Postcard From The District: Eastern Market

My love of food markets is well documented on this blog so when I read about D.C.'s Eastern Market naturally, it topped my To-Do list. Unlike Boston's market scene, this one is mostly indoors, with a Sunday flea market to boot, and operates everyday except Mondays. Sadly, I couldn't make it to the flea market but even late on a Wednesday afternoon it's still a fun place to visit. As my friend Elizabeth, who spent a summer in D.C., put it "It's the only thing remotely bordering on 'hipster cool' in this town." Remotely hipster cool? I'm there!


All in all, it reminded me a bit of Spitalfields Market in London--except not as trendy or big. Ok, maybe it was just the indoor-ness that connected the two. I really wanted to eat at Market Lunch, a counter-top lunch spot inside, but it's only opened until 3 pm. Apparently they have fabulous blueberry buckwheat pancakes called Bluebacks. The vendors are all pretty friendly too, which helps to give it a nice neighborhood-y vibe. The guy I bought potatoes from gave me a free banana! Granted, he said it was for the baby, but still. It's the thought that counts.

Holiday Market This Weekend!

I've written about the awesomeness of the regular Sowa Open Market, but I've never been to their holiday one. Are you gonna go? I am!

Sundays To (Open) Market

I moved to Boston for many reasons, grad school being the most important, but coming in at a close second was the fact that Beantown seemed to be the closest I could get to living in London aside from well, living in London. And while those hopes were dashed long ago, I've come to love a lot about Boston. I've written about the number of farmers markets before, but this past Sunday I took a trip down to the SoWa Open market in the South End. (Unfortunately, a lack of sleep and caffeine caused me to misread the map and take a detour through Roxbury, but that's another story...)

One of my absolute favorite things to do when I was living in London was wander around the outdoor markets, each with their specific day and specialty: Borough market was on Friday and was foodie haven, Saturday was Portobello market and good to go to when relatives visited, and Spittlefields was on Sundays and had a bit of something for everyone.

According to the New York Times, the SoWa Open market is Boston's version of London's Portobello market. And while it certainly reminded me of Portabello in the sense that everything except the food was too expensive, the indoor /outdoor set up as well as the mix of vendors gave it more of a Spittlefields market vibe. However, like I mentioned, everything was pretty pricey and the place was crowded with yuppies-- or whatever the millennial equivalent is-- so Spittlefields still comes out on top in my book. That being said, it was still fun to walk around and imagine what I'd do with, say, old suitcases or Darth Vader masks.










Of course, where there's yuppies, there's usually the "hottest" food trend close by. So, naturally, there was an assortment of food trucks. Clover was the most popular by far. Lines never lie, guys. The cupcake truck next to it was so pissed...

Summertime Tomato and Cucumber Salad

When it's this hot outside, I don't even want to look at the stove, much less use it. So I whipped up this tomato and cucumber salad yesterday with some heirlooms I picked up at the farmer's market. I don't know what the heck they did to the yellow tomatoes, but my God they were outstanding. As I mentioned before, I tend to eyeball ingredients a lot when I'm cooking and flavor to taste so this isn't an exact recipe.

1 lb heirloom tomatoes chopped
1 cucumber peeled and sliced
1 shallot thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp EVOO
1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar
S & P to taste

Basically, you mix everything together in a bowl then let it marinate for an hour or so. You can serve it with some hearty bread to soak up the juices. Freshly chopped parsley would also be a nice addition.

When A Regular Baguette Just Isn't Good Enough...

Last Thursday I walked through the Prudential Center's Farmers Market on my way home from work. As usual, I was starving and wanted something I could eat on the run. Enter: Swiss Bakers. I decided on a pretzel baguette because, well, it looked pretty good. Luckily, I was right. That thing was gone by the time I passed The Cheesecake Factory. Now, I don't really know too much about Swiss food, other than museli and swiss chocolate almond ice cream, or how representative a pretzel baguette is of their cusine, but I do enjoy Swiss Baker's attempt to make me feel better about eating a loaf of pretzel. Their slogan is "Our food makes you feel good!" I can't really argue with that. Today while I was walking home I decided I needed another pretzel baguette. The sad part is I knew I wouldn't make it all the way to my apartment without taking a bite. That's when I discovered pretzel bites: basically half of a pretzel baguette. It was the perfect snack size. When I got home I used the baguette to make an egg sandwich so I could actually get some actual nutrients besides pretzel. Why I decided on a bite to eat on my walk and a baguette to eat when I got home though involves way too many issues than I'd really like to explore. All I can say is, you'd better enjoy that damn picture. I ate that for you!

Sunflowers at Copley Square Farmers' Market

Farmers' Bounty

On my way to the bank this morning I got sidetracked and walked through Copley Square Farmers' Market, which is held every Wednesday and Friday. I'll admit, I haven't done much cooking lately. It's been God-awful hot here in Boston and even hotter in my apartment (aka The Sweatbox). Seeing as how I suffer from what my fake Southern grandma would call 'a delicate constitution', I've been subsisting on lots of premade salads and cold treats. However, this morning it was *only* 80 degrees (plus humidity) and I had yet to have an heirloom tomato this season. By the time I arrived at the bank I had accumulated a pound of heirlooms, a pint of cherry tomatoes, a generous bunch of basil, and a small french baguette. My mind was already spinning with the possibilities: panzanella? caprese salad? marinated tomatoes with pasta? I decided to keep it simple for starters, since it was almost lunchtime, and caprese baguette seemed like the fastest way to get rid of my hunger pangs.

I sliced one of the heirlooms and delicately seasoned it with salt and pepper. If the tomatoes are fresh, which these were, you just need a touch of seasoning to enhance their natural flavor. I love the earthy, slightly tangy/slightly sweet flavor of heirlooms in their prime and this one was no exception. Then I chopped a generous heap of basil and sliced some mozzarella. I loaded everything between a sliced baguette and lightly drizzled the sandwich with EVOO. The tomato was absolutely perfect--just the right amount of juice. Luckily, I was home alone so I was free to eat my creation over the kitchen sink, like a lady. I figure tomorrow will be an excellent time to make panzanella with the leftover baguette and the rest of the heirlooms.