Feasting at the Greenmarket

Does my gelato have an eye? 

Chicken Empanada

Today is a fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk hot kind of day. You know, the kind of day where you take a cold shower, but start sweating again once you step out. If it wasn't for my desire to taste some of the food I saw last week-- and being famished from not eating breakfast-- I probably would have just stayed inside my air conditioned apartment all day.
When I got to the Greenmarket, I did my usual perusing of all the vendors. I was pleased to see a few more this week than last. With stomach growling I decided to get some food. My first stop was Maria T. Llyod's "Peruvian Delights". There were many choices listed on the whiteboard from beef tamales to fried plantains. I decided to go with a chicken empanada. Since the temperature was nearing 90 degrees I wasn't sure fried dough filled with steaming hot chicken was a great choice, but after the first bite I wasn't sorry. The crust was golden yellow and crispy, and the shredded chicken inside was moist and spicy. For $3 I thought the empanada was quite a bargain.

As much as I hated to, I had to stop eating it so I'd have room for the Thunder Mountain Curry that I wanted to try. I looked at their menu choices. There was the usual Pad Thai you'd expect, but I saw a "Thai Curry Plate" which included chicken curry, sauteed mixed veggies (I'm sure it had another name), Sri Lanken beets with five flavors, and I think yellow curry. I was curious about the Sri Lanken beets, so I decided to get the Plate.  They gave a generous scoop of each over jasmine rice. I also got a Thai tea to quench my thirst. I have to say I was a little disappointed with the tea. It wasn't as cold as it was last week, but rather lukewarm. However, the Thai Curry Plate was delicious. The mixed veggies were just the way I like them - still crunchy and not mushy. I was hoping the chicken curry would be spiced a little more, but I'm wondering if the spice was kept low to please the palates of someone unfamiliar with Thai cuisine. I couldn't finish the whole plate, but I'm rather excited to have leftovers to bring to work tomorrow.

Thai Curry Plate

After the Thai, I walked around some more and bought beautiful looking kale and parsley. I plan on making some kale chips, perhaps tomorrow night and I'll include the recipe in my next blog. They are quite easy and very tasty. Lay's chips and kale chips have something in common: once you have one, you just can't stop. Of course, kale chips are SO much better for you.
One thing about going to a farmer's market is that each vendor has samples out for you to try. Free food = aweeeesomeeee! There's breads, cheeses, pickles, and even wine (if you're 21 or over). One delicious sample I tried was for Gar-La-La by Zorba's Natural Food. It's a Greek spread made with a potato base and garlic. They have a variety of flavors, but I went with the original. The vendor told me to try it on sandwiches in place of mayo and I think I will. Garlic is so good for you. Give it a try at Gar-La-La.

Because I knew it would taste divine on such a hot day, I ended with a gelato (shown at top). I got the medium which allowed me to pick four flavors. I got the pineapple and raspberry sorbets, trojan temptation (minds out of the gutter, please! Though it did contain nuts...), and dark chocolate chip. I must say that I think I prefer the sorbets the best, though all flavors were yummy. It melted faster than I could eat it, and all the flavors kind of blended together. Next time I think I'll just stick to one sorbet.

On a final note that has nothing to do with the farmer's market, I took some Wilton cake decorating classes a couple years ago, and yesterday I made a small birthday cake for a friend's daughter whose birthday is today. It's a vanilla cake with buttercream frosting. I thought I'd post a picture of it. It's nothing grand, but I think it's kinda cute. And after all, this blog is about all kinds of food - from A to Z!

Kinda cute, right?