Locally grown fruit and produce purchased earlier today at the Hollywood Farmers Market

Hood and Albion strawberries. Washed, drained, in the frig now. I ate some of the Hoods already--the young lady I bought them from said she believed them to be the sweeter of the two, that the Albions would keep a bit longer, a factor that I took into consideration as I enjoyed those juicy bits of red. I bought two pints of Albions, one pint of Hood.

I took these photos in the kitchen with a mixture of fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. Not the best quality, but I had no where to go to get better light.



Yellow zucchini. Green zucchini. I love squash. These are stacked on the revolving shelf that slides out of a piece of office furniture that I bought years ago at a thrift store over on SE Hawthorne Blvd. I believe it started out as a storage cabinet/work surface piece in either a doctor's or a dentist's office. It's metal, on casters, has one drawer and a door that opens to reveal a storage space split into two areas by a horizontal shelf. The brown lamintate-covered revolving shelf may be raised up and locked in place at the same height as the top of the cabinet, not that I do that because I like it just the way it is. I use this daily and repetively. When Mama died and my brother came up from Jackson, Mississippi, to help move me, he wondered why I even had it, much less why I wanted to move it--it's pretty heavy. I knew how important it would be in my new kitchen which included absolutely no counter space and not one drawer. My good sense prevailed.





The new potatoes. I cannot wait to eat some of these beauties because I know just how they're going to taste, smooth and buttery. I've decided to cook some of them with some of the zucchini, along with a bit of onion that I already have, saute the onion first, then saute the potatoes for a while, followed by the zucchini, all in the same skillet.



Turnips, chard, lettuce. I believe I'll add some turnip to my saute skillet. You can see the green front of the cabinet drawer, my smaller skillets hanging over my electric stove, and the right edge of my frig. The tray holding the three pints of strawberries sits on the top of the cabinet which is covered with the same brown laminate as the revolving shelf.



I ate some of that lettuce at lunch, washed and shook and rolled up in my fingers, straight to my mouth. So fresh, so good. Thanks to all of the farmers who work so hard!



Carrots, kale, spinach, asparagus. I believe some of this will end up in the saute skillet, too. Notice the small metal rod towards the right of the photo, beside the towel hanging on the cabinet's towel bar? That's what you turn to loosen the shelf where it's attached to the rod so that you are able to raise it up to even with the top of the cabinet. Once it's loose, you push on that thumb-shaped lever at the top of the rod and pull upward on the shelf for all you're worth. I suppose if I were to decide to move it up often that I would spay WD40 on the rod so that it would slide easily. I really don't like the smell of WD40.



In this photo you see the metal support for the revolving shelf and the lever you push which releases the grip on the shelf so that you are able to raise it up; you can also see the vacant space where the revolving shelf disappears when not pulled out for use. That pink, white and black bag on the floor is what I brought most of the bounty home in--the top zips shut. That white cabinet is an Ikea one that I had at the other apartment, our first Ikea piece. The photograph in the brown frame is a favorite of mine. I sat at the bar at 3 Doors Down Cafe on a visit to Portland prior to our move. At the time, both Lamont and Leland cooked at what I consider to be the best neighborhood restaurant in the city. The plate was set in front of me with a steak knife. "What's this?" I asked, surprised to learn that it was a scallop, something I'd never even thought about trying. Atop brandade potatoes, sauteed to a satisfying sweetness, meaty enough to require that steak knife, my first ever scallop, a memorable delicacy that I thoroughly enjoyed. I framed this photo and kept it on my desk while working as librarian at an alternative middle school in Jackson. I titled the photo "The Zen Scallop" because all I had to do was look at it and a calmness came over me at the memory of each perfect bite. There's a Cafe du Monde coffee can on top of the Ikea cabinet--my dearly departed husband LeRoy loved that coffee. I don't drink coffee.



My strawberries wait to be washed, sitting beside the best-ever-Goodwill-find for a fan like me. I adore my Portland Trail Blazers and, most mornings, I enjoy this mug filled with hot Twinings English Breakfast Tea. I sweeten it with sugar cubes which are in that blue and tan box in the background. My kitchen's just the right size for me, comfortable and efficient, when I'm not lazy.

Some of you probably guessed the Farmers Market. This one's on Wednesdays!

You're right. It's the one at Shemanski Park in the South Park Blocks, downtown Portland. I rode the bus over the Hawthorne Bridge, got off at SW 6th and Main and walked the two blocks up the slight hill to shop. I love this chance to get fresh vegetables and fruit, plus other handmade goodies in the middle of the week. The market is just the right size for someone with only an hour for lunch and two bus rides to get there and back to work!

The vendors to the west of the park.


The vendors to the east of the park.

The structure which looks like sculpture, with the red tile sort of roof on it, is actually the Shemanski Fountain.

I ate lunch before I went to the market because all I wanted to do was look for food to cook and maybe some strawberries and some sort of cherry concoction. I bought asparagus, arugula, chard, green onions, carrots, red potatoes, a jar of Sweet Tart Cherry Jelly from Cherry County, plus a pint of strawberries. When I got home that night, I washed all of it then cut the carrots and potatoes into pieces and put them in the oven, drizzled with olive/canola oil and sprinkled with sea salt. I washed the arugula, chard and onions, cut the onions into discs and rough chopped the arugula and chard, then sauteed all of it in a big skillet with olive/canola oil and some sea salt. I washed the asparagus and cut off some of the stem ends, then put it into a great big pot to steam. I also had some broccoli that I had bought at Freddie's last Friday--I steamed it at the same time. The only thing that didn't get done in time for me to eat any of it last night were the potatoes and carrots. I had left over pot roast with potatoes and carrots, though, so that was OK. I spooned some of everything else on the plate and ate like a queen. Lucky, lucky, blessed me!


By the way, here's a photo looking south from Main so that you get an idea of the expanse known as the South Park Blocks.


And here are a couple of the prepared food vendors. I think the folks in my Thursday photo probably bought lunch at one of these and were sitting in the sun enjoying their lunch. The vendors are set up on SW Main which is closed during the market. I love how Portland does that and Portlanders seem to readily accept that there's a legitimate reason for the street to be close for a period of time. Love it!

Bounty from the PSU Farmers Market, No. 2

Fresh spinach and assorted braising greens. So easy to pick up with the tongs and put into the bag, even easier to cook in a saute pan with some olive/canola oil and my tongs, a little sea salt.


More of the greens available at this booth--I didn't buy any this particular day, but I certainly have in the past. Easy to cut into small strips, using my version of the chiffonade technique. It's not pretty, but it works.


Carrots and turnips--yummy, yummy root vegetables. I baked the carrots along with some potatoes, then I ate them with some baked boneless, skinless chicken breast. I diced the turnips and put them in my ground beef, mixed vegetable, sliced okra soup, instead of potatoes. Yummy. I like to cook a couple of things if I have enough ingredients, that way I don't get bored with my left overs.


I didn't buy any leeks or radishes, but they make a great photo!


The other end of the leeks. For me this picture is all about the prodigious effort put in by the people who willingly work so hard hour after hour to produce the bounty we can select from it at will. I celebrate them.


Two Tarts Bakery--if you have never eaten a chocolate chip cookie sprinkled with sea salt, I feel way, way sorry for you. Two Tarts names these delectable cookies "Fleur-de-Sel Chocolate Chip. Their description, found on their Web site, certainly fits: Classic chocolate chip cookies with a sprinkling of the finest sea salt, these are crunchy at the edges and chewy in the middle.But, hey, it gets even better. The woman on the right is from my home state, M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I.


Salmon Creek Farms' tomatoes. I read online at Flickr when I found someone else's photo that they grow their tomatoes hydroponically. No wonder they already had such tasty treats ready for us, even with our cooler than normal weather.


Once I got home, I set everything out on top of the white nemesis, which--as you know if you follow my blog--is now long gone. You can see that I also bought a small cabbage, a small cauliflower, a jar of Unbound Pickling’s Bread and Butter Pickles and a jar of Mango Madness Pepper Jelly from Rose City Pepperheads. Both delicious. If you want to experience spectacular pepper jelly, go to the link and shop yourself silly.

A Tale of Two (More) Chicken Breasts

You know something that I've discovered? A real big surprise to me? The difference between taste and texture of never-been-frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts and purchased-frozen chicken tenders. It's a delightful difference, let me tell you. Of course, those of you who already know this may be chuckling in a mannerly fashion at my naivete. That's OK.

Earlier in March I bought my first ever fresh chicken breasts, two of them, from the meat counter at Freddie's. I figured I could do something nice with them. That day I also bought some carrots, potatoes, onion, zucchini, yellow crook neck squash and chard. You can see what I did with all of that, here in this photo. Much like what I had on the blog on Monday, I baked the chicken breasts first, sprinkled with sea salt and pepper, drizzled with an olive oil, canola oil mixture. I forgot to say that on Monday, about the oil mixture. In a big pot, I cooked the potatoes in chunks, the carrots in disks, after I had sauteed the onion in bits and pieces, in that same olive oil/canola oil mixture. I added a little bit of water, too.

After the chicken was done, I called Lamont and asked him, "Can't I put my chicken breasts in pieces into my pot with the carrots and potatoes and onion, then add the squash and later on the chard?" "You sure can," he replied.

So I got the chicken out of the oven, let it rest a couple of minutes, then cut it into chunks. Once the potatoes and carrots began to get tender, I poured the chicken chunks and liquid into the pot, added a little bit of water, and turned up the heat for a few minutes. Then I poured in the disks of both squash and stirred in the chard which I had cut in the manner of chiffonade, as in finely cut. Well, finely cut as well as I could do it, not teensy but narrow. Anyway, it all cooked for a while on lower heat and smelled great. Right before I turned off the heat, I stirred in some leftover Green Giant Steamer Shoe Peg Corn. Oh, and as I added each new ingredient, I sprinkled some sea salt here and there in the pot.

Needless to say, I had me some more great leftovers. In fact, Lamont came over one night that week and ate a bowl of it, proclaiming it "chicken stew." He liked it! I hope that I can cook this again and have it turn out just as tasty.

Last Sunday evening's dinner at 3 Doors Down Cafe, yum-yum...

...as in, used to express pleasurable satisfaction especially in the taste of food.

And then some.

Appetizer, prepared for us by my first-born, Lamont: braised rabbit basted in duck fat, crisped duck skin a la sort-of-like crackling, carrots, pears, parsnips, Brussels sprout leaves. Leland, Mama and I did not waste a drop, pieces of bread in our fingers circled until the bowl was clean.

Leland's salad, prepared by the able Abraham: Bibb lettuce, chives, smoked bacon--Nueske by name, and creamy roasted garlic dressing.

Mama got an appetizer for her dinner, the pan-seared scallops on a bed of parsnip, pear puree, surrounded with a Prosecco, vanilla bean beurre blanc and sprinkled with chopped chives.

Leland's dinner, the risotto with rabbit, parsnips, carrots, Brussels sprout leaves, sprinkled with ricotta salatta. He asked Lamont to add Nueske bacon to it, and he did. He loves his little brother.

My dinner, the splendid meatballs and bucatinni, named Portland's best meatballs in August, 2007, by Portland Monthly magazine.

And here's Mama's favorite 3 Doors Down Cafe dessert, Creole Bread Pudding with Hard Sauce. She ate the whole thing!


3 Doors Down Cafe is at SE 37th and Hawthorne, diagonally across from the Bagdad.