Ojai
We took the past weekend and went up to Ojai with my brother and sister-in-law. It is such a beautiful drive and the town is quaint. We stayed at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. It is a great spot, insanely relaxing and a perfect place to recharge your batteries.
I won’t write about any of the places we ate because none of them are memorable. You aren’t there for the food. It was about hanging, massages, yoga, golf, walks…you get the idea.
Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast in town and low and behold there was a farmers market. They are all so good. We made the rounds and bought up supplies for the drive home.
Tomatoes!
Strawberries. These strawberries were good but we found some other strawberries later on and had a taste test. Both delicious but the later ones were sweeter.
Walnut oil. Insanely delicious. Use that in pesto!
Avacadoes
Ojai oil company. Really good. We also bought a fig balsamic vinegar
Local flowers
Gluten-free macaroons. These were delicious. Gluten free is everywhere which is a real bonus for many.
Radishes
Check out these beautiful beets. Three colors.
Lots of fresh farm eggs around the market.
Honey purveyor that also had this bee pollen. Kind of interesting. Toss it on yogurt.
Free Hugs. You have to love this. This guy has been doing it for 5 years. He was looking for an new activity. Not sure this is a great business model but he certainly enjoyed himself.
Large leeks
I could smell these apples before walking into the tent.
Love this. Summer in a bottle. It is!
Laundry and other products for the home.
Many family farms there with organic meats, chickens, etc.
Always citrus
Lavender and sage
This is the way to go to a farmer market. Take a long the little red wagon.
These were the insanely delicious strawberries. They were so red that they almost appeared to be on the verge of exploding.
Almonds in multiple flavors.
Artichokes the size of your head.
Colors of carrots.
Another farmers market and a great weekend. No doubt we will return to Ojai.
Comments (Archived):
.As usual, a photographic tour de force. The strawberries, wow!All of the produce is impressive.As to the “free hugger” — did you discuss the implications of “freemium” and how he might sneak in a little revenue enhancement from time to time?I am also concerned about his product line — as an example, can you get a kiss or a pinch or a platonic feel? Such a one dimensional product line seems fertile for adding breadth, no?[39F, rain in NYC — not that you would care]JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
I was concerned about the huggers revenue model. Not sure there is one. 🙂
.You don’t feel like you and your guy bumping into the revenueless hugger was an inspiration from karma or God?JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…
Love the Free Hugs guy! And the beets, carrots, strawberries. Everything, really. Makes me jealous. You guys selected the right Winter to leave NYC. Weather here has been brutal.
the Ojai and Carpenteria farmers markets have Reed avocados in mid summer.Reeds look like three pound canon balls are are the second best tasting avocado– behind the Pinkerton, which is grown inland from Ojai. Eat more California avocados. Ojai is strawberry heaven through June.
This is all local stuff? Jeeze
Superb photography
If we rent a place next year, the only requirement is a good kitchen.
so happy to see the word “yoga” in your post ha ha. this made me miss the abundance of produce in California. We have great raw products in South Africa but lack the next step
To see sunlight and fresh fruit is just too much for me now. Enjoy.I am tired of the snow, the ice dams, the roof shovelers ripoffs, and the canned fruit that is the only thing left in the cupboard. Hooray, we may hit 35 degrees tomorrow, and then we have to be careful of the falling icicles and roof dams as they can take out a car’s windshield or worse .