farmer and his dell; a woman and her church-parking-lot-market

decently early mornings always put my day off to a good start. there's nothing like leaving the house for an adventure and coming home at lunchtime. boy, you have the whole day left! this particular drizzly Saturday morning was spent perusing labeled baskets at a farmers market not 15 minutes from my house. who knew?!

like a horse with blinders on, a dear friend and i made our way, first, to the coffee tent. a quick chat, a tip about a local latte art competition, and a swig of caff later, we smiled our way into some breakfast casserole. oh, what farm fresh eggs do to a casserole. delish!

after participating in the proverbial fight to give up the last piece, we both threw up our hands and fed the last bite to the garbage can. why is it that women so desperately don't want to finish a shared dish?...carefully cutting the final bite into smaller and smaller pieces, delaying the inevitable "oh no, i insist you take it" chat. i've seen some girls get pretty strategic, too. it's almost as bad as trying to give a gal some money for something you've shared...you know, stashing those dollar bills in their purse while they're in the restroom...

don't these flowers look like lychees? / some really pretty rainbow chard.

there was something too Bugs Bunny-ish about this bundle to pass up. early carrot season means these are little woodsier than midsummer-sown baby carrots, but they're delightful nonetheless!

these hydrangeas caught my eye from across the market, and i was lucky to get to them before they were all gone! plans to put some hydrangea bushes in our backyard? definitely put on the honey-do list.

a small swarm of people hovered around one particular, small table and modest tent, begging the question: "what's over there and will there be any left for me?" after poking around for a bit, a toothpick found its way into my grasp with a lump of homemade Italian cheese on the end. ka-powey, i was in. i don't think i ever met a cheese i didn't like, but this goat cheese aged in herbs has now become a close friend. i ran home, washed the produce, and hurried my way into making pita for my delicious goat cheese round.

Pita (adaptation from Tyler Florence, Foodnetwork)

1 pkg. dry yeast

1/2 C. warm water

1 tsp sugar

3 C flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 C lukewarm water

combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in small bowl and allow to foam for 10-15 minutes. adding wet to dry, combine all ingredients with wooden spoon. dump and knead for 8-10 minutes until dough becomes elastic. cover in oiled bowl and allow to double in size. roll into log and divide into 10-12 small balls. let rest for 10 minutes, covered. preheat 500* oven and preheat pan. roll out balls to 1/2" thickness, oil both sides (canola), and place on preheated pan. 4 minutes on one side, use tongs to flip pita and return to oven for 3-4 minutes. mm!