Berries and Burgers

Good day....  After Tuesday’s bright sun and warm temperatures, we were greeted today with fog and drizzle, which gave the Solomon’s a ghostly appearance

I do enjoy these days occasionally, the kind of soothe the soul, plus you really can’t do yard work very well under these conditions… see?

So I took a friend up on an offer to accompany him to the Loveville Produce Auction.  And there any gloom was offset by the riot of colors of all the flowers and baskets that were part of the day’s offerings.

Beautiful hanging baskets as well as bedding plants of flowers and vegetables were available for purchase, as well as a few hot house raised vegetables – zukes, cukes, all sorts of salad greens and even a few tomatoes.

And, although it does look like a flower show, which in a way it is, you have to remind yourself that it is a business for the growers.  And the business part is really a show in itself.  The auction is conducted by Mennonites, and consists of a group of about three or four, who go from batch to batch auctioning off the items.  Generally the products are in “lots”, and they go down the row.  There is an auctioneer, a person who announces what the items are (“4 crates of number 3 zucchinis”) usually holding one aloft, and what the units are (quarts, boxes, etc.), along with an opening price.  What follows is almost unintelligible (to the uninitiated), carried out exactly like every parody of any auctioneer you ever heard.  Basically he calls a price, then looks for a “taker” in the group of buyers, and the give and take continues until the “winner” with the highest price is unopposed. While it is fascinating to listen to the auctioneer, watching the buyers is also entertaining.  

It is almost impossible to detect any reaction from the crowd, but the auctioneer reads them like a book.  He knows who is bidding against whom, and his eyes dart from one potential buyer to another.  I swear a twitch of an eye changes the price.  Usually a small nod is the sign that the person is willing to pay the current price, and this goes on until there are no more. Sometimes a buyer will shake his head if he has been in the bidding to indicate he/she quits.  Each of the buyers has a number, and at the end, the “Sold, $2.56 per quart for the lot to number 259” is recorded.  It is a ritual worth seeing.  When you are done buying, you go to a window, tell them your number and you are given a slip with itemized purchase and the total price.  A great system.

It is so nice to see all the gleaming produce, lovely flowers, lush plants all painstakingly packaged and presented.  Just makes you feel good.  A nice glimpse into a different culture that still survives and thrives in our county.  Although everywhere you look there is a picture, like a little kid in overalls with blond hair peeking out from under a straw hat, I leave the camera in the pocket.  The flowers and vegetables are willing subjects of course.

We left with some greens and flats of lovely ripe strawberries loaded in the back of the vehicle.

MFO will no doubt put these to good use

Besides the restaurateurs and vendors who are there to “buy local” and deal in the pallet size lots, there is also a “small lots” section where individuals can jump in and buy lesser quantities.  It takes a bit of guts to get in the game, but after watching for a bit you get the hang of it.  Even if you don’t want to buy anything it is worth the trip just to observe our community interacting with farmers and users of the land.  There is no charge or anything, and you will feel welcomed. Starts at nine on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on the Loveville road.  

Switching Ends..

And, at the extreme other end of the chain, so to (cleverly) speak, believe it or not, there will be another chain that will show up one of these days.  Subway has entered into an agreement with a worldwide burger chain based in New Zealand called BurgerFuel.  If you poke around their website as I did, the burgers are kind of standard, but you will find out that their prices are rather sporty.  The "Bio Fuel" is described as "1/3 pound 100% pure NZ grass fed beef, free range egg, beetroot, salad, relish and fresh natural BF aioli". Only sets you back a mere $10.50.  Perhaps they will be altered when they are presented in Subways..

Speaking of poking around and Subway, during a little research, I find out that one of the original owners of Subway was one Fred DeLuca who started “Pete’s Submarines” (named for his business partner Peter Buck) in 1965.  
Eventually it was shortened to the present name of just Subway.

But what caught me up short was his surname of “DeLuca”.  I immediately thought of Dean and DeLuca..  fortunately a little more searching found the gourmet delicatessen DeLuca was Giorgio DeLuca, and is no relation to the sandwich guy.  Incidentally, Joel Dean (1930 – 2004) was born in Ohio and attended Michigan State University!!

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how BurgerFuel integrates with the ubiquitous house of subs..  where you definitely do NOT have to

DFD

(Or go there, for that matter!)