Hillsdale Farmer's Market

Things I learned this week:
You can run a 10k event (6.2 miles) with only 3 weeks of training and a little encouragement from your wife. 
Those German Heirloom tomatoes from the garden make great gazpacho.
I love summer, but am ready to cook some fall food.
Spending time with friends should not be underestimated.
Celebrating your 26th wedding anniversary is a once in a lifetime event and should be treated as such.
Just how much I love that woman and the simple life we share together.

Note the nice sunhat basket in the right of the picture.

The Market

The Hillsdale Farmers Market is rated number 4 in Sunset magazines top 10 Farmers Markets across the West. Sunset notes the markets small size, smaller crowd and ample parking as reasons they rated it so high. All accurate descriptions of the market. The location is practical in that it rests in a parking strip between Wilson High school and Mary Reike school and backs up to the Hillsdale shopping center. What the location gains in practicality, it loses in not leveraging the neighborhood's west hills' feel. We actually parked in the neighborhood and walked the extra distance. This is a neighborhood that shares the hillside with OHSU and Council Crest. Many homes have vistas of the river and the city. Signs were posted to keep you on the right walking path to Marquam Nature Park and Council Crest Park. Once you enter the school parking lot the feel of the neighborhood is no longer evident.

But the market creates it's own small town meeting square feel and the neighborhood's culture is reflected in the voices and camaraderie of the patrons and vendors enjoying an afternoon of warm weather. I cannot remember hearing heartfelt greetings in Hebrew being exchanged at any other farmers market.

We bought triple sweet corn on the cob for dinner and some poblano chilies to go into the salsa we canned using tomatoes and some green, yellow, red and purple peppers from our own garden.

The Table

The triple sweet corn was served with BBQ'd chicken. Simple and sweet eaten on the patio. AS I mentioned earlier we canned some salsa with the peppers and vegetables from our own garden