I have mentioned in other blog posts our interest in checking out the local markets on weekends to see what is new. Sometimes we buy too much. Sometimes we just walk around and don’t buy a thing but we always see something new or interesting while we are out. Remember the purple cauliflower?
This weekend my in- laws were coming to celebrate Ken’s birthday so he and I left the house early Saturday so that I could buy empanadas to serve for lunch when they arrived.
Where is the Empanada Guy?
We head out to the closest market where I bought empanadas last week. I have become obsessed with the empanada guy because each time I find his tent he has different flavored empanadas. Greek, Italian, Jamaican, Nepalese… and he is spot on with flavors. You take a bite and you nod your head. Yes, that is Italian or Hmm Hmm Greek.
I have been looking forward to Saturday all week just to see what he is selling. After walking the length of the market I realize his tent is not there. Oh no! Where is the Empanada Guy? What am I gonna do for lunch today? I was counting on those fun and delicious meat filled pastries to fortify my in-laws.
We got back in the car and drove to the market on the other side of town in search of empanadas but to no avail . I bought some mixed greens and other salad worthy veggies and went home completely unsatisfied but committed to go in search on Sunday for those darn empanadas.
Sunday morning my mother- in- law and I head out for Cascades Farmers Market in search once again for the Empanada Guy because I have her intrigued now too. She is always willing to try something new and is creative and competent in the kitchen so we enjoy shopping together.
Peaches, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Blueberries and…Farm Raised Oysters?
We found the Empanada Guy and bought 1 of everything he had for sale. We walked the entire lot and between the two of us took home a dozen eggs, peaches, blueberries, mango salsa, tomatoes, the empanadas of course, 2 different varieties of mushrooms and 1 dozen farm raised oysters! She stopped in the Arielle Oyster Company tent and started asking questions and we had a tutorial on how to open the shell and where in the area they were harvested then walked out with 1 dozen oysters, a knife to shuck them and a hope that we would remember it by the time we got home. 
We arrived home and I immediately sent Ken to watch a You Tube tutorial on shucking oysters so that we could eat these oysters for lunch. It was not an easy task, even with the newly purchased knife for shucking and the youtube tutorial. Ken stuck with it and managed to get 12 of 13 oysters opened and displayed beautifully. He did a fabulous job as you can see. We ate oysters on the half shell topped with mango salsa, a side of mixed mushrooms sauté and a few of those empanadas for lunch.
Just look at that spread!
Everything was so unbelievably fresh I cannot wait for next weekend to start the search again.
