Last downtown farmer's market this weekend. I added $20 to what I normally budget for being down there, and still ended up going over by $25 or so. I didn't get eggs like I intended (Foxhollow Farms was out), but I did end up getting a whole duck from them. I also got ground goat meat, a Ham from Eden Farms, and some of my normal fare. It was the ham that pushed me over my budget...but hey, I love ham, so how could it be bad.

On my way home from farmer's market, I stopped at Mars Cafe, like I normally do, I chatted a bit with someone who was headed down to the market. She said that she didn't want to eat anything that could be smarter then her (I was talking about the duck and goat that I had bought), and I almost, but held myself back, from stating that either she had a low opinion of herself, or a high opinion of animals. It's like the lady at Josh and Lindsay's rehearsal dinner, who didn't eat veal, because she likes to think that the meat that she was eating had died of old age, even though that wouldn't be cost effective, or probably taste that good. Anyways, good week.

I also saw Matisyahu this week. and that was fun, wich reduced the amount of "real" cooking I did. I don't know if I like the venue though, it just got too hot in there...(must. resist. bad. pop. culture. reference.)

Broiled Chicken Thighs with Chipotle Sauce (p88 Fine Cooking October/November 2009)

Though I had to have the people at the meat counter at Hy-Vee de-bone the chicken theighs (they really vary at their skill at doing it), this actually turned out really well. It was simple to make, the sauce was great, spicy but not over powering, and it was super quick.

Emeril's Black Bean Cakes (Splendid Table Weeknight Kitchen Newsletter)

Fail...total and utter fail. The cakes would not stay together at all. Luckily I had tortillas left over and it became a black bean burritos...to some extent, which were pretty good.

Danish Meatloaf

Pumpernickel bread in meat loaf? What a good idea. It certainly gave it a distinctive flavor. Though I think the bread that I had was much softer then the bread they were talking about because they were just too soft to actually soak in water. But it turned out pretty well. I had a nice meatloaf sandwich for lunch a day or two after, and it was good that way too.

Lynne's Nearly New Mexican Chili

This took quite a while to make...The Meat was good, but it just seemed like it didn't have enough stuff in it...maybe that's just the way they do chili down there. But really 4 pounds of chuck vs 2 onions some garlic and some tomatoes? The broth was just kinda week. I admit that it had a nice smokey back taste, but it was just too watery for me. Though combined with a bit of cheddar and some sour cream, it was pretty nice over all. I'm kinda looking forward to how it melds better over the next day or so.