Amid Market's Bounty Sprout Small Town Connections

If you've never gone to the Laguna Beach farmers market on a Saturday morning, you might think it's just a place to buy locally-grown produce. That's not wrong, but it misses the point. By definition a market is "a public gathering held for buying and selling merchandise." The buying and selling you can get at the supermarket, but the public gathering is what makes the farmers market something to look forward to. Yes, the produce is magnificent. This time of year, especially, the displays at the various stands provide a patchwork of colors and textures that create a virtual feast for all of the senses. Multi-colored heirloom tomatoes jostle for space with bushy heads of lettuce, vibrant green zucchini, yellow squash, radishes and more. One stand is a sea of succulent red strawberries, with some raspberries and blueberries thrown in. At another, peaches and nectarines make room for little green grapes. Also, you can taste as you go - a grape here, a piece of melon or pluot there. Maybe an Italian cookie or a little piece of cake? How about something savory, like mango salsa from the tamale vendor, a piece of spelt flour bread, or a special Indian bread filled with eggplant. Or cheese, perhaps? Try the Gouda at one stand, or the Greek feta at another and get some olive oil while you're at it. Want a ready-made snack to give you an energy boost when you get home, before you try to find room in the fridge for all that produce? How about some roasted garlic hummus and pita chips from Mom's Specialty Mediterranean? Yet, what draws customers back week after week is participating in a shared experience. You run into your neighbors, the ones you never see though they live two houses away, and friends and colleagues. Customers strike up conversations with other shoppers, who explain how they cook or serve an unfamiliar vegetable. Patrons become familiar with vendors, and feel connected to the source of their purchases. You can't help but cultivate favorite stands because of the quality or variety of what's for sale, such as those straw-thin French beans, or because of the people selling it. I buy homemade wild mushroom ravioli from Stella at the Mangi Con Amore stand, and a chat with her brightens my day just as much as the ravioli will brighten my evening when I can have Stella's delicious fare on the table in under 15 minutes. Making my way to my favorite lettuce vendor, I run into two different friends. Will I see them at the concert in Bluebird Park tomorrow? Bea and Amado Rodriguez, brother and sister, sell certified organic produce from their father's farm, J.R. Organics, in Escondido, which is also a CSA farm (community supported agriculture). They'll happily give you tips on how to make use of a certain vegetable. Never had purslane before? Amado says that while his sister might sauté it, he likes it just as well raw. A morning at the farmers market isn't complete for me without a stop at Ha's Apple Farm stand where Chung Lee of Irvine sells apples and cider from the farm of her husband's uncle in Tehachapi. When apples are out of season, she might offer kyo-ho grapes (a sort of Japanese version of concord grapes), melons, peaches or plums. In every season, she has a bright smile and cheerful "good morning" for all comers. On the way out, I stop at Grammy's Granola to pick up some of Janet Braver's homemade mix of oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit. Braver has had a stand at the Laguna market for three years. "This is a fabulous market," she said, adding, "The people are wonderful. They understand the value of what they are getting." Yes, they do!

Sarah Reese, right, chats with the orchid lady. Honey Pacifica has been a "sweet" presence at the market for over 10 years. Stella, purveyor of homemade Italian pasta and baked goods, demonstrates the "amore" in Mangi Con Amore and shares a laught with the Indy's Jennifer Erickson. Joe Romero provides Aliso Viejo resident Denise Marquette with fresh produce. Steve Hurst and son check out the farmers market.