HOPE market, crunchy granola
Luna Rey offers variety of organic snack mixes; cherry pistachio is a hit.
The HOPE Farmers Market always yields new surprises. Last weekend, it was meeting David and Diane Ramirez, owners of Luna Rey granola. (Other highlights of the day: the kombucha tempura-fried okra at the sampling tent and the acro-yoga and petting zoo.)
Since 2014, the cheery and charming Luna Rey couple has been selling different kinds of granola at the HOPE Farmers Market, which takes place at Plaza Saltillo at 412 Comal St. from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays, as well as at the Burnet Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 6701 Burnet Road.
The crunchy mixes ($8) are made with organic, nonGMO oats, as well as other organic items including blueberries, pumpkin seeds, fresh citrus, coconut chips, and extra-virgin coconut and olive oils. They also use lucuma powder, which adds a boost of nutrients, including trace minerals. I sampled a granola with blueberries but ended up going home with a slightly saltier cherry pistachio version that I’ve been munching on at work.
As if that wasn’t enough to like, here’s how Diane explains the company’s name: “We liked the sound of it. We felt it was evocative and beautiful and mysterious. ‘Moon King!’ The way I saw it, ‘Luna’ was the feminine (me), and ‘Rey’ was the masculine (David, my king). Luna Rey was the combination of us together, two married border kids working together to create something of our own.”
You can buy the granolas at the two farmers markets or soon at lunarey.net.
Also at the market was Pete McDonald, a Wimberley baker who sells loaves of bread and English muffins ($10, $4) through his company, Leaven Breads (facebook.com/ leavenbreads). He sells them at both the HOPE market and the Wednesday afternoon market in Wimberley, which takes place at RM 12 and River Road in front of the Community Thrift Shop. In addition to making plain country loaves, McDonald makes flavored loaves, with ingredients such as herbs and olives or jalapeño and Cheddar.