Armchair Farmers Market Tourism

The hub returns from London today, where he managed to miss this

happening on the balcony of Buckingham Palace because he was across the way touring Westminster Abbey. @KensingtonRoyal (official Twitter feed of Kensington Palace, a.k.a. Will & Kate & Co.) called it "the Trooping of the Colours," whatever the heck that is, but I called it a bonafide Baby Prince George Sighting Opportunity squandered!

When I expressed my grief, the hub did venture over to Kensington Palace for the tour, but, as you know if you've ever toured our White House, touring the place does not include hanging out with the residents. There was a Royal Bathroom Sighting, however, where perhaps some royal bums have sat:

Just hope your crown doesn't tumble into the toilet

More to the point for this blog, he also checked out the King's Cross Farmers Market and sent me some pictures to share.

As anyone on earth knows, no one gave a rat's hind-end about King's Cross Station until J.K. Rowling included it in her Harry Potter books as the place where students set out for school on the Hogwarts Express. And if you go into the station, you'll be disappointed that Platform 9-3/4 really isn't visible to Muggle eyes and--even worse--there's no marketing/photo-opp frenzy happening anywhere around Platforms 9 or 10! It didn't completely slip everyone's mind, though. The related store is elsewhere in the station. Such a humdrum location!

They might want to rename it "The Harry Potter Shop Not Exactly at Platform 9-3/4"

Ye olde photo opp

Ahem. But I digress. Tourists, after recovering from their disappointment within the actual King's Cross Station, can at least comfort themselves with food upon re-emerging.

The veggies

A little cheese and meat

For your bread

Or how about a LOT of cheese?

And a LOT of meat!

While our Bellevue Farmers Market boasts wonderful meats--beef, chicken, pork, sausage, bacon, and so on--somehow we still don't offer "Iberian Pig Products," even though that name is a goldmine. Note the black sausage on the top shelf! And forget "corn-fed"--these Iberian pigs are acorn-fed.

If, like Brits of Queen Elizabeth I's time, you mistrust anything Spanish, there were homegrown meat offerings:

Or, heck--maybe you just wanted someone else to prepare the food for you:

If you do happen to be heading to London this summer, my hub seriously recommends the Salted Caramel Brownie from Bad Brownie. I'd include a picture, but he snarfed the whole thing down without taking one. Oh, wait--here's one from their site:

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know

Here ends the food tour.

Fortunately, the UK doesn't have all the awesomest farmers and vendors. I was at our Saturday Market, crunched for time and needing to pick up a birthday present for a 14-year-old boy. Hmm...fresh lettuce? Nah. Hop salt? Maybe when he's older.

Hop salt! One purchaser said she was going to sprinkle it on steak!

I ended up making up a box of one soft pretzel, one plain croissant, one marionberry croissant, and one apple turnover, along with a package of beef jerky. I put a ribbon on the box, marked it "this end up" and "perishable" and had my son bring it to the party. Because--really--who needs another gift card or video game or thing of Legos? Wouldn't we all rather have food?

Sure enough, the next day, my son's friend volunteered the info that the food was "really good"! And, since we all know, food is a moment on the lips and a lifetime on the hips, so it really was a gift that will keep on giving.

Happy trails.