When we lived in Nice, France, we shopped at a local market almost every day. In fact, we didn’t even own a car there. That meant the most we could ever buy is what we could carry (and not much since we had a 1-year-old with us). We would usually hit the big Cours Selaya Flower Market and buy just enough produce to last a couple days.

We couldn’t even do the big, mondo, semi-ridiculous grocery store expedition where you load up on a month’s supply of things that are frozen, boxed, canned, jarred and came from the other side of the globe.

We also always had the best local food, because in France it was so easy to do so. Want bread? Go to the bakery around the corner. Sweet tooth? Hit a local pastry shop or chocolaterie. Meat comes from the local butcher, and cheese from one of the amazing, divine corner cheese shops.

So this morning wasn’t quite at that level, of course. I’m not in France anymore. But I am in Asheville, and food was a major reason I wanted to move here (a.k.a. Foodtopia) when we returned from France and found ourselves unhappy in Northwest Indiana near Chicago (too flat, and way too cold).

We went to the new Asheville City Market. It’s kind of interesting they even need another market (we have like 45 in the region), but it actually is the only one conveniently located downtown. And it seems to have attracted many vendors. There was a mix of produce, plants, cheeses, meats, local trout, fresh baked breads and pastries, and local-made jams and jellies. In a word, it’s divine. And it was a little like being back in the South of France.

And it’s another check off of my Sustainable Kitchen Project although this, like everything on the list, is something I want to do regularly (at least weekly). We’ll see if I can stick to that.

We made some great purchases, and I spent about $50. I got some grass-fed pastured lamb and pork from Hickory Nut Gap Farm, and some unbelievably delicious goat cheese from Spinning Spider Creamery (the hardest decision of the day, as I wanted pretty much every variety she had). In fact, I’m nibbling on crackers topped with the Provence Chevre right now as I type.

We got some local lettuce (a cool and interesting speckled Romaine variety), plump asparagus, and apple butter.

The kids had a wonderful time and, in an almost unheard-of first, not a one had a melt-down. For morning snack, my husband, oldest daughter and I had chocolate croissants from a local baker, and the twins enjoyed these adorable star-shaped mini croissants filled with rhubarb and goat cheese.

Here are some pictures, including close-ups of my mouth-watering local food purchases:

[flickr album=72157604985143593 num=22]