Noosa Farmers Market

After a cup of coffee and a wander around the marina market, we decided to head to the Noosa Farmer’s Market and in contrast to the marina market, the Noosa Farmer’s Market was chock full of people and stalls.  This is by far the best market for a foodie like me that I’ve found on the Sunshine Coast.  Imagine buying vegetables that were picked yesterday or eggs that were laid yesterday?

I was in heaven. Seriously.

I was impressed at how friendly all the stall holders were.  It didn’t matter what it was, if there was a question, they wanted to answer it.  One lady wanted to know how to prepare a dragon fruit and a man wanted an explanation on the taste difference between fresh goat cheese and half goat half cow fresh cheese.

There were about 6 people waiting to make a purchase and each one got his undivided attention.  It was great.  The stalls offered samples too.  I had some dragon fruit and half a passionfruit and some pineapple and some cheese – better stop there or you’ll think I’m a glutton.

For me, there’s nothing better than spray free, fresh veggies and many of the items for sale are just that.  Yes, some have been sprayed and I can understand when there’s a huge infestation of bugs there is little choice, however, my preference will always be spray free.

How often do you buy ginger with the stalk still fresh?  I can say never until today!  Fantastic aroma from fresh dug ginger. The mushrooms just begged me to take a bite and the salad greens were alive – not one wilted leaf.

This shortbread looked FANTASTIC and I will admit that it tasted pretty good after we got home too.  This stall had jams and chutneys and home made breads of all sorts.  Talk about major droolage!  This was one of the stalls that my husband had to walk away hoping I’d follow.

Then I met Anne who had the most wonderful array of organic vegetables.  I bought two onions the size softballs that are screaming for me to make them into fantastic onioin rings.  Here’s a recipe for the best onion rings in the world.  I’m not kidding.  Crispy crunchy and oh so delicious.  I digress.  Anne and her husband deliver organic fruit and vegetables in Peregian Beach.  If I lived there I would have them deliver to me.  The produce was fresh, clean and very appetising.  You can find them at the Noosa Farmers Market every Sunday or you can check out their website at Home Grown Health.

See how many people there were?  This was the back side of the market.  It was a wonderful experience — from watching the sugar cane being crushed for juice to drinking the most fabulous fresh mango juice – I had a smile a mile wide.

Is any trip to the market good without a freshly bbq’d kebab?  I had a chicken kebab and my husband had the lamb.  They were both fantastic.  The garlic sauce and tzatziki were fresh and the meat was perfectly cooked.  You know how sometimes chicken can be overcooked and tough?  I bit int the chicken so you could see how it was just cooked.

On one side of the market there was an Aussie Rules footy game going on and on the other side of the highway is the river.  How’s this for a lazy Sunday morning?  He was fishing while his wife was doing her weekly shopping.  He hadn’t caught anything yet when I stopped for a chat.

We’ll be at this market next Sunday for sure. Maybe we’ll bring a fishing pole for my husband.