A Day For Food (My Manakin Market and so much more)

Please note the "Real Housewives of Goochland Co." tank top that Lisa had made up

Okay,  so we RFC gals have a lot of days where food is the star, but this Saturday was one of the stand outs.  Erin, Casey and I took another day trip... something I highly recommend in general. We met up just about 9:30 in the morning, large coolers loaded with ice packs, and headed out to Goochland to visit the farmer's market.  The only thing is there are now two great markets in Goochland. We landed on our dear friend Lisa Dearden's 'My Manakin Market.'  This was our first trip out to this two year old market.  It's lovely.

We pull into the market surrounded by acres of open fields to see about two dozen folks standing in a huge circle learning to fly fish just to the right of the car .  It was a bit of a sight, and I swear Casey veered just a little to the left to avoid being hooked.  We parked with a long line of cars in the cool grass and wandered under the canopy of several large shade trees.  The vibe here is relaxed fun, very different from the hectic energy of my regular South of the James Market. 

I was dreaming of fresh fruit and to the rescue appeared Agriberry.  The three of us went in on a mixed flat of fruit.  Eight containers for $35 knocks about $1.60 off each, and we mixed blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries for a box full of late spring bounty.    Eggs, tomatoes, some lovely tender green beans, homemade granola, fried eggs served up by Ms. Michele Wright, new potatoes,  and squash all looked delicious.

That's me getting  some crazy hot Jalapenos ( if  only I'd known) and deliciously sweet dark cherry tomatoes

One of our finds on this morning was a vendor selling homemade mustard.  Pete's Mustard Company... The spicy horseradish mustard turned out to be too good to resist. There are different options here than at some of the biggest markets, and the atmosphere is perfect for a Saturday morning and  we all walked away having found what we were looking for as well as a couple of things we didn't even know we needed until we stumbled upon them.  This market also does  a nice job of incorporating some agricultural education... one of Lisa Deardens specialties.  Groundhog crossing signs where everywhere, a few square feet off to one side still had wool bits from a shearing demonstration and Lisa says that last week they had "Sheep Back Ridding" for the little ones!
 In the end, our Saturday involved farmer's market shopping, river walking, the opening up of a couple Bearer Farms bee hives, a perfect cafe' lunch at one of my favorite little spots, a trip to the gelato shop, and a near brush with some shootin'.  You'll hear more on that from Casey.

Arriving  home I was bushed... I think perhaps the Limoncello and Pear Brandy gelatos pushed me over the edge. Still Matt and I headed out to the grocery store for some staples, but once we returned  it was time for some real relaxing.  Dinner was going to have to be simple.  I poured a glass of wine.  Matt broke out a nice beer and we hung out between the patio, grill and open door kitchen while we tossed together dinner.  We made a quick Greek salad, and some butterflied lemon chicken on the grill, with the last of the garlic scapes and some of those whole jalapenos from the market.

Garlic scapes and jalapeno's for the grill

Matt put the jalapenos under the chicken breast and cooked the chicken that way.  The jalapenos were then cooled slightly, de-seeded and sliced, and served atop some crusty bread with goat cheese.  I love jalapenos and Matt loved them prepared this way, but to my surprise these jalapenos were hotter than many other hot peppers I've eaten... I got through two slivers and had to give it up, shoveling plain goat cheese topped bread into my mouth to try and cool the flames in vain...whoosh!!  These guys were hotter than most to start and roasting just spread the most intense oils throughout the pepper I think.  All in all a day full of fun... I can't wait to see what Casey has to say, and for our next day trip adventure!