Market Day!! Hoooooray!!!
Sunday dawned rainy and wet, slightly dim and drip drip dripping outside my window. The twins were very happy to be up and were happy to let us know they were up! So up we got. After showering and getting dressed, we met my sister and Milo at Hobees, where we eat most Sundays before heading to the Market.
The Market was wet and fairly deserted, actually my favorite way to shop. The vendors are so very nice normally, but on rainy days at the Market, they are so much more. I sometimes wonder what the reason for this is. Is it because they aren't swamped with customers and can take the time to be more personal? Is it that they realize that we must be devotees of the Market lifestyle in order to be out in the rain shopping? Is there some sort of innate realization that comes with being seasonal that gives you a real appreciation of the rain, and therefore makes you in a better mood as a result? Perhaps it is something I haven't thought of (most likely!) that makes them more genial on days like this.
We stopped to get some lovely purple, orange and white carrots with the greens on them. Then we moved on to potatoes (purple, red, new white and golden Yukon this week!) and delicious navel oranges. At our favorite meat booth, we picked up some pork ribs and flat iron steak. Then moved on to the Narcissus and daffodil booth! I am beyond addicted to having some of these little fragrant next to my working space at my desk. Sugar beets with their greens, chard, kale, and small white onions with the tops on at the end booth. A small butternut squash, a large tomato (of unknown variety, sorry), a white onion, and a corno di torro pepper. Some black butte cheese from our favorite cheese maker, who promises that the yogurt cheese will be back in two weeks! Eggs, king trumpet and white mushrooms, and some small artichokes from Watsonville rounded out our Market stash. We didn't get any bread or milk from the market today so we stopped off at Le Boulanger and Trader Joe's to pick those up and headed home to drop off the goods.
Then we went to San Mateo to watch Milo swim the freestyle anchor of the medley, and rock it with a 19.4 split! Way to go MILO!!
This evening we had Heather over for dinner, as we haven't seen her in a while and must have an Auntie Heather fix frequently. We seasoned the flat iron steak with fleur du sel, fresh ground black pepper, thyme, and rosemary, and placed it on the forman grill. We sliced the white mushrooms and some onions and sauteed them in some olive oil, then added some balsamic to the pan. When the onions and mushrooms were soft, I poured the last glass of an old bottle of red wine into the pan and allowed it to simmer (just a little too long!), then added a touch of water back into the pan and a generous pinch of salt. We also steamed some white rice and the chard we got today. Heather thinly sliced the steak and we served it on a bed of rice with the red wine reduction over the top. It was delicious!
As we sit around the table, sipping super strong coffee, I feel renewed as another day as finished, and another week has begun. The rain is back and has washed away the grime of the world and left it feeling anew. The rain will bring more good things to the Market and feed us more wonderful food with our family and friends in the future. Let it rain! Nos Pars!
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