Holiday weekend: The berries!

That was a slang expression Dad used: "It's the berries!" And last weekend, the market was bursting with local strawberries. Their glowing colour seemed to evoke more colourfully-dressed shoppers.

We're nearing the time for the Passage to close for the summer, so let's take a last stroll together on the long weekend here; the Quebec holiday is still called St-Jean-Baptiste Day, but is also known as its more recent name, the National Holiday.

The brights that catch our eye include a woman carrying a woven striped bag, a purple knit top printed with butterflies, and a vivid paisley blouse:


Ethnic fabrics are a passion for me, but it is the incandescent smile of a woman serving a client that we notice first—then, her beautiful head wrap.



A woman strolls by in a blue coat made from Guatemalan fabric:



Plus-sized women are sometimes advised to avoid brights and prints. She's not buying that, and I like both her dots and cherry nails.



We do see women in pastels or white, and also plenty of stripes; two shoppers are wearing classic Montréal touches: on her, the big scarf even in summer, and on the man (background) the marinière:



Of course we buy a flat of strawberries, and also the magnificent radishes. Le Duc will make a soup from the leaves, and I will serve radis-buerre, a favourite summer hors d'oeuvre.  You can prepare them the fancy way, by stuffing hollowed out radishes with herb butter, but the simple way is fine: just apply a little pat of cultured butter to a whole or halved ruby radish on the way to your mouth.


We'll return together in the fall, and I will miss these jaunts, but think of you over July and August. Come back Thursday, for a last post for the season!





Comments

LauraH said…
Love these colourful fabrics and the taste of the market you've given us. I plan to get to my local farmers market this week for some of those gorgeous strawberries.
It's lovely to see such bright colours on everyone after a long winter!
I bought some gorgeous Ontario strawberries last week and plan on picking up some more today - so sweet and such a treat!

I am looking forward to Canada's National holiday this July 1st - hope we all get some decent weather for our 150th birthday celebration.

Have a wonderful Summer off and I'll look forward to more wonderful pieces to read come September.

Jane said…
I am picking strawberries and raspberries from my gardens right now. Both ripe at the same time which is unusual.

A very happy birthday to all Canadians!
Mardel said…
What lovely spring colors! Radis-beurre was one my late husband's favorite treats and we indulged every spring when the radishes were new. He would reminisce about the year his family was in France, his time at the American School while they waited for a visa to the US, and having bread with butter and sliced radishes.

We also often ate soup from the radish greens, and I often look forward to the first radishes of the season, as much for the tender greens as for the radishes themselves.
Enjoy your holiday!
I see a lot of bright coloured clothing on women at this time of year...it is almost as if after our months of rain they are collectively saying Hooray!
This was lovely, and there are actually raspberries today, but I have strawberries to finish up.

My favourite Guatemalan shirt is wearing out; it has become hard to find them. While I admire the blue and white one in the photos, I want either warmer colours or greens this time of year. But it was so chily that I wore my black denim jacket to Jean-Talon Market this afternoon. I did wear a colourful cotton scarf though!

I treasure Rachel Roddy's writing, and will inflict this on you and materfamilias:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jun/28/two-kitchens-rome-sicily-book-extract-rachel-roddy-kitchen-in-rome#comment-101194792
materfamilias said…
Just a bit over a year since I was wondering this market with you! Hope I can do that again, although this summer I'm happy to settle in here, especially now that we're finally getting a patch of good weather. I hope yours stays pleasant as well, and I wish you a wonderful couple of months until we see you here again.
Materfamilias, I loved your freudian slip of a tpyo!
materfamilias said…
Ah yes, tpyos happen so easily ;-) And I do always love the confusion between wandering and wondering . . . .

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