Tableau Vivante

Someone left the fridge door open today, cause dang, it was a might bit chilly outside. Low clouds. No sun. A slight breeze. I waltzed out in a thin shirt and regretted it. Took my pictures fast and furious, but not just because of the cold. I had an important task to set up for today. But more on that later.

This was the last day for my tasty mandarins. The vendor said that they might be at next week’s market but it was a long shot due to the forecasted rain – rain is a customer killer and with gas prices being what they are, you don’t make the trek unless you know you’ll be able to unload your produce. I loaded up. Until next winter then!

There’s a plant seller at the market that has had these over-bearing blueberries for sale. This week, they completely sold themselves. Over-bearing just means the plant produces more fruit than what it “needs” to, so you have to thin out the berry buds a bit so that you don’t end up with teensy, pebble-sized fruits.

Proof that you can’t stop spring. Or that life is tenacious. Or that root vegetables just don’t know when to give up. Take your pick. It was a shot I couldn’t pass up.

Peach blossoms for $7 a sizable bunch. Several folk had these peeking out of their baskets.

My seascapes have arrived. Harry’s Berries, along with a few other vendors, had these out for the first time this season. Seascapes taste like the strawberry of my childhood. Good ole berry. Tender. With a juicy sweet bite. It’s early, yes. My tastebuds say they’re right on time.

They called them “cut” artichokes. I thought they missed putting on the “e”. Little, baby purples from Lompoc. I ended up going home with the more adult version.

That one is about the size of a large grapefruit. I shall steam it and devour it and make it mine.

Lili, my favorite (and yes, only, hush) mushroom vendor has consistently had these baby shitakes out every week. And I’ve tried not to get in a rut with them. But dang it, they are just too good to pass up. I end up cooking them whole, stems and all, and they are so tender and delicious. She also had an interesting display up.

She included among her herbs and greens a bunch of horsetail. It’s a hollow green reed that grows pretty much everywhere here and is used in local landscaping. Most people who plant it eventually regret it as it tends to take over and spread like wildfire. Lili said it makes a great cleansing tea. Chop and steep in boiling water and voila, tea. Next week, in an effort to introduce her customer base to the various uses of herbs, she’s going to offer water infused with lemon verbena. She has a hard time convincing the local Pasadena crowd to think outside the box on what she sells, but I hope she keeps trying.

So I mentioned earlier that I was preparing for something. It’ll go up today – a post of some magnitude, at least to those of you who have been trying to get your hands on something that is perhaps not readily available where you are. I’ll say only that it is my first contest, and it’s a thank you to all of you who have followed me over to the new URL and to all the new folk who have started clicking in. A hint is all I’ll give you for now…

Hee!