Finally Meeting a Fellow Blogger...at the 17th Street Market

Part of the fun of being a food-blogger is the sense of community that you get corresponding with people from all over with a passion for food. We may come from different cultures, different socioeconomic backgrounds. We write from different perspectives - some humorous and irreverent, some instructive and detailed, some poetic and lyrical, but we all share a love of food and the power it has...to nourish, to celebrate, to comfort. And while we learn a lot about each other from our profiles, and reading posts (and memes), unless we live in a metropolitan area with a large food-blogging community (like you luck bloggers in Columbus or DC), we don't often get the opportunity to meet each other in the flesh. That is why, when I heard that Veronica of Veronica's Test Kitchen and Petite Bouchees was going to be at the 17th Street Farmer's Market in Richmond, where I had research for an upcoming article, I couldn't let the opportunity to meet her (or taste her macarons!) pass me by.

We got up early and made the trek to Richmond (a little over an hour's drive) on an otherwise dreary day. Since it is still early in the season, there was not much produce yet to be had at the market, set in the heart of Shockoe Bottom. Even the parking lot was cool, underneath the highway and complete with its own cool sculpture, which my girls loved. We wandered around for about two and a half minutes before I spied the Petite Bouchees banner, and under it, were the divine, much anticipated macarons. Oh, and Veronica and her husband were there too. I went over with the "Core Four" (Gavin, Bridget, Molly and myself) to introduce myself (You can see us left - Veronica is the young, skinny one!). Veronica is just as sweet as she sounds on her blog. We had samples of the incredible macarons and heard about the Farmer's Market . Our conversation was punctuated by customers looking for Veronica's delicious baked goods. Veronica and her husband (who is as nice as she is) were great hosts giving us directions to our next two Richmond stops, but not before we bought some macarons for the road.

As the booth got busier, we decided to make our way to our other two stops for the day, Penzey's Spices in Carytown and Millie's Diner. It was great to finally have a chance to meet a fellow blogger and an excellent baker(and a genuinely nice person!). Oh, and Veronica, if you read this, my girls loved your apron!