7/23/16

A Feast for the Eyes

It was a busy day today. I don't think I sat down for more than about 30 minutes. The rest of the day was go, go, go, but in a good way. Erik and Mae and I hatched a plan last week to head off to the Portland Farmer's Market this morning. Before I left, I turned the third corner on the Seating for Two quilt.


Also, I finished stitching Block #10 for the Bee-utiful Quilt-A-Long. This one is called "Bee Kind".


And then, we headed off for the Portland Farmer's Market for the first time this year. First stop was Verde Cocina, where we ordered up our favorite breakfast. They were making fresh kale tortillas this morning.


And they had this beautiful chicken roasting away.


But I was Jonesing bad for my favorite huevos rancheros. Yum.


After that, we made the rounds. For sale was every blooming thing you can imagine.






And I haven't even talked about the vegetables yet. There were pecks of peppers.


Elegant eggplant.


Tons of tasty tomatoes.


Amazing Artichokes.


Colorful cauliflower.


Heavenly honey in pretty much any size jar  and any flavor you could want.



Wild onion blossoms.


Lovely lavender.


Ostentatious onions...yeah, "ostentatious" doesn't really fit, but it starts with an "O".


Sublime summer squash.


Cheery pie cherries (the object of my desire).


This being Portlandia, there was this guy, playing "You Are My Sunshine" on his musical saw.


When all was said and done, I came home with some Brandywine tomatoes, chanterelle mushrooms, sashito peppers, and some beautiful pie cherries. When I got home, I didn't even sit down. I got straight to work making a pie crust. That will sit overnight, and I'll work on those beautiful cherries tomorrow. After that, I made some pickled beets. My yield was 7 pints...not bad for a morning's effort.


Those had to process for 30 minutes. While I was waiting, I finished up the binding on the Seating for Two quilt. And that makes this a finish! Yay!


Here's how it looks from the back.


I tried first to take a picture in natural light...a rare opportunity in the rainy Pacific Northwest. In the end, I took it inside to photograph. Smitty and I agreed.

The sun is too bright, Mom. This isn't good for fabric, skin, or fur.


He did enjoy hanging out with his shadow self, however.

When the beets were finished, I made some Zucchini Garden Pepper Relish. My yield was four pints for this, but I have enough to make another batch tomorrow.


By then, it was time to make dinner. I used up some of the random vegetables from this week's CSA share, including the green beans, some of the potatoes, some of the garlic, and some of the gallons upon gallons of veggie stock I've made over the past two seasons. This is Giada DeLaurentiis' Hearty Meatball Stew. I make it just like Giada does, but I add three tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce when I add the broth. It adds some needed flavor.


And now I'm sitting here writing my "letter to friends" to all of you! I worried that I wouldn't get here today. Like I said, it's been a busy day.

Tomorrow will be busy too. I'm going to make another batch of zucchini relish, and I'm also going to finish off the Calico Sweet Pickle Relish. I haven't made that for quite a long time. It's not unlike the zucchini relish, but it's made with cucumbers, and it's just a little different. So there's that, and I'll also need to pit some cherries and get the pie in the oven.

The only other thing I'm hoping to accomplish tomorrow is to get Block #11 made up for the Bee-utiful Quilt-A-Long. So far, I'm keeping up.

16 comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Love all the fabulous photos - carrot honey has me intrigued. The relish looks delish as well as that stew.

Teresa in Music City said...

Good gracious!!! I'm ashamed to even think about how little I accomplished yesterday compared to these amazing feats, much less share it with anyone. You go girl!!!

Doreen said...

Those purple peppers are gorgeous....as are ALL the rest!!!! "Seating for Two" has stolen my heart!!! At first, I wasn't sure but NOW........... The "outdoors" here has been an oven with the 'sauna' touch! Upper 90s with same humidity makes for A/C units with a steady stream of water running out. Some finishing touches on the current bridal gown alteration and then on to a client's blue/white quilt she made for a church money raiser for missions. Have an awesome, relaxing(??? you??? Ha!) day!!!! Hugs............

Quilter Kathy said...

Oh my goodness... the colourful sights and sounds and smells of your blogpost are delightful! My computer is scratch and sniff!! LOL
Enjoy your stitching!

Tanya Quilts in CO said...

Your embroidery block is fabulous! I love all the eye candy from the farmer's market.

Deb said...

Wonderful colorful post from the quilted blocks and sweet embroidery to the flower and veggie tables ofr the farmers market. Great batches of beets and relish, and the meatball stew looks delish, my mom used to make a meatball stew.

Ivani said...

Your bee kind block is a beauty and the quilt is beautiful, love the bright colors. Wonderful photos from the market, thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Phew....I'm tired just reading this post! Really productive day. I admire your ambition and am inspired by your kitchen prowess. It's way too warm here in CA to spend too much time in the kitchen...at least in my humble opinion but some of that sublime summer squash may just end up on the barbecue this evening! Thanks for sharing!

Karen said...

Your stitchery is cute as can be. I like those little bees.

quiltzyx said...

Wow, a feast for the eyes & the palate! Plus a plethora of awesome alliteration!!

Sarah said...

Your block and quilt are gorgeous and as for all that food......delicious looking and it's making me hungry!

Shirley said...

Seating for two is an awesome quilt! Definitely, show quality. It was interesting to follow the process. Does your husband really take care of the litter box? Have loved seeing all your delicious looking and sounding recipes. You are having a very productive summer. Thanks for sharing!

Brown Family said...

That market is awesome! THe local surgeon where I grew up played the saw. That just gave us another reason to call him saw bones!

Soma @ inkTorrents.com said...

Great colours and a very cute stitchery! Love the sunflower and the lavender photos. Thank you so much for linking up on Wandering Camera.

-Soma

Val's Quilting Studio said...

Yes, I too enjoyed your market pictures! Thanks for sharing!

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

Your post really is a feast for the eyes. Such colour and vibrancy. It looks like a wonderful day :)