Farmer's Markets, pies and a butcher

I cannot ever eat anything while traveling that I don't want to photograph.  It drives Mike crazy. "Can't you just eat it? People are staring."  Yes I will eat it and no one is staring. Everyone in the universe is always looking down at their own phone screen or taking a selfie or making sure they get a picture of their own delicious food. So there!

One of the most bountiful farmer's market I have ever been to is in Portland, OR.  They have a farmer's market almost every day of the week in some neighborhood of the city, but the Mother of all markets is the Saturday PSU Farmer's Market.  It is 30% fresh fruits and vegetables that are so beautiful you almost don't want to eat them.

Beautiful squash blossoms for stuffing,

50% prepared goods and 20% food stalls.  This is where we first tasted "The Reggie" biscuit sandwich from Pine State Biscuits.  For those of you who have followed my blog since the beginning, I will not regale you with another in-depth discussion on it, but suffice it to say that we made it a point to visit our friend Reggie once again while here.

A picture of The Reggie is worth a thousand words

We also found some new favorites and learned a few things.  Marionberry (a cross between the 'Chehalem' and 'Olallie' blackberries) season is July in Oregon.  Mike said they are like little bumpy sacks of juice.  Well that they are.  We love to buy a pint and eat them each day while we can get them.   However, they are very delicate and can be turned to mush on the streetcar ride home.  Once home, they don't stay fresh very long.  Damn you elusive Marionberry!

Anyway, when you are ignorant on a subject, such as maintaining berry freshness, best to ask the experts.  Our next trip to the market we inquired on the best way to save the berries multiple days.  1) Don't squish them on the way home, 2) Immediately remove them from the pint crate and lay them in a single layer of paper towel on a plate or tray.  Proximity to one another in the pint crates cause mold and spoilage.  3) Do NOT rinse them until right before you eat them. 4) Refrigerate them.

We followed the Fresh Berry Code for the rest of our trip and very much enjoyed our little sacks of juice.

And if eating the fresh fruit itself wasn't enough, ,we sampled it in pie form from Lauretta Jean's pie stand.  Turns out that Marionberries nestled in a delicious flaky crust are even more phenomenal. Way to go Lauretta Jean.


 We tried to get another piece of that delectable pie the following week and it was SOLD OUT by the the time we arrived.  You snooze, you forfeit your right to pie!  Just sayin',

And if fruit and a biscuit breakfast sandwich the size of a small cat's head doesn't draw you in, there is a small batch butcher shop called Chop that makes its own sausages, pates and rillettes out of the most delicious parts of the pig.  We had this Summertime Rillette on sourdough bread with olives and wine a few nights just as our dinner.  As grownups, we can do that.  Heavenly.