Ameraucan Eggs - very difficult to photograph!!
What a day I've already had!! Tried to get up as early as possible (9am - it's hard this early in the year) so that I could hit the first outdoor Clintonville market of the year! It was pretty crowded, which is a good sign for the farmers this year. There were lots of plant to be had - heirloom tomatoes and herbs and all!
Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a time crunch, so I just zoomed in for a bit. I bought some lovely red lettuce and giant scallions - why do I never remember the names of the farms at Clintonville? She had giant radishes - the size of softballs!!
I then stopped at H-W farms for some red potatoes and Ameraucana eggs - those are those yummy green eggs with the rich yolks - and at Wishwell for my first asparagus of the year!!! I see roasted asparagus with fried egg lunch in my very near future!
I was then off to the North Market for Cinco d'Ohio! Cinco d'Ohio, as the name implies, celebrates all things Ohio - there are lots of Ohio Proud people there selling things. I was a little disappointed that I didn't see Freshwater Farms there, because I've been craving some trout lately.
I couldn't do a lot of shopping, because I was at the market to judge salsa and tacos! This is probably my favorite thing to judge of the year - the chefs taco cookoff. First up were the salsas, which were all tasty and very interesting. The same person won 1st and 2nd place; I wish my favorite salsa, which was a beautiful fresh salsa, would have at least come in second, but alas! (confidential to Sally:: tell your friend if she would like, to please share her recipe with me and my readers, and I'll feature it) Another interesting thing at the salsa tasting was a delicious juice one of the contestants made to go along with her salsa. It was very complex - layers of exotic flavors. The only thing I could get out of the woman who made it was that it had tea, carrot juice, and strawberries in it. Dear juice maker: I don't know if you read this, but if you do, will you please send along the recipe? We'd love if!
The tacos, of course, were delicious. Contestants were Johnny Dornback from Basi Italia, Alana from Alana's, Brian and Colin from Deepwood, Janel from Barleys (I remember that tri-pepper relish from the past!), Matt from l'Antibes, the guys from Cafe Corner, chef from Due Amici, and John Skaggs from My Catered Table. My favorite was Alana's, but the Cafe Corner guys won with their yummy scrambled egg and chorizo breakfast taco.
Dear chefs: Here's a hint for next year: skirt steak. I know it's hard to believe, but I was starting to get pork fatigue.
On my way out of the market, I stopped off to Anderson's farm to pick up another Preying Manits nest. If you've never had one, they are great for keeping pests away, and very fun to do with your kids, because when they hatch it's pretty cool.
I also stopped by Stevens Orchard & Bakery for a rhubarb pie! We have an epic meeting at work today, and I thought perhaps a little rhubarb would sustain us! (Coworkers, you can thank me later.)
On my way home, I rescued 2 chairs from a future in a landfill! A tall chair for the kitties to look out the window, and the most fabulous thing I have ever rescued from the trash:
Since I can't afford furniture, I am going to start collecting super cool chairs for my dining room (thanks for the idea, Chef Chris from MoJoe lounge!). Hopefully one day I'll be able to save up for the dining room table of my dreams.
So! What did you get today?!
