Farmers Markets

I went to 2 farmers' markets this weekend. There is one in Montrose every Sunday, that is walking distance from the house. So I pretty much go to one a week anyway. But Mike has been working on Sundays, so he doesn't get to go. I knew there was a Saturday market very near our house because I had seen the tents sometimes when I was on my work to on Saturday mornings (back when I used to work Saturdays).

So yesterday, we drove toward where I had seen the tents until we found it. I had assumed it would be composed of the same farmers as the Sunday market. To my surprise, it was not. I don't think there was one farmer in common between the 2 markets. The Saturday market had an Italian chef who drove up from Long Beach. I bought some pumpkin ravioli from him. I cooked it that night with some butter sage sauce. The butter sage sauce was quite good...the ravioli rather tasteless.

I guess it is hard to make pumpkin ravioli that is tasty. It is one of my favorite dishes when done right, but I have tasted some pumpkin raviolis that are bland and boring, if not downright awful. The awful one was served at a restaurant in Silverlake that is no longer in business. The best pumpkin ravioli I have ever had is at Ca Del Sole in North Hollywood. You can get the in-between kind in Pasadena, and apparently in Long Beach.

At the Saturday market we also bought strawberries. We both bought strawberries without knowing the other was buying too. So, I had to make a pie before they went bad. I forgot to photograph the pie before I cut into it. But trust me, it was lovely.

I bought some fragrant mauve roses at the Saturday market, but I always go to the Sunday market to get a bouquet of these little flowers that I know as Sweet William. I don't know what their real name is, and I don't think anyone calls them Sweet William nowadays. But they have them every Sunday and they have been one of my favorite flowers since I was a little girl, and now they are Mike's favorite too. They are little and come in lots of colors and last a long time in a vase of water. It occurs to me that I could take a picture and maybe Kellie can identify them. Hold on...

here it is.