I didn't get out till 10 a.m., and the place was packed. Parking has
been at a premium the last couple of visits and I don't recall ever
seeing them this busy. I did notice that every available stall space was
taken (four very long rows worth). I guess this girl needs to get out a
bit earlier.

The list of "must gets" was broccoli, cauliflower and green beans. It's
interesting to note that of all the booths there, only one had the
broccoli and cauliflower and another had green beans. These things are
typically at at least four stalls and are easy to acquire. As it was,
the green beans (very popular) were fetching a price of $3/lb. and what
was out was all that was left. Still, the quality of the product was
good for being picked over and I came away with 2 lbs. (Hmmm, green bean
soup?)

Not on the "must gets" list but "must haves" after seeing:

Mizuna - we're eating more salads lately and I need to switch things up
a bit.

Gravenstein Apples! Bob and I love going Apple Hill each Fall, and this
year we wanted to try Sonoma County's Gravenstein Apple Fair. And
looking at their event calendar -- that's next weekend! Not sure if we
will be there .... I thought it might be during Autumn. Bummer. I
haven't tried a Gravenstein yet, but they call to me! I think I'll let
Bob try it first.

Our favorite orchard pointed me to the last of their super-sweet
freestone peaches and said next week the O'Henry peaches would be in. My
understanding is that O'Henry's are wonderful for canning and freezing.
Got a couple pounds of the super-sweets (and they are!) and a couple
white nectarines.

Swiss chard. I was surprised to find it this late.

A sale at The Little Fish Company stall. I came away with a 1 lb. white
sea bass fillet and 1 lb. of white prawns. $26 for all of it, when
normally it would have been $42. (Yeah, the dude is pricey but his stuff
is sure fresh and good). He always posts when/where it was caught and
the method (if there's room on the dry erase board). I got last weeks
King Salmon that I used for my soy cured salmon from him. His halibut is
second to none. He's usually pretty good at knocking $2-$3 off per pound
on some things if I buy more than one item, but today was the best it's
ever been. He can also special order in fresh things like skate wing or
monk fish. I really want to try my hand with monk fish. I've had it at a
restaurant before, but I haven't found it anywhere around here. Well,
except for the frozen monk fish parts at the Korean market. It just
wasn't worth the effort to clean and get paltry amounts of meat off of.

For our latest family addition, Rayann, I stopped by the little doggie
treat baker that I would get treats for Blanca at. The bone-shaped
peanut-butter carob cookie was Blanca's favorite. I brought one home to
Rayann, but she wasn't all that impressed. Oh well. Speaking of Rayann,
it's like having a toddler in the house again. Her toys are EVERYWHERE
and she sticks to me like velcro begging for my undivided attention. Of
course, just like a toddler everything goes right into her mouth. The
toys have been a good re-direct for her and she's ignoring my fuzzy
leather slippers finally. Even at 18 mos., you would think she was 6
mos. Life is pretty good for this little girl now.

--Lin