Opening Day at the Portland Farmer's Market

Yahoo!!!!! Erik, Mae and I have been looking forward to this day for a full month, and what a lovely day we had for it. In March, one can never, ever, ever count on the weather, but we sure lucked out today. It was perfect, and even relatively warm.

We started the day with a breakfast of our favorite huevos rancheros from one of the vendors. We didn't spy them in their usual place, but Mae found them at the opposite end of the aisle from where they usually set up. Here you can see them grilling up all the goodies for the dozen or so items on their menu.

We almost always get the huevos rancheros. They put a couple of fried eggs over home-made tortillas and then smother it in those yummy veggies you see on the right. Nothing ever tasted so good on a chilly morning, and it's the BEST way to start our hunting and gathering when we go to the farmer's market.

With the weather so nice, the market was busy, and there were a surprising number of items to select from. Of course, there were lots of winter veggies and fruits.

Beautiful baby lettuces and other starts for home gardens.

Delicious baked goods including breads, pies, and other sweet treats.

Amazing flowers.

Those ones on the lower right came home for my table. They'll be pretty for when Matthew and Valerie come for dinner tomorrow.

Also home with me was some fresh clover honey, some sausage, two kinds of kimchi (which I love), and a dozen fresh oysters for Oysters Rockaway tonight. We made them when we were in Rockaway, Oregon last summer. It was our own little take on Oysters Rockefeller, and you can see how we did them if you read this post right here. I can't believe I didn't post a recipe somewhere, so here you go:

Oysters Rockaway

Recipe By: Mike and Barbara Stanbro

1 Dozen Fresh Oysters in the Shell

1 Large Roma Tomato -- coarsely chopped

1 Tablespoon Drained Capers

2 Tablespoons Sliced Green Onions

1 Clove Garlic -- minced

1 Tablespoon Shredded Fresh Basil (or ½ tablespoon dried basil

 Tabasco Sauce

3 Tablespoons Butter -- cut into small cubes

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Clean and shuck oysters to prepare oysters on the half shell.

In a small bowl mix Roma tomato, capers, green onions, garlic, and basil.  Mix well.

Top oysters with tomato mixture.  Then drip 2-3 drops of Tabasco on each oyster.

Top oysters with cube of butter and then grated Parmesan Cheese

Grill until oysters are bubbly and cheese has melted.

Also, I picked up four pounds of clams, and we'll be steaming them tonight while Mike grills the oysters. I took the recipe for the clams off the internet. Now I'm looking forward to dinner, but then, that's nothing new.

When I got home today, I discovered that the one remaining tulip (the one the squirrels left behind) had bloomed.

And the first daffodils have opened up. I had a heck of a time getting a picture of this one since I had a certain photobomber on hand. If he wasn't bumping my hand with his nose, he was rubbing against the flower.

See what I mean?

And then when I actually did get a decent picture of it, I discovered a bug photobomber. Sheesh. Daffodils are popular, I guess.

Also, lucky me! My March doll quilt arrived from my partner, Sher. The theme for this month was "Keen on Green". Sher made a quilt from the same Rocky Road to Dublin block we made for our guild. Look at how cute this is!

Sher's piecing is just perfect! I didn't notice it at first, but the white is a tone-on-tone with little shamrocks. I'm hoping you can see it in the image below.

And look at this back. Kitties!!!!

Thank you so much, Sher. It is perfect and beautiful, and it is going to make a perfect little table topper for my St. Patrick's Day dinner when Matthew and Valerie tomorrow.

Speaking of dinner tomorrow, I'm making the same corned beef and cabbage I made last year. I never really thought I would be much of a fan of corned beef, but our neighbor made it two years ago, and it was surprisingly good. Last year, I decided to give it a try, and I used this recipe for Irish Corned Beef and Vegetables from Fine Cooking. It was so good, and the sauces that go with it really made the meal. Also on the menu, I'm trying a new no-knead Irish Soda Bread that is baked in the Dutch oven. It's from the book, My Bread, by Jim Lahey

I've tried a couple of the other recipes in this book, and they are soooo good. I love the nice crust they get from being baked in the Dutch oven. For dessert, I'm trying a new recipe for individual bruleed Key Lime Tarts, made from some frozen Key lime juice I still have leftover from the Key Lime Smackdown . Thanks again to my friend, Dana, for the Key limes both then and now. We sure have enjoyed them. Anyway...the little individual tarts are made very similar to the larger Key Lime Tart I made back then, but these have an Oreo cookie crust, and then they are burned on the top to make that nice candy crunch like Creme Brulee. Doesn't that sound yummy? I'll be sure to keep you posted on both recipes and let you know how they turn out.

So, a busy weekend is just getting started. I'm going now to try to get in a little sewing before day's end.