Bob's Note: Today we present the first of our special guest vendor blogs for the season. First up are the girls of Feathered, the Market's vintage clothing and accessories vendor. Take it away, Quinn and Shalayna!

 

It’s 5:30pm, and I’m just about to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when a familiar text comes across my phone. 

 

"Hungry?" 

 

It's my cousin and Feathered business partner Shalayna, who lives 400 feet up the street. 

 

"Starving!! What did Adam make us?" 

 

"Omg...a tortellini in white wine sauce with garlic chicken. You've got to come have some."

 

Hi, we are Shalayna and Quinn of Feathered, and we don't cook.

 

Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City once said, "I keep sweaters in my stove." While we haven't taken it that far, we won't deny that we both transformed the third bedrooms of our homes into walk-in closets. It's not that we aren't interested in learning to cook- it's just that in addition to our full-time day jobs and running Feathered, other projects have taken precedence. My main reason has been that I haven't had a kitchen since I started remodeling my 1920s-era home and the kitchen is the last room to go. Shalayna’s reason for not taking up cooking? Well, her husband Adam does such a wonderful job, and we wouldn’t want to take that away from him now, would we? But in all seriousness, he has owned that passion, and she’d much rather spend her evenings learning about dinosaurs with her son. I’m sure Austin has a great new story about a stegosaurus or triceratops to share.

 

Shalayna and I set up Feathered at the Bridgeport Farmers Market on select Sundays throughout the summer. Now ranked #1 in the state, the market draws about 1,000 people every Sunday from all walks of life. Amid the sound of acoustic music, we see couples walking hand in hand, families with strollers straight from church, girlfriends laughing, and singles with dogs. After the rush of setting up our booth is done, we take turns meandering around the Farmers Market between customers. We always knew the market was a great atmosphere for Feathered, but we didn’t realize just how much it had to offer. 

 

If you don’t cook and think the farmers market just isn’t your thing, here are 6 reasons you’ll love the BFM:

 

#1 - The Fabulously Descriptive Live Chef Demos

At noon, a small crowd gathers around the demo tent to watch a guest chef create a dish with local ingredients from the farmers. Free. Live. Local. It’s like Pinterest in real life. Shalayna and I have been inspired to buy all the ingredients ourselves to make the local dish for dinner that evening. It’s especially helpful that they provide a take home cheat sheet.

 

# 2- The Freshest Organic Smoothie Ingredients in NCWV 

Smoothies are a non-cook's best friend. You just throw a bunch of super food ingredients in a blender and BAM- a liquid meal you can feel good about. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making your own, visit Rus Ruppert, That Smoothie Guy. When Rus isn’t strumming under the music tent, he’s concocting up blissfully delicious organic smoothies at the market.

 

#3- The BFM is Bridgeport's best kept Sunday brunch secret

The market runs from 10:00am-2:00pm, which is the perfect time for BRUNCH. Let us just say, the food is- unbelievable. All week, we look forward to the loaded premium bagels from West Virginia OO Bagel Company, the garlic parmesan fries from Thyme Bistro, and the specialty omelets from the Bridgeport Conference Center. And Hashbrowns and New Grounds, Foggy Dale Café, and My Little Cupcake bring food trucks that totally give the market an Austin, Texas vibe. It’s a refreshing break from all the chain restaurants in the area to shake up your Sunday lunch plans.

 

#4- The BFM has the perfect tools if you want to get started cooking 

 Raw and organic doesn’t have to mean ‘from scratch’. Mountain Momma Organics is known for their best-selling soup kits. These bags contain a base with all the nutritious goods you need, and you can add your own flair from there. They also have build your own granola bars available for pre-order & pickup at the market. This is a popular concept that is really catching on- you’ll see other vendors that provide starter kits for anything from baked goods to dressings.

 

 #5- The BFM is the best place to start your meal planning for the week 

The timing of the market fits in great with your meal planning at the beginning of the week. If you start at the BFM, you can pick up all of your locally grown, organic fruits, veggies, meats and eggs. All you have to do is simply supplement the ingredients you couldn’t find at the BFM with a stop at your local grocer on the way home. Truth be told, as the season progresses you'll find your grocery store shopping list getting shorter and shorter!

 

#6- When in doubt, shop the artisans 

If you just can’t get into the food aspect of the market luckily there is plenty of guilt free shopping available. Local artisans make up about 15% of the market’s 50+ vendors. You can shop everything from handmade cutting boards at Z&Z Woodcrafters to handmade soaps & salt scrubs at Sunny Patch Organic Bath & Body to pressed flower jewelry at The Pretty Pickle. Oh yeah, and vintage clothing at Feathered.

 

For two non-cooks, we find plenty of excitement and inspiration every Sunday at the Bridgeport Farmers Market. Visit all summer long on Sundays from 10am to 2pm on Jerry Dove Drive.

 

<3, Quinn & Shalayna

 

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Hey, it's Bob again. Just FYI, this week at the Market we feature one of our favorites, singer/guitarist Greg Gregory, under the Music Tent. I told Greg a few weeks ago that when he plays the Market it feels like we have our XM radio tuned to The Bridge, which I think is high praise, indeed! And back under the Chef's Demo tent is Appalachian foods expert, Mike Costello of Lost Creek Farm. Demos start at High Noon! To check out more info on the BFM please visit our website.

 

Editor’s Note:Pictured first are Quinn Edgell and Shalayna Pullice, the girls of Feathered. Second, Chefs Tarik Kalwar and Ted Hastings at last week's chef's demo. In the collage, Hashbrowns and New Grounds Food Truck; Shoppers take a break under the brunch tent; The Bridgeport Conference Center is a brunch staple; Thyme Bistro brings flavor from their Weston cafe to the market; My Little Cupcake has developed a local cult following. Fourth, Mountain Momma Organics has a massive booth that spans two tents