Family Fun at the Edina Farmers Market

Edina food writer Meredith Deeds and her family love to "eat in season."

From the issue: June 2012

Photo: John Noltner

Meredith Deeds.

Cookbook author and food writer Meredith Deeds has never met a farmers’ market she didn’t love. When she and husband David lived in Seattle, she visited the famous Pike’s Place market almost daily, and chose from its fresh bounty to find a wide variety of exciting culinary opportunities.

The Deeds family—which now includes teenage sons Quinn, Connor and Kyle—has lived in Edina for almost four years and has thoroughly embraced the Twin Cities farmers’ market scene. Their favorites include the St. Paul Farmers Market in Lowertown, the Minneapolis Farmers’ Market and Mill City Market next to the Guthrie Theatre; Deeds has also visited the Centennial Lakes Farmers Market in Edina.

“Our kids love to see what’s at the market every week,” she says. “We always stop for the hot buttered corn in Minneapolis and love sampling whatever is new. We make a day of it and come home to cook whatever it is we’ve found. Shopping for fresh produce and meat at the market has become an integral part of my boys’ understanding of food.”

Deeds has co-written six cookbooks, including The Big Book of Appetizers (Chronicle Books, 2006) which was nominated for a James Beard Award the following year. Deeds also writes the “Healthy Family” column which runs every Thursday in the Taste section of the Minneapolis-Star Tribune.

She believes preparing healthy meals for your family also means challenging your kids’ palates whenever you can.

“I think my kids might be less picky than most, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things they don’t like,” she says with a laugh. (Roasted Brussels sprouts are a favorite at the Deeds table).