Tuscaloosa's Farmers Market

Tuscaloosa has several spots for fresh, local fruits, veggies, plants, and even meat. This past Saturday, I ventured to the new River Market on Jack Warner Parkway for about the third time. By far, this was the best visit. I grabbed lots of yummy goodies and thought I would share some of the things I bought and what I made. The market is open on Tuesday and Saturdays from 7-noon. I will suggest you get there early for the best selection. We arrived before 9:00 and already some of the vendors were out of some items.

Stage area where Matt Jones was setting up  to perform some live music.

One of the biggest vendors at the market is Snow's Bend Farm. They always seem to have a large variety and they are a name I recognize as having had fresh produce in the area for years now. From this stand, I bought eggplant and a yellow and red pepper. My mom bought some rattlesnake beans. I loved the pictures of this produce.

 

Snow's Bend Farm stand

I also bought some squash from a former student, some banana peppers from a member of my church, some Chilton County peaches and some tomatoes, cucumbers, and blueberries from three other vendors. All said I purchased fruit and veggies from 7 different growers and all of it has been delicious. And it's a great feeling thinking about the "naturalness" of the food I am eating and supporting local growers. And, this week it was an added bonus I got to buy from a few people I knew.

All of my purchases

This means Wes and I had a great meal Sunday night! I made chicken kabobs with the peppers and a squash. And we also grilled the eggplant with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Then, I fried the squash, cut the cucumbers and soaked them in vinegar, sliced tomatoes and made a blueberry crisp.

Finished product

Blueberry Crisp

If you haven't visited the market yet, you should! The new venue is gorgeous and the experience is great. The last time I went I bought sausage from the pork man and ground sirloin from the beef guy. We made some burgers with the ground beef and it felt great to have meat that wasn't over processed with who knows what in it. Wes and I don't eat a lot of ground beef, we have switched to more turkey, but when Wes was patting out the burgers, he could tell a big difference in the quality. I will certainly be going back as much as possible.

YP(t)

If you are out of college and under 40 in Tuscaloosa, you should be a part of the YP(t), or the Young Professionals of Tuscaloosa. This is a group formed as a part of the Chamber of Commerce designed to give "young professionals" a way to get involved in town and get to know each other. Tonight, this post is about a couple of events that the ypt group has either hosted or participated in over the past few months. In the past, we have had parties, networking events, and special interest events.You can find them on facebook, but the website is under construction.

Tonight was the Sushi Making Event at Chuck's Fish and what a great time we had. This event was in their private room upstairs. If you haven't been to Chuck's for sushi then you are missing out on some of the best sushi in town. But, tonight, we were not just eating the sushi, we were learning how to roll our own sushi. We had the option to make several of the most popular rolls and everything I had was delicious. Here is a shot of us making the spicy tuna roll.

Learning how to make the sushi

We each got to make two rolls. Amy and I shared our rolls so that we could try a few. Here is our first go of it with Spicy Tuna and Crunchy Shrimp.

Amy and me with my finished product.

We also got to try the uptown shrimp. I haven't tried it before, but it was just like the Bang Bang Shrimp at Bonefish. It was delicious!! And, they have a special on Wednesday night with Uptown Shrimp specials.

This was a great night with some familiar YP(t) friends and a chance to meet some new ones. I don't know how easy it is to set up a sushi making event with Chuck's, but it was a lot of fun. I know that I always have a good time with the young professionals group and tonight was no different. So, this post is to share that Chuck's has great sushi and to tell you to come to a YP(t) event if you are in T-town and in the age range.




I do think I learned that sushi is a food that I will continue to go out and order and not something I will make at home. Sure, the roll was good, but it takes a bit of prep and I definitely don't have the ingredients at home.

The other event that I participated in recently for YP(t) was the JLT Dragon Boat race. This event was at the end of April and it required 20 paddlers. Yes, paddlers. We paddled a boat down the Black Warrior River and had a blast!

YP(t) Team

Our team came in 10th out of 26 teams. And, I think everyone on the team had a really great time. I know I made a few new friends and can't wait to do this again next year. I think the event was really well received by the rest of town too. There were lots of business and other social groups who had teams. And, I heard great things from lots of the groups about how much fun everyone had.

YP(t) practicing before the race.

 This year the event was on the river behind Cypress Inn. They had food and drink for the spectators and the participants and most of the teams had set up tents with a tailgate like atmosphere. We were out there for a few hours and it was a great way to meet people and have fun outside in Tuscaloosa.