Sounds like Christmas in September. One of those places I have to be drug out of.....

Dale,

Central Market is just to die for. Every time I step inside this store, I almost get sensory overload. I only mentioned brief parts of it...it is so-o-o-o amazing and there is so much more that I didn't even mention. For example, every kind of pasta you can even imagine made from every type of raw ingredient from which pasta can be made. Dozens of salsas. Unique jams and jellies. Bulk grains and nuts and seeds and more. The variety of foods is astounding.

Last year they announced plans to eventually build a Central Market in Denton, which is only half as far for us to drive as Fort Worth. I've noticed, though, that the development it is supposed to be a part of seems stalled, so I am afraid the construction may slide out a couple years farther into the future.

When Central Market was about to open in Fort Worth, the local newspaper had a huge story about it based on their 'preview' visit to the store and to the Austin Central Market. They interviewed several couples who regularly (like, maybe once or twice a month) drove from Ft. Worth to Austin for years to shop at their Central Market. I remember thinking that those people must be nuts! Now, I'm the one driving a long distance to go to the one in Fort Worth.....LOL

You would have loved Pendery's Spices too. The selection was astonishing. Not just cardamom, for example, but which one do you want? The green ones? The pods? The powder? Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Oh, it was such a good day.

Dawn

Sounds like a perfect day to me.

It was.

I was up early today, slicing cucumbers so they could sit and salt for a few hours before I make bread and butter pickles. At the same time, I had tomatoes dehydrating in the convection oven, and other tomatoes cooking in the crockpot to make spaghetti sauce. I am in full "Little Red Hen" mode!

And you do LRH very well, Miss Dawn! LOL!
MAN, I would LOVE to go spend some time in those places! So neat! You're seriously making me wonder what all we have in Little Rock, or even Memphis. I gotta do a search now... :).

Beth

What a great way to spend a Monday! I will have to try online ordering from the spice & herb store. Definitely won't be as fun as in person and smelling all the wonderful spices, but when you live in the remote regions a day trip doesn't take you places like that. We drive 30 min to get to Walmart. LOL

Does OKC have anything like these stores? We do occasionally get to OKC area to visit our son and daughter.

Jan

Dawn, sounds like my kind of place you were. Wonder if there is one nearer to me?

Moni

Beth,

I made pickles first and then I finished dehydrating my tomatoes from yesterday and then I finished my yellow tomato sauce and THEN I made one batch of Multi-purpose Seasoned Tomato Sauce. By the time I finished it was around 2 p.m. and we hopped in the car and sped down to the Southlake Central Market to check out their produce selection. I was a little disappointed. They didn't have nearly as many heirloom winter squashes, pumpkins and gourds nor did they have as many heirloom tomatoes. However, they did have pickling cucumbers, so I bought another 5 lbs. Since I made bread-and-butter pickles today, I'll make dills tomorrow. Best of all, my own pickling cukes are about to reach pickling size, so I'll be able to make stacker-type pickles about Friday or Saturday.

We also picked up a 10-grain store bakery bread that we like and a few other veggies. Then, it was off to Green Sprouts Farmer's Market a couple of miles up the road. It really is just a smaller, more affordable version of Whole Foods or Central Market, but I mean really, really, really smaller and not much selection. They had some great prices on produce, but a lot of their produce was overripe and I didn't purchase anything there. But, I did get visiting those two stores out of my system.

The next time I want to go to Central Market, I'll go to Fort Worth because it has a better selection by far. I don't know this for a fact, but it seems bigger than the one in Southlake. It might be that the Fort Worth store has more autumn pumpkins and winter squash outside because they have a big covered patio type thing in front of the store where they often have musicians and cookouts when the weather is good, and I didn't see anything like that at the Southlake store. The only advantage the Southlake store has over Fort Worth is that Tim can stop by it on his way to work at DFW Airport if there's something I "need".

I got home in time to spend an hour in the garden while my sweet DH grilled chicken and sausage and made dinner.

I had used up all my tomatoes today making the multi-purpose tomato sauce, but I got to pick another 6 tonight, so I'm OK.

Moni, I think Tulsa might have a Whole Foods or Wild Oats which are sort of similar to Central Market but more heavily focused on organics and less focused on gourmet-type fare, although there is a lot of gourmet type stuff, especially if you like artisan cheeses and breads. I'll do some research and see what I can find out about Edmond-OKC-Tulsa. Surely something in that area has a 'health food store' with a good selection. I have found they usually have the best produce in terms of variety and selection.

Today I was looking at all the fingerling potatoes (six or eight varieties) at Central Market and making a mental note to buy some in December to sprout for spring planting.

Two road trips in two days. I've got to stay home and weed and mow for the rest of the week or the yard and garden will be a jungle.

Jan,

I'll link Pendery's below. The web site is great, but if you're ever in the Fort Worth-Dallas area, you have to visit the store for the sheer pleasure of inhaling all the lovely aromas of the many spices and herbs.

Don't miss their chili mixes. They are great and come in many combinations. I love that Pickling Spice and Italian Seasoning Mixes too---they look like real spices and herbs, not just ground-up powders.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Pendery's Spices

Moni,

There's a Whole Foods store in Tulsa. It is the store in Oklahoma that comes closest to being like Central Market in terms of the produce selection, and a great meat, cheese and bread/baked goods section. It is just full of healthy everything. I haven't been to the Tulsa store, but in the photo it resembles the Arlington, Texas, so I bet it is very similar to it.

The store is kind of pricey, so I don't do my regular shopping there, but I got there for high-quality special items like produce I can't find anywhere else, and free-range turkeys for the holidays. I love, love, love to buy their organic potatoes for sprouting for early spring planting. They aren't certified seed potatoes, but I've never had diseased issues with them.

I also buy the Dr. Bronner's soaps there.

If any of y'all visit the Whole Foods in Tulsa, I hope you'll report back on what you find there.

I've linked their website.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Whole Foods Market in Tulsa