SEAFOOD, FLOWERS AND... GARLIC SPEARS?

We spent a nice afternoon at Pike Place Market last Sunday. After I photographed some seafood for my friend Reama (see the next post), we did some shopping.

The variety of fresh cut flowers for sale is overwhelming, and the bargains are just too good to pass up. Bouquets that would cost $65 minimum at a florist cost between $10 and $15. We picked up a $10 bouquet of small branches with fragrant white flowers labeled "False Orange Blossoms". They made the apartment smell like Florida in January.



Next stop was some honey from Snoqualmie Valley Honey Farm and some of the other half's special soap from "Soap Girl"(a nickname coined by our friend Rick who had a short-lived but passionate crush on her during one of his visits) at Moon Valley Organics.


The fruit and veggie stands change every week depending on what's in season and I just can't help but take photos like a tourist. We picked up some "Garlic Spears" (see photo at right) for dinner...a new veggie to us, they are actually the flower stem of Elephant Garlic. You eat both the stem and the flower. I sauteed them in a little olive oil and sprinkled them with a little fresh lemon juice and Himalayan Pink Sea Salt (from Market Spice). They were absolutely delicious and tasted like a combo of lightly garlicky asparagus and artichokes. The vendor explained that they are only in season for a few short weeks a year...we will definitely be looking for them next summer.





Lastly we stopped at the Pike Place Market Creamery located in Sanitary Market Building, behind Jacks Fish Spot. This is where we buy our local free range and organic chicken eggs. They also have duck eggs, quail eggs and others. We buy their half and half and milk (unhomogenized from a local dairy) that comes in glass, returnable bottles. They also stock the best fake chicken product on the market: Quorn. We had never heard of this weirdly named product until our friends Karl & Lisa pointed it out to us when they were visiting. Now we're hooked.

What a great Sunday!