Saturday, September 4, 2010

Saturday Market











There are less than a dozen vendors at the Westport
Saturday market, which takes place on the banks
of the Carrowbeg River. Two of the vendors live just up
the road from us: Carrowholly Cheese (the nettle cheese
is our favorite), produce from Liam and baked breads
from his wife Lilly. It's all a bit sleepy and very relaxed.
Easy. A couple of jewelers, a man stamping leather for
belts and keychains, a collection of birdhouses, someone
selling salmon, another vendor selling garden plants.
All the root vegetables appropriately mucky.

The butcher at McCormick's stuffed a pork tenderloin
for me and tried to talk me into some lamb, and I'm
hesitant but willing to give it a try. He said the soil
here in County Mayo has a lot of limestone in it, which
gives the lamb a unique flavor. I've never been one for
gamey meats, ever since my older brother came home
from hunting when I was about twelve with a deer/elk
strapped to the bumper of his pick-up, and my mother
proclaimed, "well, there's our meat for the winter!"

5 comments:

  1. I have had excellent lamb in my adult life. Surprising, because as a kid, mom use to serve up the most gamey crap. Cook it rare - it's best. Give it try!

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  2. Hello - I came by from Karen's lovely blog BBQ - pleased to 'meet' you! :)

    Love those teapots in your header, and all these gorgeous photos from the market. The colours of veggies are just so mmm - pretty on the eye, and rather tasty too!

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  3. I've never heard of lamb described as 'gamey'. Lamb is sweet and tender; my favourite meat (along with beef, pork, and chicken).

    The market looks very tempting.

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  4. We went to our Farmer's Market yesterday morning also, which also has about a dozen local vendors. I'm mirroring you, obviously.

    We bought eggs and bread and tomatoes. Until the checks start arriving, via both forwarded mail and deposits to the account from W College, we are too broke to buy at a Farmer's Market!

    But the meat vendor - raiser - butcher, o my. I'm thinking Thanksgiving, unless we go back to NYC, which we may well do.

    The weekends here are beyond dead.

    Love, C.

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  5. Cro, we're most definitely not consuming the same lamb.

    Foxessa, your "beyond dead" made me laugh! Quite a switch from NYC, I'd guess.

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