Farmer's Market: Take 2.

It was Saturday, sunny and warm, and so off we went to the Farmer's Market held in the park that is across the street from our apartment.

I had never seen a pumpkin like this one before!

They said it was called a Barnacle Pumpkin. I call it wonderful!

Right next to it (as you can see in the pumpkin picture background, upper your right) a bowl of quail eggs. $3 for a dozen, each egg about the size of an unshelled almond. All I could think of was raw quail eggs on sushi...and at that moment that didn't appeal to me.

Later I got to wondering if they could be hard cooked successfully. Wouldn't little bite sized hard cooked eggs be a neat treat?

If the vendor is there next week, I will get some and find out. Regardless, aren't they beautifully speckled?

I enjoyed sampling the three different colors of watermelon that is currently available.

They are all pretty, but I guess I am old fashioned, and I still liked the red style the best. Later I had a glass of fresh squeezed watermelon lemonade. SO refreshing!

The park will be the scene of a scarecrow festival in a few weeks. Scarecrows will be made and also sold.

That should be interesting to see...

I heartily endorse this idea: Prison gardening. I've read about such programs, and they seem so very successful in providing a means of rehabilitation for offenders. There is just something restorative and cleansing about planting seeds and tending a garden.

While I was happy to see the prisoners at work, I was troubled to see another stall proudly labeled as produce from the Warren Jeffs Family Farm.

That detail seemed to me like something worth concealing. The women working the stall didn't seem the least bit hesitant to be identified with the notorious polygamist/child rapist. And they seemed to be doing a good bit of business as well. Maybe that is the only way the women have to make an income to support their kids now that Jeffs is in prison for his crimes. If they are there next week, I'm going to ask for a few more details about this particular stall.

Happy little pie charts. I should count, is each squash divided the same amount as the others?

These pod are air filled. I had seen them before in florist shops...

But had no idea they were called "Oscar".

My grandfather's middle name was Oscar. I had never thought of that as having a botanical meaning. His sister had three names, the last of which was Olive.

Lots of folks born in the late 1880-90's had names that began with the letter "O" or had botanical co-meanings. Funny how naming trends go!

It was a nice adventure shopping at the Farmer's Market again. This time I got Goat Cheese spread flavored with lavender and other herbs, tomatoes of all sizes and shapes (love those heritage tomatoes!) home made goat mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, raspberries, Asian pears, peaches, nectarines, figs, apples, sour dough bread, and OH MY GOSH...the mushrooms!

Wild mushrooms!

"Lobster" mushrooms are the bright red ones, and they taste and smell just like lobster!

The next evening Bernie cooked the mushrooms up for Sunday dinner, using a bit of olive oil and butter, and a fresh purple Russian garlic cloves.

We also had the yellow Hen's Comb mushroom (yes, smells, tastes and feels exactly like chicken) and the Chantille mushrooms (the pale gray leafy looking ones.)

Delicious. I have found a new addiction.

Wild mushrooms are unbelievable.

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Tomorrow you will see what we did after we finished our Farmer's market shopping.

I just LOVE living here in Salt Lake City!