Was able to make a quick stop to the Claremont Farmer's Market this past Sunday and pick up my favorite baked good of all time: zucchini bread! (Well maybe it's not my favorite becuase I really like carrot bread, banana bread, scones, pastries...er, all baked good are my favorite!) The Claremont Market can be best described as "quaint." There are about a dozen vendors: 2 selling scarves and sweaters, 1 guy with pita, hummus, olives and various tapenades, 1 specializing in honey, 2 in baked goods and the rest selling the most wonderful fruits I've seen in a while. All the vendors were incredibly generous with their samples (buttery rich avocados, giant bright red strawberries and sweet and crisp persimmons, with just the perfect orange hue :)). After scarfing down a small bag of honey pollen - I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture, I stuffed myself silly with fruit samples and finished off the morning with a loaf of zuchinni bread from a vendor called Plant Cookies (located in Alhambra). The bread had a nice flavor with plenty of bright green specks - the more zucchini the better! It was, however, on the dry side. I suppose that is due to the small size of the loaf, which most people have a tendency to overbake. Another thing that threw me off was the sprinkle of walnuts on top, something I am only used to seeing on loaves of banana bread. But even though it was not the best of breads, there is just that magical/great/wonderful feeling of buying goods from a vendor as opposed to a supermarket or large store. I like being able to chat with the man behind the table as he carefully places the loaf of bread into the plastic bag, like he was preparing to hand over a family heirloom. I like to hear about the family business - how he gets to work at 4:30 am every moring and bakes the day away, discovering new recipes, interacting with customers. It gives the product a story, a life. But most if all, it (as in the food, the experience, and everything else!) just feels special.