Market Day!

So we took a break from the fence on Saturday to go to the West Side Market - as we were driving there, we realized that we've never been there during the summer before! We always go in the fall and winter, so we were looking forward to seeing what it was like in the nice weather. I thought maybe some of the vendors would move outside instead of being in the buildings, but I was wrong. I guess if I had thought about it, I would have realized there really is no room outside. There was some kind of small craft festival across the street, but we didn't get to check it out as everyone and their brother had the same idea as we did, apparently. That was pretty much the only difference that we noticed about the Market.. 50 gazillion people go in the summer. It was packed! Needless to say.. we didn't walk around all day as we normally do. We hit our favorite stands and I visited a Mediterranean store that I've always wanted to go into. I'm glad I did, it was awesome for items that I've read so much about but have never seen offered in any grocery store I shop in. Alas, I didn't buy anything new and exciting this trip, but now I know where I need to go when I do need something that falls into that category. I did find a great deal on 2 pounds of Israeli couscous and I snagged up 2 bars of Green & Blacks chocolate! Well here, look! We also hit that spice stand I've talked about and I stocked up on a few staples. From the bottom left I've got garlic powder, on top of that is spanish paprika. On the bottom right is vietnamese cinnamon, above the cinnamon is onion powder. The two stacked on top are celery salt and hot curry. Did you hear that, Kev? Hot. Curry. teeee! I couldn't pass up one of the very many bakers who have kiosks at the market because she had some fresh, right out of the oven, french and italian bread. I promised Hubbs I'd make french bread pizzas this week, so I'm glad our pizza will be made from this heavenly smelling bread. I tried the italian last night and it was superb. We passed the little kiosk that offers a huge variety of stuffed olives that we always purchase from and bought a pound of these lil salty snackers. I believe we got some salmon mousse stuffed, sun-dried tomato stuffed, prosciutto stuffed, pesto/cream cheese stuffed and marinated portobello stuffed olives this time. Yum! Oh, and I can't forget.. the little red, round items sitting on top of the loaves of bread? Those are called "pizza bagels" and I'm addicted. I can not go to the market without ordering one to nibble while I'm there and a 1/2 dozen to bring home to freeze. There really is nothing special about these "bagels" they are just dough that's been baked with tomato sauce, onions, some herbs and melted cheese. But they melt in your mouth and the dough is so soft and chewy. *swoon* Finally we hit the produce section of the market and this was the section you could barely move through with all the people, so we had to make it quick. I bought my mom a few black plums and a couple super sweet cantelopes along with the garlic and mangos pictured. All in all it was very different from what we are use to, as we were in and out in a little over an hour.. but it was a great experience to see the variety of cultures. If there's one thing that sticks in my mind the most, it's not the great food being offered, but the colors. Spectacular colors everywhere. In people's clothes, the color of the many fruits and vegetables, the beautiful blue of the sky and the luscious green of the grass. It was a beautiful day for the market, for sure. =)