To market, to market

To market, to market to buy a fat pig
Home again, home again, jiggety jig

It’s finally here! I open my eyes, half wishing I could lie in bed longer but it’s the day the farmer’s market moves outdoors, the day the opening time moves from 9 am to 8 am, and the thrill of what might be there rolls me out and gets me moving.  There really isn’t any reason to rush; most vendors will still have plenty produce or product if I arrive at 8:45 instead of 7:45.  But there’s something
wonderful about being there early (besides being able to find a parking place), so I bundle up against the still-winter-in-the-morning
air and arrive to the harbingers of spring.  Walk with me!  Enjoy!
You can’t buy a fat pig, unless you buy it in pieces, but you’ll have a good time.  And if you get cold, we’ll stop for coffee and tea.

Preying–a haiku

Preying

Hawk floats lazily
Buoyed by updrafts, perusing
The day’s lunch specials

The rest of the week

 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.          Genesis 2:2

Wait!  If you don’t believe in God, don’t run off.   This is about resting, not about faith.  If God rested (which we all know He didn’t really need to do, except as an example), surely we mere humans can use a rest as well.  But do we get one?  

You say it’s your birthday.

You say it’s your birthday
Well it’s my birthday too–yeah
You say it’s your birthday
We’re gonna have a good time
I’m glad it’s your birthday
Happy birthday to you.
–The Beatles

Friday was Bill’s birthday (and mine is coming up mid-month, making the song almost true), so we took time out of the day to have lunch together at Naf Naf, http://www.nafnafgrill.com/, a Mediterranean restaurant with the perfect mix of delicious food and fast service. Even with many people getting take-out, it can be difficult to find a table, but we managed.

Funky food fotos

Spotted in the produce department…

This, that and another thing

First, this.  Who seals a bottle of syrup (or a jar of peanut butter or…) and doesn’t have a little tag on the side which you can grab to pull the seal off?  Have you ever tried to do this without a tab?  Your fingers feel the size of sausages and twice as clumsy.  You end up having to cut it with a knife and then attempt to pull it off in pieces.  Usually some adheres tenaciously to the side, meaning the circular rim isn’t exactly circular, making pouring harder.  Reminds me in an insidious way of child-proof caps which can, naturally, only be opened by children.

A little cheesey, but grin and beer it.

Saturday night, back home from my friend-and-food foray to Champaign/Urbana, Bill and I were headed to one of our favorite restaurants in the Naperville area, Chef Amaury’s 33 West, AKA Chef Amaury’s Epicurean Affair, located in Aurora, Illinois.  It was a beer-and-snack night, but if you want to see what the fabulous, often locally-sourced, menu looks like, take a quick peek at my post about our anniversary dinner there last September: http://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2012/09/16/a-chefs-tasting-menu/.  Just don’t do it while you’re hungry!

I decided to dress up a bit and put on my boots that aren’t really made for walking, at least not too far, but that Bill loves:

Friends, fun and food

After the drive from Naperville to Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, relaxing tea and friend time and some errands, we were ready for lunch.  Lunch happened in a small Vietnamese restaurant–Xinh Xinh Cafe.  (If you want to look at the menu, I’ve included the rather long link at the end of the post so as not to clog up the post for those who aren’t interested.)

Have you got the tea in you?

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.
- Japanese Proverb

If this is true, I should be well on my way to understanding a great deal of truth and beauty at this moment! And today I had my tea in a brand new cup, purchased only yesterday at a local antique store. I collect tea cups in a very desultory way, always on the lookout for the perfect one that speaks to me. This one, being from Germany, spoke in German and said, “Achtung!! Ich bin sehr schön.” I agreed and we left the store together.

Food, fun and family

Today we had a bit of mother-daughter time, starting at Mitsuwa Marketplace, where we ate at the food court before doing some shopping.  Megan had a Gabbuto burger of sliced BBQ pork between two rice patties serving as a bun.