farmers' market: morels!
In an effort to ensure that I get work done in the next few days, I have pre-emptively scheduled a celebration in the form of a dinner party, for which I intend to make the long-anticipated mushroom strudel with morel cream sauce.
This intention necessitated the purchase of a quarter pound of morels. It did not necessitate the further purchase of another eighth of a pound, which I acquired for my own nefarious purposes. Yum.
Of course I also had to pick up a couple of pounds of white mushrooms and a pound of crimini for the strudel itself, and quite a lot of asparagus for cream-of-asparagus soup. And then more asparagus, and a pound of sirloin, for a beef-and-asparagus curry I had a sudden craving for last night. And while I was picking up the sirloin I decided to get a small chuck roast as well, since I imagine we'll have another few cold wet days before the month's out, and a pot roast takes the edge off that nicely; so then I had to pick up a couple of pounds of carola potatoes.
Sorrel and ramps are still in, but won't be for much longer, so I picked up a bit of each of those, and some sauté greens as well (a mix of arugula, chard, mustard greens, tat soi, bok choi, and mizuna that I use in risotto and in other contexts where I want something more peppery than spinach and/or where spinach would disintegrate too much).
I arrived at the market a couple of hours later than I usually do, partly because I wanted to sleep in and partly because I needed to wait until the post office was open (:::waves at elynross:::); and though the crush of people was correspondingly more annoying, it was nice to be there mid-morning, with the sunshine and the corner activists. The Green Party table was being staffed by a guy I know from the Tyson strike in Jefferson last year, and I had a nice chat with the grandparent-types at the PFLAG table.
The tulips are over (though there were still a few at some of the flower stalls); it's all lilacs and lily-of-the-valley and love-lies-bleeding, the first of the hanging baskets starting to appear, and little pots of lavender and lemon basil. And me weaving through strollers and commencement-weekend parents, waving at the vendors I know and getting teased for being behind my time, and generally feeling that there's nothing else I'd rather be doing at that moment.
Happy spring, everybody.
This intention necessitated the purchase of a quarter pound of morels. It did not necessitate the further purchase of another eighth of a pound, which I acquired for my own nefarious purposes. Yum.
Of course I also had to pick up a couple of pounds of white mushrooms and a pound of crimini for the strudel itself, and quite a lot of asparagus for cream-of-asparagus soup. And then more asparagus, and a pound of sirloin, for a beef-and-asparagus curry I had a sudden craving for last night. And while I was picking up the sirloin I decided to get a small chuck roast as well, since I imagine we'll have another few cold wet days before the month's out, and a pot roast takes the edge off that nicely; so then I had to pick up a couple of pounds of carola potatoes.
Sorrel and ramps are still in, but won't be for much longer, so I picked up a bit of each of those, and some sauté greens as well (a mix of arugula, chard, mustard greens, tat soi, bok choi, and mizuna that I use in risotto and in other contexts where I want something more peppery than spinach and/or where spinach would disintegrate too much).
I arrived at the market a couple of hours later than I usually do, partly because I wanted to sleep in and partly because I needed to wait until the post office was open (:::waves at elynross:::); and though the crush of people was correspondingly more annoying, it was nice to be there mid-morning, with the sunshine and the corner activists. The Green Party table was being staffed by a guy I know from the Tyson strike in Jefferson last year, and I had a nice chat with the grandparent-types at the PFLAG table.
The tulips are over (though there were still a few at some of the flower stalls); it's all lilacs and lily-of-the-valley and love-lies-bleeding, the first of the hanging baskets starting to appear, and little pots of lavender and lemon basil. And me weaving through strollers and commencement-weekend parents, waving at the vendors I know and getting teased for being behind my time, and generally feeling that there's nothing else I'd rather be doing at that moment.
Happy spring, everybody.