The Lazy Genius Podcast - #67: The Lazy Genius Shops at the Farmers Market

Episode Date: June 11, 2018

The farmers market is a lovely place, but sometimes it can feel overwhelming. Do you haggle? Are the farmers mad when you buy from somebody else? How do you know if you like something or not? In this episode, all of your farmers market questions will be answered, and if they're not, join me on Instagram @thelazygenius to ask yours. This podcast is hosted by Kendra Adachi and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, lazy geniuses. I'm Kendra and you're listening to The Lazy Genius Podcast. Here, I'm going to help you be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. Today is episode 67. The Lazy Genius shops at the farmer's market. It's summer and the produce right now is fantastic. It's a good time to shop at the farmer's market. But I know that a lot of you are a little wary of it. It feels like there are secret rules you don't know. It feels mean to walk around the farmers and. And, you know, choose the one to buy from and like what the heck is colerabi right okay so today let's demystify the farmer's market so that this saturday or whenever your market is open you feel a little more confident in your shopping i've got a simple list of tips and i even ask the farmers at my own personal market for their thoughts so this is a list from the source let's jump in tip one be encouraging one of the biggest reasons i go to the farmer's market is so i don't have to farm Like mentally, mentally in my head, I find great satisfaction and getting my hands dirty and growing food and tending the land and all that.

But in reality, I am a whiny baby who does not like to sweat. Maybe if I lived in an area of the country that wasn't so humid and gross, I'd be more into it. But for now, I love farmers. They are doing the work I super do not want to do. And if you've ever had a garden, you know that it's a lot of work. But imagine if it was your livelihood. For the average gardener, if your tomato plant doesn't respond well or your kale gets eaten by bugs, it's just part of the game.

But for a farmer, it's paying bills. They work so hard to make sure the food that they grow and offer to people in their town, like people they live with, is the best it can be. And a lot of farmers hang their hats on being pesticide-free and organic, which means they don't get the benefit of a little man-made help to keep critters away. It's a tough game to play. So our first tip is to be encouraging. Your purchase is not just a transaction.

It is an exchange of food grown by the hands that are probably handing it to you. Say, thank you. Compliment the beauty of the food. Even if you're not buying from a particular farmer, as you pass by and you hear him or her ask if you'd like any okra, don't ignore him like you would the guy at the mall kiosk selling cell phones, right? look him in the eye, smile, say, thanks, I'm all set, but they look beautiful, and then keep walking. And if the thought of saying words to a stranger makes you want to fall in a hole, the very least smile at people. Farming is hard, so be encouraging.

Tip number two. It's helpful to bring your own bags and pay with cash, but you won't get thrown out of the farmer's market if you don't. Most farmers at the market, they have a stock of plastic bags. It's just kind of part of the game. But it's a tiny way to offset their costs by bringing your own back. Plus, a lot of farmers, they do care about the earth because they're farmers, right? So while it's important to offer ways for customers to carry produce home, there is an appreciation for taking care of the planet by bringing your own bags.

You're not judged if you don't, just appreciated if you do, okay? And when it comes to cash, that is definitely your go-to payment option. If you go to the market on a regular basis and a farmer recognizes you, they're more likely to accept a check if you left your cash at home, but not everyone will. Cash is just easier to trust, right? And you don't have to go through a computer to get your actual cash if you're a farmer. Plus, it helps to keep the change going and all of that. So if you're a regular at the market and run out of cash, don't be afraid to ask a farmer if you can write a check, but just try to make it part of your like on the way to the market, Saturday morning routine

to run by the ATM if you need to. It's just a helpful way to go. Tip number three. Ask questions. If you don't know what a food is, ask the farmer. If you don't know the best way to prepare something, ask the farmer. If pesticide free is important to you and you don't see any signs on the stand that indicate that, ask the farmer. Smile and ask your questions. The farmers, they really, truly love answering them. If you think of a topic that you love or a skill that you have developed, when somebody asks you how you sewed that quilt square, or how to grow herbs or what show they should watch next.

You're stoked to answer, right? When we're passionate about something, we're usually happy to talk about it. The same is true of your farmers. I have learned a few vegetable preparations that have become favorites by asking a farmer his favorite way to eat, whatever it is I'm buying. I even had one lady, oh, she was so precious, walked me through the process of canning tomatoes. And I went home and I did it.

Then the next time I saw her, I got to tell her I took her advice. By asking questions of what we don't understand, right, or the best ways to do something that we've never really done before, we are encouraging the farmer in his or her craft. We're giving him or her an opportunity to share their knowledge rather than just stand there and hand people food, right? And it kind of like, it plants the seed of, plants the seed. Sorry, I didn't mean to make a joke, but it does plant a seed of a relationship, which does lead me to tip number four. Befriend a farmer. This might seem weird, but it goes a really long way

on lots of levels. So my favorite market is open on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. And during the summer, I go at least once, if not both times, especially during strawberry season, because we go through like a gallon every couple of days. I have done a lot of observing around those farm stands. And while a lot of people clearly love the process of buying a cup of locally roasted coffee, and then getting a pastry from the European bakestand in the corner and then wandering the market to find what they like. The farmers themselves, they aren't always part of that liturgy,

that regular practice of going to the farmer's market. The coffee, the pastry, the tomatoes that will soon be the best sandwiches ever, the friends you bump into as you're looking at goats, milk, soap. There really is a beautiful liturgy to going to the farmer's market, but not everybody includes the farmers in that, which is sad because we wouldn't have the market without them. So don't be afraid to be friend a farmer. Being encouraging and asking questions will help you get into conversation.

And then if you see the same man or woman each week at a stand that you love, ask him his name. Shake her hand. Introduce yourself. You don't have to know the name of every farmer and you don't have to put pressure on yourself to ask them out for coffee. But by being friendly and intentional, especially with folks you see week after week, you're creating an experience for yourself and for the farmers. You're seeing them in a way a lot of

customers don't always see them. One day, you're negotiating with suppliers. The next, you're installing a shelf in the back room. Running a business means moving in many directions all the time. TD's new small business banking accounts are built for how your business moves. It's how we're making banking more human. Aw, isn't something we need to travel for. It's something waiting for us in everyday life, whether in a city street or a moment with a work of art. I'm Dr. Keltner, host of the Science of Happiness podcast. Join me for Cities of Aw, a special series on how our public spaces can spark awe, wonder, and enhance the quality of public life. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. And now, okay, this is not why you should befriend a farmer, but if you

develop a relationship with a farmer, a lot of times they'll give you a discount. or they'll save you your favorite produce that's selling really fast because they know you're probably going to come. I've been going to the same market since I was pregnant with Sam, who is now eight years old, okay? And I've been buying strawberries and tomatoes from the same guy for all eight of those years. His name is Lewis, and he knows my kids' names. I don't think he knows my name because the kids are like more important, but he lights up when we walk up. On mornings, we're running a little late, and I'm worried he's sold out of strawberries. He waves me over to the corner of the stand, and he slips me a bucket of berries that he set aside for me as he's like telling another customer that he sold

out. He has knocked off a buck or two here and there. I usually like give it to him anyway because he's a farmer. Oh my goodness. But we're like farmer's market friends. We have a relationship beyond just buying the food. I ask about his granddaughter. He asked how the boys are doing in school. I tell him I made a pie out of his strawberries and he smiles about it. You know, like it's a really lovely aspect of the market that I don't see a lot of people taking advantage of. So I'm encouraging you to not miss out. These are lovely people who work really hard. So be friendly and seek a relationship with them, even if it's one that exists for three minutes every other Saturday. It is such a beautiful part of the process of going to the farm's market. Okay, tip number five, stick with the specialists.

This is not always the case, but it is true a majority of the time. If you see a farm stand, selling literally everything that's for sale in the market, like every single food that's in season. It's easy to see it as like a great, like one-stop shop. And maybe you know that farmer and you love their stuff. And so that's great. Like, no worries. But if you're new to the farmer's market or you're just starting to pay attention, I find that it's better to buy something from a farmer when it's only one of a few things that they grow.

Lewis's farm only sells strawberries, tomatoes, summer squash, corn and melons. That's it. and all of those are the best in the market. Another guy sells every green you can imagine and not much else. And they're the best greens in the market. I've got a lettuce guy. There's one guy who shows up just to sell Brussels sprouts, and they are the best Brussels sprouts I've ever had in my life.

When the farmer focuses on a handful of items as opposed to the entire catalog of summer produce, it's like those items are better. They're given attention. The nuances of growing them are understood better. And the farmer is most certainly, an expert on how to store and cook whatever he's grown. Now, I'm not saying that farmers who grow everything aren't doing a good job at all, but I've always had better luck from farmers who work

just as hard on a few things rather than everything. So if you can, stick with the specialists. Tip number six, you're allowed to ask to taste something. Did you know that? The farmer wants to make a sale. I also want to make you happy. And gladly offering you a taste of something, it's like a car dealership given test drives. You don't want to buy it if you don't like it, right? Some things aren't as good raw as they are cooked. It's true. But if you're curious about how something tastes, ask a farmer a couple of questions about it and then say, would you mind if I tried some? I've never, ever had a farmer do this reluctantly. Like, they've all said yes, but they've all said, like, a very generous yes. And when I ask them specifically, do you mind

if people want to taste something. Like when I asked farmers specifically for the purpose of this podcast episode, their response was consistently like, no, that's totally great. So don't be afraid to ask to taste something. There is a grower. There's a girl at my market who only does peaches and strawberries. And I've had a couple of, I've had a couple of bad experiences with her produce. She is trying to make money, which I get. But sometimes she brings fruit to the market that was picked a little too early. It's just not ready to sell. Even though, I get not wanting to miss a week of sales when folks will be willing to buy the food. Anyway, you know. So now when she shows up with her peaches or her berries and it's on the edges

of the growing season, I'll ask her for a taste. If they're not great, I know it before I taste because she immediately starts explaining how tart the strawberries are or that the peaches need a couple of weeks to ripen or something. So what do you do if you taste a food you don't like or isn't it the rightness you want? Like what if you're in that situation where you do taste it and you're like, oh, I don't really like this. Or the strawberry does not taste sweet or whatever it is. What you can do, you can just say, rather than say, I don't like it, you can say, I don't think that's for me, but I so appreciate you letting me try it.

Like if it's a flavor you don't like. If the food, but of course we know like what peaches and strawberries taste like, if the food isn't at the quality or the ripeness you want after you taste it, you can say, I was looking to eat them raw over the next thing. day or two. And these aren't quite ready for that. So I'll just try again next time or whatever. You can be kind and still be honest. But don't be afraid to ask for a taste. They expect it and they will gladly give it. And finally, tip number seven, go as often as you can. The more you go, the more familiar it is. The more you go, the easier it is to befriend a farmer because you recognize

each other's faces. The more you go, the more you get to experience the most delicious food that the season has to offer. It is such a great thing to add into your summer weekly routine. And then you get to bring the food home and prepare it so simply that your work is basically done when you leave the market. Like a quick steam, a quick grill, a quick roast, or just like a good drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. And most foods will lead to amazing meals. Make part of your regular life the farmer's market. Like just make it part of your regular life. And then you're going to really miss it when winter comes. and it's gone. The excitement I feel when the market finally opens again,

I mean, it's the best, man. I love that little building because I have been going there regularly for over eight years. Eight years. Tiny steps. One visit at a time. One amazingly reddish purple

Johnson whatever tomato at a time. One transcendent bag of arugula at a time. You guys, I just eat it out of the bag like popcorn. One smile at a time. You know, You don't have to go in and meet everybody immediately. Like, just start. Just start going and stay as regular as you're able.

Shopping at the farmer's market will eventually become a really beloved part of your life. I truly believe that. So to recap our seven tips. Be encouraging. Bring your own bags and cash if you can. Ask questions. Befriend a farmer. Stick with a specialist.

Ask for a taste and go as often as you can. I cannot wait to hear your farmer's market stories and questions this Thursday. day on Instagram. I will be there live around 1215 Eastern as usual. I'm at the lazy genius. So I can't wait to see you there. Okay guys, that's it for today. Thank you so much. As always for listening. You guys are the best. And remember, be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. I'll see you next week. Have you ever felt like you were living just a B or B plus life? It's so dangerous to live that more dangerous than a B minus or a C plus life because when you're living a B or B plus life, you don't change it. You think it's good enough. Is it? I'm Susie Welch.

I host a podcast called Becoming You. People think, okay, an A plus life is not available to me, but there is a way. We are all in the process of becoming ourselves. Listen to Becoming You wherever you get your podcasts.