city market

Yesterday, my friend Sarah and I walked to the Charlottesville City Market. For one thing, it is a lot easier to walk, since parking there is awful, but Sarah and her friend are working on reducing their carbon footprint and eating only local food for the next few months (check it out: http://theindiansummer-cville.blogspot.com/) so she didn't really have a choice! Despite the summer temperatures, it was a pleasant day at the market, with lots of opportunities for delicious photos.

These eggplants looked like they were glowing!

Look at all that delicious local produce.

A popsicle that was homemade from local blackberries. The perfect treat for a hot day!

These apples sometimes grow on trees that came from Golden Delicious seeds, because sometimes the seeds will get naturally mixed, or something like that. They were the right combination of sweet and tart.

I have never seen black eyed peas in this form, usually they are dried by the time we get them.

A huge butternut squash.

The result of some of the produce I bought--sweet potato fries with dinner!

Next weekend, why don't you take a trip to the market?
Molly

summer eats

This summer, I got the chance to study in London, as well as travel to France, Spain, Morocco, and Italy. The cuisine of each country was a major part of my trip, so I made sure to take pictures of the delicious things I got to taste. Now that I am back at school and missing the summertime, I thought I would share some of my culinary experiences (both abroad and at home!) as a way to start off this blog.

London: Afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason, the fancy grocer that supplies the royal family with their food. The bottom level had watercress and smoked salmon sandwiches, the middle was scones (complete with jam and clotted cream) and madelines, and the top is the "dessert" consisting of bite-sized cakes.

Barcelona: First stop on our tapas crawl. Jamon, spinach with chickpeas, spicy peppers, pan con tomate (bread with tomatoes) and patatas bravas with aioli (a garlic mayonnaise dip--very delicious!) All of this complimented by cava, a Spanish sparkling wine.

Sitges, Spain: The best rotisserie chicken I have ever eaten, accompanied by more patatas bravas and aioli.

Somewhere along the road, Morocco: A roadside lunch, consisting of traditional Moroccan mint tea, lamb, tomato salad, and something I can't remember, though they look like boiled egg yolks.

Marrakech, Morocco: Our last meal in Morocco began with an appetizer of zucchini and squash, and ended with a dessert with a cooked pear in very sweet sauce. The interesting thing about that is it was cold, not hot as we had expected.

Monterosso, Cinque Terre, Italy: Sarah and I got a lot of stares when we ordered this extra large pizza with prosciutto crudo, but it was totally worth it.

Rome, Italy: A quick lunch in Trastevere, and we knew we had to order mozzarella di bufala (made from the milk of water buffalo) with prosciutto. It was a good decision, even though finishing that ball of cheese was difficult. 

Charlottesville, VA: Shebeen Restaurant's Peri-Peri chicken with mashed potatoes and mango chutney. The chicken was hot and spicy, and almost reminded me of chicken wings!

Richmond, VA: Outer Banks Seafood Co.--Shrimp, scallobs, and crab broiled in lemon butter. Way too much food but very tasty. 

Sorry for the long entry, but I hope you enjoyed it! It all tasted as good (if not better) than it looks!
Thanks for reading!
Molly