So last weekend was kind of big deal, wasn’t it? Lots of food and wine, people and conversations, family and friends. Oh and then Easter was somewhere in there too. I’m only kidding, please don’t whack my hand with a ruler and make me spell God on the blackboard 1000 times. (Insider joke – I grew up Catholic.) Easter was terrific too, but for blog-intensive purposes I’m referring to opening day at The Boise Farmer’s Market last Saturday.

Despite the chilly morning, the turnout from the public and participating vendors was impressive! Last year my winemaker and I were just visiting vendors at this market but we loved it so much we adopted it. This year we’re back as full-fledged members and we’re there every Saturday (with the exception of two – one for grape harvest/crushing and one for a family vacation). To be honest, as much as we enjoyed three months of not setting up a canopy every Saturday, I missed the market with all its people and its bounty and its energy. You really do have to be a people person to enjoy working at a market every week. Plus I get all my produce shopping done for the week by 9:30 AM.

Here’s how this works for us every Saturday morning:

We arrive by 7:30 AM to set up our booth. Any later than that and we aren’t allowed to drive in directly to our spot, which means we must haul everything by foot from the parking lot. Not fun if you’re carrying cases of wine and tables and a 10’ by 10’ canopy before you’ve finished your coffee.

Once we’re all set-up, I usually walk a couple blocks to Alia’s for one of these amazing sandwiches and a coffee for Von:

Once my winemaker’s fed, I go shopping. Vendors can’t sell to the public until the opening bell rings precisely at 9 AM, but we can sell to other vendors. Often this is the only time vendors have to step away from their booths, so it’s not uncommon to see everyone chatting. Last Saturday I was overjoyed to learn one of the farmers was selling duck eggs.

These rich, beautiful babies are twice the size of chicken eggs and packed with nutrients. I love the taste, but not everyone does. I’ve heard people describe it as gamey, which is probably why it appeals to me. Give me elk or deer over chicken or beef any day. Gross, right? This trainer eats wild stuff.

Speaking of wild, the booth across from us had about six kinds of mushrooms which I became fascinated with. You’ll only find these kinds of things at the market.

So I went home with a bag of one kind for my girl friend and a bag filled with this thing to cook later that evening for dinner:

How do you go about cooking this, you ask? I was instructed by the mushroom guy to drizzle it with olive oil, throw some herbs on top and roast it whole in the oven at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until the outer leaves were crispy. Back at home that evening I did exactly that and barely managed to share with the hubby.

Now I know a few of you are thinking about calling your reading session quits right about now. I get it, you’re thinking “You’re disgusting. Where’s the wine? I read your blog because of wine, woman!” I hear you. So about that…

We aren’t the only winery at The Boise Farmer’s Market (there are actually two to three besides us, depending on the weekend). Our good friends over at Seven Day Wines are also members and we love their faces and their vino. So after my major ‘shroom geek-out I hopped over there to take a couple photos of their booth. If you haven’t checked them out yet you should. Seven Day Wines is owned by Angie Shaltry of Periple, so if you’ve had any of her parent company wines you already know she’s good at making the juice. Tuesday Night White is a crowd favorite.

Back at our booth, it was time to wait for the masses. We poured the usual line-up of Jalapeno Wine Lemonade, both kinds of Jalapeno Wines and our Riesling. Since wine sales typically pick up after 11 AM (and often times our booth is a fun cloud of excitement until closing bell at 1 PM), I hurried over to one of my favorite mobile makers-of-delicious-things (aka: food truck) so I could fuel-up before the crowd came.

Ah, Funky Taco. How I missed your Bahn Mi Mi!

This taco is worth waiting for. Yes, there’s tofu. But before you write it off, let me just tell you that if my dad and winemaker both sign off on this thing with all its tofu-ness, there’s something to it. Try it the next time you see Funky Taco near you!

I think I’ve given you a few reasons to go check out this spectacular market. You can find Von, me or Tony (he’s our hired booth babe) there every Saturday through September. For more info on where else you can find us pouring, check out this Calendar of Events post!

Oh, and in honor of Easter, these pretty Easter Lilies were there too.