Fresh Bread

Fresh Bread, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

To quote Gilles Vigneault "I went to the market, mon petit panier sous mon bras..." (my basket under my arm). Sometimes I need a pick me up in winter. I needed some groceries, but supermarket shopping is certainly not a pick me up. So off to the market I went to soak in the colours and the atmosphere. At the market, each stop is an interaction with a person - a little chit-chat along with the transaction.

First stop was the bakery. I steered clear of the exquisitely rich pastries and bought a fresh organic bread. And then off to the butcher. There are at least 10 butchers in the market. My favourite is the organic butcher. Good food for the weekend.

Everything tempted me, but I managed to keep my purchases to a reasonable amount. Root vegetables were tempting. Maybe next time I'll think about making a pan of roasted root vegetables.



There was every kind of fruit available. Some must have travelled a great distance to get here. We are fortunate to be able to partake of such bounty, but I do worry a bit about the carbon footprint.




And in winter - I need flowers. I bought an orchid (to be seen another day) - the first since my infestation of aphids. At least it was grown in Canada, so I can enjoy its double green-ness.

It was certainly a mood boost setting the stage for  a delightful weekend.

Something for Every Taste

Something for Every Taste, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

This time of year it is a treat to go to the market. It is a real feast for the eyes - to say nothing of the real feast that follows a trip there. I came home with all the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner (this weekend in Canada). On weekends there are often tastings and this week it was beer - with tables lined up with bottles and tiny glasses so you could sample one of the many offerings from the local breweries. Not my drink - so I passed on that.

The pumpkins are stacked up, ready for Halloween. There is a festive air at the market - a last celebration before the outdoor stalls get packed up until next year. 

Mar 5/10: Blood Orange

Mar 5/10: Blood Orange, originally uploaded by susanvg.

There was a time when we would only get a few varieties of oranges. Before my trip to Italy many years ago I had never seen a blood orange. We went to the market in Rome and bought fresh fruit to feast on: fistfuls of cherries, tied in a bouquet, juicy apricots and some oranges. When we cut into the orange we were shocked to see red splotches - not all red like this orange (I'm sure it has been hybridized to look like this). Our first thought was that the orange was diseased. We tasted hesitantly; it was tangier than the naval oranges we were used to, but it was juicy and fresh-tasting. Since that time I have sought out blood oranges. I find these to be not as good as the ones I tasted in Italy. While they are red inside, the flavour is more like the naval oranges. And the marbled colour of the Italian oranges was much more interesting and surprising.