Brunswick Farmer's Market

Last weekend, we headed out for little lady's first farmer's market, the Brunswick Winter Market located in Fort Andross in Brunswick, Maine.  We especially wanted to stop by the Winter Hill Farm table, because we love their stuff (full disclosure: the Winter Hill Farm folks are part of my extended family).

Sadly, I was not very mindful of the settings on my camera when I was taking the pictures - maybe something to do with also pushing a stroller around - but I'll share some of them.  Here are some of the vendors we visited:

Winter Hill Farm :

Delicious fresh eggs from pasture raised, organic fed chickens!

Raw milk!

Cheese chat

Garlic & herb fromage blanc - AMAZING.

The samples were pretty much gone before I could snap more photos!

Winter Hill Farm is extra special because of their work preserving Randall Linebacks - a heritage breed of cows that was long thought to have died out.  This breed was super popular during the colonial era, as they were a reliable all-purpose cow.  As large scale farms became more specialized, the all-purpose breeds gave way to cows that were specifically good milkers or great for meat.  As I mentioned, it was believed that Randalls had died out, but in fact they haven't; there are now a small handful of farms around the country, including Winter Hill, that are devoted to the continuation of this beautiful breed.



Spring Day Creamery:

Closeup of La Vie En Rose

Spring Day Creamery has some wonderful cheeses, particularly La Vie En Rose.  It's absolutely delicious!  We also picked up a glorious little camembert - sooooo good.


Blue Dragon Mussel Wagon:

Now, I myself have a seafood allergy, but my husband LOVES mussels, and he plowed through his pound of mussels, cooked according to the vendor's recipe, and said they were perfect and he wants more as soon as possible.



Smith's Smokehouse:

My husband picked up a mini kielbasa here to snack on and loved it.





Overall, this is a great market, and very family and stroller-friendly.  We initially went in with little lady in a carrier, but went back to the car and got the stroller when we realized that this was a place where we would not be in the way - in fact, we were in great company.  It was, however, pretty inconvenient that the bathrooms didn't have a changing table (perhaps there was one in the stall that was occupied when I went in?), so we had to change the baby in the car - NOT fun.  Also, they really ought to have an ATM, though at least some of the vendors accept cards.

The vendors were all incredibly warm and friendly, and they seem to enjoy each other as much as they enjoy their customers.  It was nice to be in such a neat space (a old industrial building converted to include office space, restaurants, a flea market, an antique shop, and now the winter market) with such a happy group of people.

The winter market only has 2 more Saturdays, including tomorrow, but hopefully we'll see some familiar vendors soon at the summer market!!