Monday, September 22, 2008

HOME FROM AFAR, AND BEARING YUMMY GIFTS!My dear hubby arrived home safely last night, after five days in Seattle, WA and the surrounding countryside. During his trip, he toured apple orchards, potato fields, seafood boats, and several factories where the produce was sorted, washed, and packed for shipment. His favorite stop on his trip though was Pike's Place Market. I had read about/seen shows about Pike's Place, and of course, was green with envy that he was able to go! He gave me the next best thing by calling while he was there, sending me multiple pictures and videos, and best of all, bringing home some delicious items from the market!

-Honey sticks. Tiny tubes of honey, lightly flavored with the essence of different fruits.
-Cheese Curds. I am quite sure I can make these when I get my next raw milk supply. After tasting these, I definitely want to try. They are delicious!
-Two other cheeses that the merchant recommended. A smoked gouda, and a house cheese.
-10 lovely apples, that he picked from one of the orchards. The boys have already eaten 5 today!
-Fresh pasta! Oh my, the fun I am going to have with these. Such unusual flavors. Basil Tangerine, Tunisian Harissa, and dark chocolate!
For the chocolate, I am thinking of topping it with a white chocolate "alfredo", or fresh whipping cream and raspberry sauce. Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

At $10 a pound for the pasta, and $17 a pound for the cheese, it is unlikely that I would have purchased these if I had been there, so it was even more fun to get them as a gift! My hubby is a wonderful gift giver. He always surprises me with his attentiveness, often purchasing things that I never thought of, yet absolutely love upon receiving. And, he loves to give me things. He keeps it in check, because I am not a big stuff person, but the gifts he does buy are so thoughtful.

Seeing my excitement when he pulled the items out of his bag, he remarked "now you can feel like a real foodie for a while!".

Ah, I love that man!

*Creative Commons image from cwbuecheler on flickr.com

7 comments:

  1. what a sweet hubs! :)

    Love me some cheese curds, girl! MMMMMmmmmm...... Remember I'm from Wisconsin. I know about cheese curds. :)

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  2. How sweet he is!
    I have wine, what time should we meet?

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  3. Anonymous7:37 PM

    Drool.

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  4. you know exactly what I am going to say.. don't you?

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  5. yum! I loved going to PPM when I was in Seattle! AWESOME place and it sounds like Matt did a good job of finding things you loved. Too bad he couldn't bring back any of their fresh seafood or amazing flowers :)

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  6. Anonymous11:38 PM

    Ooh, Laurel, lucky you! I've been to Pike's Place market many times over the years, and it's so much fun! All of the goodies that your husband brought home sound so good. I love a good smoked gouda-- there's one I buy often that is made in Oregon. Do you know the name of the cheese vendor that sold the cheese? (The brand name?) I'm just wondering because there's a cheese guy that's there (or used to be) that makes great cheeses (I have a cookbook by the guy, too). I wish I was eating at your house this week!

    Fun post!
    Susan

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