I went to the admittedly very sparse Newhall Farmer's Market on Thursday afternoon, for the first time. There were only about five booths. Two of them had produce. The others sold tamales, nuts and dried fruit, and toys.
But the two produce booths were great and I filled up my TJ's bag with goodies like fresh herbs, squash, leeks, white peaches, Asian pears, etc.
On my way out I passed this ice house, which I've been meaning to photograph for a long time. I see it out the window when I take the train.
I had to stop and do it right then because it's under construction...or hopefully repair and conversion. I hope they have the good sense to maintain the character.
There was an ice house outside the country store in Big Lake, Indiana when I was a kid and we went swimming there. I think you'd see a couple of old timers sitting outside smoking. And that it was still being used to house bags of ice.
There was also the old ice house, down by the lake shore, that wasn't in use anymore. I remember stories about people going out and cutting blocks of ice from the lake in the winter, dragging them behind horses on sledges and storing them in the old ice house for summer use.
There's a great story on NPR about the ice houses of Texas which is really interesting if you have the time...
4 comments:
I keep forgetting that there are place like these in California. Um, I LOVE Asian pears. Are they a hybrid or something?
I guess they're just a different set of varieties with like qualities. The ones I bought were called something like "Yuki" and are teardrop shaped. Very crisp and light...reminded me of jicama, actually!
Here are some more pear facts!
http://www.bouquetoffruits.com/fruit-facts/asian-pear-facts.html
The concept of an ice house is so amazing to me. How wonderful ice must have been in a time before air conditioners and convenience stores with ice cold Coca-Colas at the ready.
Liz- I think there's a story in the NPR story about ice houses about them sometimes--rarely--being able to get ice in Galvaston, TX that had been cut up north and brought down by ship packed in sawdust. I wonder if they thought about the fact that they were ingesting faraway lakes!?
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