After getting my you-know-what handed to me at the Gladiator Rock'n'Run event last weekend, I toured the Proctor Farmers Market - voted Tacoma's best farmers market last year in the Weekly Volcano Super Best of Tacoma Readers' Poll.

What struck me most was not the variety, pricing or how many people were still attending an open-air market at the end of October - it was the smiles, from strangers and vendors alike.

A light, cheery vibe hung in the crisp air. Kids being towed by parents, dogs on leashes and couples walking hand-in-hand formed a parade of sorts, all making their way down one side of North 27th Street just off North Proctor and then back up the other.

From the farm

Tables held frilly-leaved kale so darkly purple in contrast to the orange of carrots and pumpkins that none of it looked real. Spying huge bundles of parsley, onions, red-stemmed chard, oddly shaped squash and gourds, I vacillated between wanting stew and salad. The brisk air on my still flip-flop-clad feet made stew the winner.

Formerly housed in a building on North I Street in Tacoma, the folks from Calendula Farms have significantly shifted gears from only growing aesthetically pleasing plants for the yard to also raising animals. Of the hormone and antibiotic free meat Calendula Farms now offers - from goat to chicken and lamb - I opted for the lamb. Like it was meant to be, a convenient recipe card for North African stew I got my hands on called for lamb arm steak ($9.99/pound). I set about buying as many of the needed ingredients from the market vendors as possible. The surrounding businesses made finishing my shopping needs on foot a reality.

Special made

In September at the Puyallup Farmers Market I sampled Backcountry Creamery's take on Manchego cheese. This month the cheese mongers offered Day Hike Havarti, which achieves the requisite creaminess and nutty qualities I adore. Furthering the cheese adventure, and described as an easy-to-eat and goes-with-everything cheese, the Summit House ($18/pound) definitely got me thinking of all the ways I could enjoy it.  Made in Tacoma, the cheeses can also be found at the Tacoma Food Co-op, Stink, 1022 Lounge and other locations.

Across the way at the Four Sisters Gourmet Sauces booth, there was no way I could have known I'd find my latest culinary obsession. Made with organic produce from Alvarez Organic Farms, the Vietnamese style red chili sauces from Four Sisters come in 16-ounce bottles for $10. The sweet spring roll sauce boasts a hoisin base with sugar, coconut soda, garlic, tomato paste, vinegar, olive oil and shallots. In the two days since purchase, I've baked chicken in it, used it as salad dressing, eaten it with rice crackers and tossed noodles in it. I'm contemplating using at as jam in a PB&J. I may need an intervention.

Eat it there

Hot food vendors frequenting the market include Upper Crust Bistro & Bakery, Gateway to India and Pampeana. All are family-owned-and-operated businesses. Pampeana sells baked empanadas  - both hot and ready to eat at the market or frozen for take home.  Sweet and savory selections go for $2.99 plus tax. Steaming hot broccoli and mushroom are stuffed into flaky crust with crimped edges. Buttery crust greatly compliments vegetables from Zestful Gardens. A seasonal favorite, the sweet potato empanada is all honeyed goodness. Again, the buttery crust is the perfect vehicle for soft potato flesh. In addition to farmers markets, Pampeana sells fresh and frozen items at Burning Cupcakes on Sixth Avenue on Wednesdays.

The Proctor Farmers Market is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturdays through Dec. 17. In addition to everything mentioned above, vendors also offer flower bouquets, fall harvest vegetables and fruits, herbs, natural honey, plants for the yard and house and more.

LINK: Super Best of Tacoma