Summer pictures
Mildly busy day today, which is unusual for me at weekends. Mainly caused by a sudden multiplicity of markets I wanted to visit. I don't go to our farmers' market that often; it's slightly off the beaten track and I've got out of the habit. But I wanted some courgette flowers, and nowhere else was remotely likely to have them, so I popped along. I did indeed get some courgette flowers, though they were a little bit sad. Still made a yummy frittata with ricotta and tarragon. (I have a new recipe book, and am experimenting. So far so good.) The market looks healthy, with a few new stalls, including a new game stall which replaces a long lamented man-in-van who'd turn up weekly with whatever he had shot lately. He also sold smoked pheasant breast, which is utterly delicious. I must, must keep on returning, and stop being lazy.
The town centre also sprouted a sudden international market, though it wasn't much cop ('ethnic' woodwork by no known world culture, a stall with 17 types of olives but no nice ones, a massive nougat stall [why?] etc.) Even the dried fruit and nut stall let me down, as it didn't have honey macademia nuts. They are nutritionally indefensible, and I try not to know where there are shops selling them all the time, but buying from occasional markets Does Not Count, okay? So, I didn't buy much there.
Which was good, because I then went into London just to go to the Slow Food Market on the South Bank. Specifically, I had to buy some Arabica Co dukkah for my mum, who is addicted, and doesn't believe me when I tell her they also have a booth in Selfridges. So I (who am never in the region of Selfridges) tend to visit the stall when it's handy. They do yummy fresh vegetable dips and flatbreads, as well as spice mixes and baklava. Arabica are reliably the nicest stall in any food market, but I also picked up some good bread, a pasteis de nata, some exciting-sounding Portugese honey (I like exciting honey in tea), and a sloe and juniper jam which is rich and mouth-puckering all at once. The stallholder says it goes well on toast 'with very good butter', but also with cold meats as a relish. Sold!
A couple of flower pics below the cut. One impertinent foxglove sprouting from a prim suburban privet hedge, and another of the wildly brambly scrub land near the local tramway. I love its randomness; might use it as my wallpaper for a while. This is all curiouswombat's fault for encouraging use of cameras - I'm walking around with my eyes open for a change.
(LJ picture loading is still skewy for me, so these are photobucket full size and fairly large.)
The town centre also sprouted a sudden international market, though it wasn't much cop ('ethnic' woodwork by no known world culture, a stall with 17 types of olives but no nice ones, a massive nougat stall [why?] etc.) Even the dried fruit and nut stall let me down, as it didn't have honey macademia nuts. They are nutritionally indefensible, and I try not to know where there are shops selling them all the time, but buying from occasional markets Does Not Count, okay? So, I didn't buy much there.
Which was good, because I then went into London just to go to the Slow Food Market on the South Bank. Specifically, I had to buy some Arabica Co dukkah for my mum, who is addicted, and doesn't believe me when I tell her they also have a booth in Selfridges. So I (who am never in the region of Selfridges) tend to visit the stall when it's handy. They do yummy fresh vegetable dips and flatbreads, as well as spice mixes and baklava. Arabica are reliably the nicest stall in any food market, but I also picked up some good bread, a pasteis de nata, some exciting-sounding Portugese honey (I like exciting honey in tea), and a sloe and juniper jam which is rich and mouth-puckering all at once. The stallholder says it goes well on toast 'with very good butter', but also with cold meats as a relish. Sold!
A couple of flower pics below the cut. One impertinent foxglove sprouting from a prim suburban privet hedge, and another of the wildly brambly scrub land near the local tramway. I love its randomness; might use it as my wallpaper for a while. This is all curiouswombat's fault for encouraging use of cameras - I'm walking around with my eyes open for a change.
(LJ picture loading is still skewy for me, so these are photobucket full size and fairly large.)
