Out and About

Another weekend is upon us! Yesterday my friend L and I went to a new-to-us ''wholesale'' fruit market in search of fresher nicer produce that what we are finding in our grocery stores this winter. L and I often run everyday errands together, a habit since we first met years ago. Our area is notorious for never having parking, so one of us drives and the other runs into each store. This allows us to double park or park in No standing zones and get things done. For quite a few weeks L has been dragging me along to this new market. I'd wait for her with the car, because I don't eat fresh fruit much except the occasional ripe fall apple.

My mom had a ''thing'' about fruit consumption---she thought it was useless sugar, and OMG do not mention apple juice, she'd rather have given you a beer. Fall apples with cheddar cheese or ripe Brie was a huge treat, like cake. In later years my parents branched out into bananas and green grapes at their bossy doctor's insistence, but neither enjoyed the fruit and it often went out to the bird/ animal feeding boulder for my dad's wild pets. Mom did grow red raspberries and blueberries in Cape Cod, but only for making her fabulous jam each June. So fruit isn't on my radar unless I am baking a pie, unlikely .

But when we got a legal parking space, right in front I decided to go in. L never told me the store has gorgeous vegetables! I was in veggie heaven. Again a habit of childhood, we all loved and still love veggies, almost any kind except beans and beets [and my kids will actually eat roasted beets, go figure].
These were interesting, sweet brown tomatoes. Too $$$.

No I'm wrong, must have misread the handwritten sign. To try next time.

I had told my son at Christmas that I couldn't make his eggplant parm because there were no nice eggplants in the stores in December. Well! Look at these.

 And they had many other varieties too.

Every pepper you can imagine.

Tiny parsnips to roast, small as your fingers, yum! Not old, woody, and dry like in the stores. They are so small and fresh I could saute' and braise them like carrots, or roast them of course. No need to mash.

Brussel sprouts the size of golf balls, red radishes as big [crispy tart!] as hen eggs.

My fave kind of large stem asparagus, brilliantly white cauliflowers. Interesting and extensive assortment of Asian-American sauces, and many kinds of rice.

And what are these funny things?

Dragonfruit?  HERE[I thought it was prickly pear fruit].

I was so overwhelmed I didn't look closely at the source of these fresh goodies, I'll look next time. Finding this store is a blessing, with the farmers market closed for the winter, then resuming with such limited hours in May. I'm not a fan of early morning food shopping. An amusing-to-us side note, I mentioned this store to my other girlfriend LK [the gourmet chef/ cook] and she said her daddy took her to this shop since she was a little girl and now she shops there and buys a whole week of veggies for 20.oo. (She is a native of the Beach). I couldn't believe she never mentioned it to me! I think she knew  the superficial grubbiness of the store would put me off. [and the lack of parking,lol.] But the veggies and fruits looked pristine.

It was really fun! And the prices were excellent. For example, not that I bought any, watermelon was 29 cents a pound, instead of $1.29 at the supermarket. I probably bought more than I should, tonite I plan to roast a big pan of squash, B sprouts, tiny potatoes, cauli, and parsnips. Yummy on a cold night.
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Paperwhite daff update: 11 days in:

Looking good!

I had to remove the wire grate lid of the Mason jar, it was hampering the growth. I stuck in some blooming pussy willow stems instead for support.

Mo is on an eating binge [a stick of cheddar cheese, a pint of rice pudding, his bed] so I moved the daffs out of his way, onto the jelly safe that is too high for him to get up on.]

"I'm hungry, mommy. The daffs look so yum!

Have a good weekend! Eat your veggies!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....

January Thaw

Hi everyone! It's warm! A heat wave! Temps above freezing, what a delightful change.

Guys on the beach in shorts and with surfboards, crazy.

Some hopeful soul made a little sandcastle.

Okay not really hot or even all that warm, it's colder here at the beach...

but high 40s is fine with me. Heck, double digit  temperature is fine with me. And no wind!

You can see the warm rain front heading in the other night, soft angel sky---harbinger of spring.

Less layers, less cringing when you dare to poke a nose out the door. One less layer of clothes not needed.

The downside of the thaw is that everything is drippy and dirty brown. Even the remaining snow drifts, eew.

It was warm enough and thawed enough to venture down to the beach. Mo was invited to spend Sunday with my friends who are now over the flu, and with no dog walking responsibility, I was able to walk more than  I have walked in a long time.

Very low tide, you can see the corrugated sand, usually far underwater. Lots of tiny sandpipers, finding wintery foods.

I thought after the storms and high winds, and very low tide, contributing to lots of intriguing outwash areas, like these:

---that I would be sure to find good treasure. But No. This is my little handful. The greens have to go back, they aren't seaglass yet, just shiny shards.

Other bits, an interesting piece of brick;

a piece of pottery or drainpipe.

Shell spine.

The inner twist of the whelk will make a nice bottle stopper.

Sometimes I wonder: Is it possible that over the years we have picked up all the seaglass from the beach? Here is about half my collection. My friends who were babysitting Mo have at least as much as we do or more.

Nearby, the paper white daffs are going strong. This is after one week.

The amaryllis are much slower but I'm hopeful still.

To lessen the gloom, yesterday on our Monday errands run to Target I picked up this pretty bright melon orange cotton voile scarf for spring. I love tassels almost as much as I love pom poms. 

Threw in a Valentine candy bag of these oh so cute Reese's Love Bugs candies.

For my great aunt's candy jar.

They are either cute or icky, I'm not entirely sure. They remind me of giant aphids.

And from a designer friend who is wintering in Palm Springs, these darling Pug socks! She says patterned socks are ''in'' out there, who knew. I love these---Mo makes these exact faces.

I was very pleased to find a new bed for Mo, his favorite kind, a donut bed with fake fur lining. Unfortunately he loves the fur so much, he eats the bed and I immediately had to take it away from him. I set the bed on the table for mending  and forgot it. Later Mo was again missing. Here is where I found him!

"what!? It's my bed!"

And when scolded and shooed off the table he galloped into my bedroom and resettled happily on my best down pillows. Mo has spring fever, I think. In a puggy kind of way.

Dumpster diving, see what I found! Isn't this fun. It's a real painting or print on canvas. Gone to the Beach! But it was big and heavy, and I had Mo with me, so I had to leave it. Too bad---or just as well?

Slow cooker Korean shredded beef, with broccoli and brown rice for dinner. Yum.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

sunsets and a tiny crescent moon.

The light poof in the center is a reflection of my camera on the window glass, I think.