6-12-10

TOMATO TIME!

SENSATIONAL STRAWBERRIES

GOOD TO THE LAST DROP

THE PATTAPS AND THE REGALADOS

WE BOTH IMMEDIATELY, SEPARATELY BROKE
OUR SUNGLASSES AFTER THIS PHOTO :(

SITTIN ATOP SPENCER'S BUTTE

Waking up this morning was easy...we had fun plans for the day ahead. With the sun shining, we took care of a few farming chores before hitting the road to Eugene. First stop: Eugene's Saturday Market. Much more than just a Farmer's Market, the Saturday Market features local produce, local crafts, local restaurants showcasing their menus, live music, free tastings, and even a local brewery selling beers on tap. This four block fiesta happens every Saturday throughout the year and the folks from Eugene flock to it...and for good reason. Most of the farmer's selling their produce at this market were certified organic, and the one we noticed that boasted "naturally grown" food informed us he farms organically but doesn't pay for the certification. We couldn't stop ourselves and indulged in the season's first yellow cherry tomatoes and a pint of organic strawberries. Neither lasted more than 10 minutes! If the clouds give way to more steady sunshine, just thinking about what will be growing here soon is mouthwateringly magical.

After getting our share of the market, we headed across town to meet up with Jen's college roommate Kate, and her husband Oscar. The four of us spent the afternoon outside, enjoying the weather, lounging in hammocks and going on a hike. We waited until the late afternoon to hike in order to avoid the mid-day heat, which was at least 80. The climb up Spencer's Butte was steep and intense at times, and we were all winded when we finally reached the summit, but the view was excellent and well worth it. Feeling the soft breeze blow through our hair atop the Butte felt fantastic.

Later in the evening we dined at Lucky Noodle Cafe. Lucky Noodle featured an interesting menu that offered both Italian and Asian influenced noodle dishes. We find it puzzling when a restaurant tries to master more than one cuisine. Sometimes a combination seems almost natural, like Vietnamese and Japanese, but when a restaurant features Italian and any other type of food, we find it very weird. We ordered Risotto Balls, Thai Summer Rolls, and Pad Se Yu. What doesn't belong? Yea, we agree, the Risotto Balls were not in line with the rest of our meal, but we couldn't pass them up. There was also a rambunctious bachelorette party at the table adjacent to ours. Ugh. Overall, the meal was pretty ok. We are becoming increasingly critical of restaurant food. We almost always walk away slightly disappointed and unsatisfied. We went in wanting good noodles. We walked out still wanting good noodles and asking ourselves, "Why the hell did we order Risotto Balls?"