Edinburgh: Castle Terrace farmers’ market

What fun — a farmers’ market with a castle looming over, like a watchful shopper surveying the goods. (Does that make us the goods?)

{As always, click to enlarge, or mouse over for commentary.}

Since I missed the farmers’ markets in Glasgow, this was my first UK market. I spent about an hour there on Saturday, between breakfast and my life drawing class at the National Gallery (see yesterday’s post). It was a cute market of very respectable size and even more respectable turnout. The vendors all had striped awnings and matching signs, unlike at home where everyone brings their own tent and signage. The city’s population seemed well represented, with elderly shoppers as well as sharply dressed hipsters perusing the booths.

As I typically do anytime I visit a big market, whether it’s a food market or a craft show, I started by making a couple of rounds of all the stalls, to see what was available.

There were several fruit and/or vegetable stands (including a couple that were all organic), a soap vendor, several bakeries (including Falko, to whose marzipan cake I’ve already introduced you), two coffee kiosks, a few hot-food vendors, a porridge truck (!), a local cheesemaker, and meats and fish galore.

After I’d inspected everything, I went shopping. Since anything I bought had to last several hours in my bag, I stayed away from anything too perishable or fragile. I came away with a decent haul, and we’ve been enjoying it all since then!

We’ve already stir-fried the bok choy with garlic, roasted the gooseberries with sugar (raw, they tasted like very tart crunchy apples; roasted, they tasted a bit like sour tomatillos — I didn’t put enough sugar!), made headway with the jams on toasted muffins and in yogurt, and stirred the blueberries and lemon curd into oatmeal (along with some cardamom seeds, since I bought cardamom for last week’s kedgeree). Oh, and that tart is nearly gone. The little kitchen in our flat is getting lots of use!