns more than twice the size of a McCormick’s jar was $1.45. The little label said it had been packed the day I bought it. Tomatoes, 39 cents a pound. Cucumbers, 39 cents each. Whole bean Sumatran coffee, $7.00 a pound, about half of what the neighborhood coffee shop charges.

Enough of all that.

Last night I decided to have an organic dinner. Fried chicken thighs, baked French fries, tomato and cucumber, all organic. A hint, don’t buy organic frozen French fries. Six minutes on each side, after the first side, results in burnt sticks. The rest of the organic meal was wonderful.