Hughes High School

Yesterday I went with my friend and her son to the art store, which was close to the beautiful high school above, and to Findlay Market.  Two of my favorites. 

I got some supplies for a project that I am way past due on starting, plus lunch and some generally yummy things.  Brown eggs.  I'm not sure why I'm so drawn to brown eggs, I understand that they are just like the white ones.  Pesto butter.  I'm never had it, and I have some frozen pesto in the refrigerator that I could conceivably mix with butter, which I've never thought of doing.  Marinated sun dried tomatoes.  Beautiful dark, curly kale. 

It occurred to me as I walked through the market that there are some things that I will probably never try.  Ground camel or goat, or a pheasant.  Because I no longer eat meat I'll miss out on those things.  The pheasants were $25 each.  Fiddlehead ferns, although they are lovely.  Goetta, which wasn't on my radar in my meat-eating days.  And of course there are some things that I'll try later, like Meyer lemons.  Many kinds of cheeses.  Morrell mushrooms, maybe.  All the kinds of fresh pasta.

I watched a young woman make Belgium crepes, making a huge crepe, adding spicy ingredents, folding it in half, then in thirds to make a cone-shaped goodie.  I'll try that one day, but yesterday was the day for a flatbread pizza with Asiago cheese.  Not the Vietnamese food that I'd planned to get.

For me, the value of going to the market is mostly seeing things, not necessarily trying them.  Seeing that whole leg of lamb.  Ox tails.  More kinds of sea food than are in my grocery, including huge blue gills from Florida, totally unlike the blue gills I've seen before.  Crusty breads and luscious little pies and cakes.  Creme brule.

I don't watch the food network, but I wonder if watching it is the same kind of pleasure.  Seeing different foods and dreaming a little.