In one month, I will celebrate six years of living full-time in Sullivan County. We bought our tiny cottage as a weekend place in December 2005 and I never could have envisioned the life we would make for ourselves in this area. My visits to the city are now mostly out of necessity and the only thing I really miss are my friends. (Talking on the telephone seems to be a thing of the past and for those of us who grew up during a time when marathon phone chats were a regular bonding activity, texting just doesn't cut it.) Five minutes from our little hamlet of Eldred is Barryville, a town on the Delaware River that is host to our farmers market every Saturday. This year, for the first time, the market is offering hands-on demos from local chefs and purveyors, and I was lucky enough to be invited to participate. 

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On a Wednesday morning, if I am in Los Angeles, you will find me at the Santa Monica Farmers Market. The largest of the various Santa Monica markets, it is held downtown on Arizona Avenue and is one of my favorite spots in this world. Rain or shine (but preferably shine), the place is a swirling mass of produce, people and possibility. Open since 1981, it attracts some nine thousand shoppers every week! I love coming here with friends, or running into them. From this market I have been lucky enough to indulge in incredible artichokes, enormous chanterelles, the most astonishing array of citrus and avocados and dates, fantastic sprouts, heirloom carrots, fresh oysters...and on and on. Here I've discovered dried persimmons, purslane, Santa Barbara spot prawns, local black truffles and Rudolf Steiner health bread from the Röckenwagner bakery cart. It's truly an embarrassment of riches. Next time you're in LA, put it on your list of must-dos!
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There's nothing better than celebrating with friends, is there? My favorite part about visiting LA is seeing my old pals, just surrounding myself with a big group of them and basking in their familiar and fabulous auras. I also love to cook for my friends so that's what I did yesterday. Made enchiladas, a dish my mother often served at large dinner parties. Although I love them with red chile sauce, I decided to make the ones with green tomatillo sauce. You can see the recipe here. I bought out all the tomatillos from the Whole Foods on Fairfax.
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