All, I mean ALL, about my going to the Portland Farmers Market at PSU yesterday and what I bought!

I don't know exactly how this will work for y'all. I may end up driving you completely crazy, but I feel compelled to try it. Five short videos here for y'all. I had to figure out how to edit the longer one into short enough segments that I could e-mail them to myself from my iPhone, then download them to the iMac, then upload them to Flickr, then post them into the blog at Blogger. Where in the world would I be without all of these nouns after AT? Sad, I'd simply be sad.

Following the videos, still shots of the items that I bought and videoed after I got home--I couldn't get those videos to go where I wanted them to go using my make-shift-process that I outlined above, so I took a screen shot of each item as it appeared in a video, then cropped until I liked how it turned out. I uploaded them to Flicker.

Lo and behold, the entire screen shot uploaded, so I had to crop them in Aviary, a Flickr edit thing-ey. I'm all into make-shift-processes on today's post. Enjoy!











Now for what I bought at the market. Thank goodness for my backpack! I stuffed it with the items in jars, the cherries inside a plastic container that I took with me, and the loaf of bread. I ended up having to buy two $1 reusable shopping bags from Unger Farms where I bought the Hood strawberries--they traveled as well as could be expected in another plastic container, most of them still inside the paper pint carton they came in. I used the two bags for the candy, the pate, and all of the veggies.



Carrots and zucchini. I plan to bake the carrots and put the zucchini in a pot along with lots of the other veggies.



Spinach, one bunch for the pot.



Cabbage, about the size of an orange, some for the pot, some to cook some other way.



Walla Walla Sweet Onion, some for the pot, some to eat raw on the occasional half sandwich.



Green onions, same as the Walla Walla.



Turnips, for the pot.



Broccoli, to be steamed and enjoyed immensely.



Hood strawberries, already eaten sliced in Cheerios and by hand, along with the occasional half sandwich.



Cherries, waiting to be counted out, measured into the proper serving and taken to work as part of lunch.



Scrumptious pate that I eat in small cubes as part of lunch. I've got to figure out how to count the carbs and calories.



Cherry Country delights, to be eaten now and then when I have space in my carb count. Rose City Pepperheads Mango Madness Pepper Jelly, to be enjoyed as measured in all sorts of ways. The stuff is pure gold. Unbound Pickling Bread and Butter Pickles, to be consumed by the slice on the occasional half sandwich.



The bread to use for the occasional half-sandwich and/or the occasional whole piece of toast. It's divine!

Felt good enough to go to the Portland Farmers Market Saturday

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Saturday evening I ate a small, fresh-baked baguette--no kidding, I got it at the Dollar Tree in a package of two which you're instructed to bake on the oven rack for 8-10 minutes until golden brown, imported from Holland, of all places--a sensible amount of Pearl Creamery Artisan Goat Cheese, a sensible amount of Rose City Pepperheads' Mango Madness, a sensible amount of Chop's Farmhouse Country Style Pate, and a sensible amount of Unbound Pickling's Bread & Butter Pickles. Wow. Then for a late lunch today, after a laundry marathon, I ate a sandwich on Pearl Bakery's honey wheat bread--with, once again, sensible amounts of goat cheese, pate, pepper jelly and pickles. I eat sensible amounts of these goodies because I want them to last all week. I cannot get over living in Portland where I am allowed to happily spend my hard-earned cash on products produced with pride by locals. I am blessed. See more details about my purchases below. I'll bet your mouth will water, maybe your stomach will growl. Let me know, OK?


My friend Sarah, a recent graduate of University of Gastronomic Sciences in Bra, Italy, has found a great job with the Portland Creamery. She sweetly posed for this photo holding my purchases. I bought Artisan Goat Cheese, Sweet Fire Artisan Goat Cheese (the addition of marionberry preserves adds the sweet, habanero pepper adds the fire), and Cajeta, Artisan Goat Caramel. Swoon city, y'all. Creamy, flavorful, spreadable yumminess. I am very excited to have these products in my frig, even more happy to have them on my plate!
 

Sarah didn't know that I stopped to take this photo. I love the look of concentration on her face as she listens, ready to answer questions and offer tastes of Portland Creamery's products.
 

I bought Bread & Butter Pickles, pure perfection. From their Web site, every word the truth in my opinion: sweetened with blueberries and pear. Bread and butter pickles, subtracting out large quantities of sugar from the formula while adding fresh Willamette Valley blueberries and pear juice to sweeten the taste equation. Perfect on sandwiches and cheeseburgers or add a flavorful and joyous touch to your tuna or chicken salad.
 

I bought a loaf of totally wonderful, great textured honey wheat bread (see the one still there with the big white label in the low basket to the right) and one satisfyingly sweet little pastry called a rugelah, I think that's how they spelled it. I decided to eat it slowly; it's small enough to be gone in two bites, but that would be plain stupid. I made it last for five bites. Yea for me! It's in the case on the top shelf, right, as you look at the photo. The lady had just helped me and had a smile on her face--I caught her in this photo with what I'm sure was a passing moment of farmers-market-been-there-since-probably-6:30-a.m. fatigue. I took the photo at 1:03 p.m. 
 

I bought my all-time-favorite pepper jelly, Mango Madness. My gosh. That stuff is so good! Sweet and spicy, a nice-to-the-tooth-and-tongue consistency. Spreads like a champ!
 

I bought a couple of pears, green and red anjou, if I remember right. I know they're going to be good because every other single piece of fruit I've bought here over the years has been. I trust fruit from Draper Girls.
 

When I go to the Farmers Market, I have to have enough money with me to get a box of Cherry Country Dried Cherries & Milk and Dark Chocolate. So outta sight good, melting chocolate and chewy cherries. I can eat them one at a time without cheating myself by eating them more quickly. I really can! There are 20 in the eight ounce box. I like to get the mixed chocolate because variety is the spice of life. I also got a jar of Montmorency Tart Cherry Jam. I shall have Pearl Bakery honey wheat toast and Cherry County jam for breakfast this week. I am blessed.
 

I bought Farmhouse Country Style Pate, to which I readily admit I am addicted. You can see tidbits of it there on the edge of the cutting board, right in front of the Chop man. In my haste to get into the package, I tore through the label, rendering it unreadable. To tell you the truth, I'll be buying it again before too long; I'll be more careful so that I can share the ingredients with you--I'll even take a photo of the slab inside the butcher paper.
 

Finally, I bought a bunch of both the yellow irises and the purple irises. I stopped by the Blue Diamond on the way home and left them for the sweetest bartender in town, Janessa. Her birthday is this Wednesday, so those flowers are her birthday happy from me.

Out and about with four folks who know how to have fun, Milton, Kay, Howard and Vanessa, on Saturday, August 27

Sunflowers make me smile a really big smile. So does having a good time with these four folks!


With our Zipcar SUV Emilia, parked here in downtown Portland--Milton, Kay, Howard, and Vanessa. I love these four people very much!

Here's a bit of what we had seen earlier in the day, before we rested for a while at a great outdoor table to the Rock Bottom Brewery over on SW Morrison. We started at the Portland Farmers Market.


Cherry Country's just right tart-yet-sweet cherry jelly. Rose City Pepperheads' just right sweet-and-hot pepper jelly.


CHOP Butchery & Charcuterie's just-right taste & textured Farmhouse Country Style Pate, crumbled so customers can get a taste. Delphina's Bakery's so right divine Chocolate Cheesecake Muffin, there toward the top right, the cookie-colored one replete with chocolate chips.

Come back tomorrow for some of the vintage MOPAR we saw at Cars in the Park.

Saturday, August 20, out and about with Milton and Kay

My plucky, mass-transit-riding Mississippians. We got on the 12 after we'd been to The Circuit so that they two of them could get the general idea of bouldering by watching Lamont and Leland for a few minutes. Being the doting Mama that I am, I cannot ignore the opportunity to post a few bouldering photos. Concentration seems an appropriate term, don't you agree? Determination fits this one. We three said, "Happy bouldering, boys!" and left The Circuit for the bus stop. Not too many minutes later we got off and walked to the Farmers Market in the South Park Blocks, in the midst of Portland State University. Kay saved us a seat on a bench in the sunshine while Milton and I waited in a not-too-bad line at Pine State Biscuits. Once again, hunger overtook my desire to take any photographs. However, here are two photos that I took on April 8 when I went the the Farmers Market. The menu--see The Reggie? That's what Milton ate. Kay and I got biscuits, butter and strawberry jam. A pan of biscuits. I know how hard these flower vendors work, Saturday after Saturday. It did my heart good to see several of them getting to take a break for a bite to eat. We shopped a bit, stopping at Draper Girls for cherries, Sweet Heart and Rainier to be exact. For me, Raineiers rule! Delphina's Bakery for the my all-time favorite muffin--chocolate cheesecake! Cherry Country for a box of milk chocolate and dark chocolate-covered cherries--scrumptious bits of Royal Ann cherries. You who frequent the blog might be wondering why I wasn't shopping for and buying lots of fresh veggies--Milton and Kay had come to Portland with the goal of my not having to cook at all while they were in town! Isn't that sweet? Come back tomorrow to see some of the Hot Rods and Custom Cars we viewed just a few blocks away, in front of the Portland Art Museum.

Bounty from the PSU Farmers Market, No. 3

On my next visit to the PSU Farmers Market, I drove a Zipcar. It was the day I went on the Architectural Heritage Center's Kitchen Revival Tour which I recently posted for you. Hope you enjoyed it.


How about this cute coat and matching boots--so cute!




Tulips. I didn't buy any flowers on this visit, but I certainly enjoyed looking at them.


Never heard of this. Have you? I didn't buy any of it, so I don't know what it tastes like, but I think it is neat to look at.


Have to wonder what the child in the stroller was thinking about the giant chicken standing there, no doubt talking, in front of regular-sized eggs.


Cherry Country makes fabulous chocolate-covered cherries. They are not full of that juicy sort of stuff you get when you bite into Brach's Chocolate Covered Cherries Cordials. No siree. I always buy a box of the mixed, milk and dark chocolate. Inside are dried Royal Ann cherries. Hey, if you're craving these, they've got a shopping cart at their Web site. Like I said about Rose City Pepperheads, go online and shop yourself silly. Next visit I plan to try their various jellies. I'll let you know what I discover.




A wide shot and a close up so that you can get the best possible look at the best Golden Delicious apples ever, from Kiyokawa Family Orchards.




I bought one of those muffins with the chocolate chips, named Chocolate Cheesecake Muffin. Divine. Enough for more than one dessert. I will go back to this booth for Delphina’s Bakery.




It's like walking around in a cornucopia, but actually it is the booth for Groundwork Organics. I bought turnips again. So good.