Eat Your Oysters (and Your Greens, too)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE oysters. D, though not a big oyster fan himself, was kind enough to be a good sport and accompany me to the largest oyster festival in New England two weeks ago. 

Here's a snapshot of the shucking contest. You can feel the passion here, can't you?

2 dozens of oysters to shuck, and they needed to be beautiful. Within 5 minutes, I was standing before this astounding platter of gorgeous oysters. (Did you know that leaving them on the flat shell is common among the restaurant to make them look plumper?)

Too bad those babies were not up for sale. But hold on, our options weren't half bad. Look at the oyster bar. Hello, oyster heaven!

Fresh oysters and clams were pretty much 2 bucks a piece. The origin of the oysters and clams were clearly labeled. Simply grab a plate and loaded with your favorite (or one of everything in my case). Pay at the end of the line, and decorate with your choice of condiments (lemon wedges, cocktail sauce, etc). I have to warn that some oysters did come with sand, unfortunately (it ain't easy to shuck oysters perfectly all day long), so be extra cautious when you make your pick.

In addition, there were also plenty fare food, with an emphasize on seafood: lobster rolls, kettle corns, and over-priced beer and wine. ($6 a pop for miller light!) The oysters were by far the best part of the entire festival. I came home happy, and craved for more. 

A bit of a detour here to a more recent weekend. 

It has been a while since my last visit to my favorite farmer's market, and boy how I miss it! After months of trying and missing the farmer's market for work on Saturdays, I finally made it to the market, woo-hoo! 

The beautiful collection of goodies include: dandelion greens ($1/bundle), flat-leaf kale ($2/bundle), summer squash ($2/lb), collard greens ($1/bundle), kohlrabi ($2/lb), onions ($2/lb), leeks ($4/lb), and raspberry yogurt ($4/16oz). 

What's in that plastic bag you ask? 

Teng teng teng -- OYSTERS! (See how it's all tying back now?) Believe it or not, Dolan Brothers Shellfish Co Inc sells awesome oysters for $1 each, and gives you a good tip on how to shuck them with a screw driver!

Thus happy appetizer for lunch today:

The green stuff was dandelion greens, thrown on as garnish, and turned out to be quite bitter eaten raw. I have yet to do some research on how to use them yet. 

I am very excited to find out what I can do with my $15 worth of find from the farmers market in the coming week :)