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!

Three Doors Down Cafe, A Fine Food and Drink Series, No. 3

Poiré Authentique, pear cider from Eric Bordelet, a delightfully fresh cider. Matt told me that it's rare and unforgettable, both true descriptors. You can see SE 37th reflected in its golden self.


Here it is, right after being poured. I read this about it online "...a traditionally off-dry, sparkling style ... made from three hundred year-old pear trees. These sixty foot high trees have never seen one bit of chemical treatment during their long lives and produce absolutely marvelous fruit with which to work. Monsieur Bordelet makes from them a brilliant sparkling cider: one that has great complexity, refined bubbles, a deep underlying minerality, with excellent length and cut on the finish." I don't know what some of that means, but I did see bubbles coming up from the bottom center of the glass for quite some time, and it did taste good.


Bibb lettuce, chives, bacon in a creamy roasted garlic aioli dressing--this crispy, perfectly cold salad makes me happy. And it's not just because it's shape reminds me of a ruffled party dress. It tastes so good!


The special--house-made cavatelli, duck confit, delicata squash, and arugula. Lamont thinks it's so neat that I eat duck confit as often as possible at 3DD, and I never even knew what it was before! You see, I had never eaten duck until I moved to Portland. Now, if it's on the menu at Three Doors Down, I get an immediate memory of that earthy, meaty taste as soon as I read the word. So I order it and enjoy it, time after time.

Three Doors Down Cafe, A Fine Food and Drink Series, No. 2

My last New-fangled Old-fashioned, and maybe the last of the season--fresh cherries will not longer be available according to bartender extraordinaire Matt. I still believe that this drink can heal you of what ever is ailing you!


Duck confit, arugula, manchego cheese, Italian plum preserves, bruschetta--an appetizer replete with a meaty sweetness and a crusty crispness. Can you tell how thinly the manchego is sliced? I could see the arugula through it!


Beef, pork and Arborio stuffed chard, baked in a tomato sauce--talk about your perfectly matched tastes and textures! Let me just say that if you've been craving stuffed cabbage or stuffed grape leaves, you'd get over that craving with the first bite of this stuffed chard. I savored each bite, using that sharp, sharp knife you see beside the NFOF to cut thin slices, making sure I got plenty of the tomato concoction--I think I see onion in there, too, but I forgot to ask.