Hello and top o’ the morning to each and every reader of West Oceanfront Magazine! Today, the very first Monday of November, brings with it not just expected Southern California sunshine but also a warm, slice of good news. If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’d know an obsession with the Newport Beach Farmers’ Market runs deep. I’ve got friends in booth-shaped places and each Sunday when the farm-fresh goods are placed in careful alignment on picnic-style tables by Newport Pier, I’m there, hovering over the stands, picking up my carrot-walnut-cranberry bread that BakeShack OC so generously stows away for me lest I arrive and it’s already sold out. After my ritualistic, secret bread pick-up, it’s off to less surreptitious activities like purchasing carrots! Or heirloom tomatoes! Dragon fruit! AVOCADOS! Yes, OK, I’ll take it all!
And if my fervent use of exclamation points in the previous paragraph did not tip you off to the fact that I love the Newport Beach Farmers’ Market, here’s another telling sign: West Oceanfront Magazine will now be producing a weekly series called “Make Your Market,” which will detail exactly how to take the produce sold in McFadden Square each Sunday and create decadent dishes filled with seasonal deliciousness and local flavor. The articles will include recipes, nutritional facts and even tips on how to cook parts of the veggies you never knew you could. (Hello, carrot greens and beet leaves. Welcome to our magazine.)
It’s a pretty intriguing announcement for this years-long farmers’ market fan, and also a way to write more about food, which is a thing I love to do. (You can read my year-old article about the Newport Beach Farmers’ Market for proof and maybe even marvel at the strange references to the Backstreet Boys interwoven with advice about bringing your own tote and making a list.)
Also, if you thought the zestfully exciting news ended with a new series announcement, you’d be wrong. There’s MORE. To kick off and celebrate the official start of “Make Your Market,” (our first story goes live Monday, Nov. 12) we’ve teamed up with the Newport Beach Farmers’ Market to give away an entire basket of items from a variety of Newport Beach Farmers’ Market vendors, plus a neat West Oceanfront Magazine coffee mug.
If you find yourself curious about how to procure the prize, simply click here on this Instagram post. Next, follow both @westoceanfront and @farmermarknb then tag two friends in the comments below the photo. That’s it! The whole thing couldn’t be easier. Enter as many times as you want, dance like nobody is watching and stay tuned Friday, Nov. 11 when we announce the winner.
