Thursday, May 31, 2007

May 31 Market



Our purchases this week include, from left to right, honey oatmeal bread, two turnips, basil plants, bok choi, one (the last!) kohlrabi, onions, one cucumber, and two bunches of asparagus.

Once I got home -- Ta-Da! -- Inspiration struck in the form of a turnip souflé.



Turnip (or other root vegetable) Souflé

Peel, dice, and boil two turnips, along with three spring onions and tops. Takes about 20 minutes. Drain.

In the blender, buzz up

3 eggs (be aware that the hot veggies can cook the eggs on contact, so add the other stuff first)
1 Tbsp. butter, or whatever you call it
1 c. milk
cooked turnips and onions
small handful of fresh dill leaves
dried up, worthless old heel of bread

Pour into a buttered 2 quart casserole dish. Stir in about a cup of grated or crumbled cheese - any kind. The dish pictured here has some cheddar and a little leftover feta cheese.

Bake uncovered at 400º. I'm guessing it was in the oven for about 40 - 50 minutes, but I forgot to pay attention.

The salad was made from garden lettuce and cilantro, half a can of black beans, and is dressed with roasted garlic pineapple salsa that we purchased while on vacation in Missouri, but which was locally made near the place we were visiting. Does that count? I don't care - it's very good!

On our scorecard; the butter is not local - well, who really knows? (It's not really butter either.) The feta cheese is far from local, but it was in the freezer so I used it. The eggs were probably laid in Iowa, but I don't know where. Likewise the milk. The heel of bread was the end of loaf I made two months ago, but which was made from ingredients purchased at the big guys.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Asparagus Pizza with Mondo Bizzaro Sauce



dough made from ingredients on hand - whole wheat/unbleached flour blend; yeast; water; salt; oil

Pizza dressed with green onions (FMkt), asparagus spears (FMkt), sauce made from garden & on hand ingredients, mozarella from the big store.
Split the stems of the asparagus lengthwise up to near the tips and they will be evenly cooked.

Mondo Bizzaro Sauce
(from the Moosewood Cookbook, 1977 edition)

Puree in blender:
4 cloves garlic
10 fresh basil leaves
2 c. tomato puree
1⁄2 lb. fresh, chopped spinach leaves
1⁄2 c. chopped parsley
3/4 c. olive oil

Stir in:
3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Heat gently and toss with hot pasta (note: it would also be OK to have the pesto at room temp. and toss with hot pasta, for a cooler kitchen)

Mondo Bizzaro also works well as a sandwich dressing or pizza sauce.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Third Market - May 24

It was rainy this afternoon, and cooler than the last two Thursdays, but the market was still quite busy. This shopper selected a gloom-fighting, cheery red shirt to complement the vegetables!



Our Market Master was fashionably attired in cool, yet casual denim shorts, and sported a blue paisley shirt, rain gear, and his signature Farmers' Market cap. Although he appears to be quietly intent as he listens, those who know him well understand that this is really a manifestation of his intently quiet style which is often punctuated with rich laughter.



No doubt the Market Master has a few extra copies of this seasons' Edible Iowa River Valley. Read the article To Market Two Markets that starts on page 24. If you need to find a copy of the magazine, check out Dodici's, or just ask Bob.




and BTW, Bob, THANK YOU!!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Our Rules

Ahem. Mm. Okay. It appears that our bar is set a little lower compared to all 'yall's (people actually say that). Our participatory intentions are more of an investigative adventure toward incorporating more local/homegrown foods into our tummies, and less of a full-on lifestyle makeover. We're learning that strictly following the FM lifestyle in these here parts is challenging. I'll support those findings in just a minute (can you tell I'm writing my grad. thesis this term?).

But first, Your Local A&P's rules:
  1. Explore local & alt. food suppliers/producers - pick one.
  2. Get to the F.Mkt. 2x/month
  3. Stick more comestibles in the garden
  4. Meal plan utilizing those three resources
So short and sweet, we did get to the Farmer's Market downtown last Saturday. It was packed with people, good food smells, asparagus, Peony stems, lots of greens & herbs, cheap perennials, asparagus, filberts, dogs everywhere, fern tips for roasting & eating, and the first batch of Hood River Strawberries (which sold out by 9:00). We got as many ingredients as we could for our Sat. night Spring Rolls - did pretty good, $$-wise. I don't think we'd go back very often, simply because it took us about 45 minutes to get there (driving + city bus). Our next goal: pick a FM closer to home!

-A&P



Monday, May 21, 2007

How 'bout This?



Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry (second helping, if you've noticed the debris on the edge of the plate)

red lentils - Stone Mill
sweet potato - FMkt
onion - already on hand (but only one left!)
spices - on hand, and from far, far away

Instead of pita, I made chapitis

flour - on hand
salt - on hand
yeast - on hand
water - local vendor

It was less spicy than I expected, and good enough for seconds. The leftover chapitis made a wonderful hand-held breakfast today, once they were warmed up.

Salad was spinach (from the garden) and walnuts

Sunday, May 20, 2007

The 100 Mile Diet (book)

Are WFMers cool or what? We really know what's hip.

On Weekend Edition this morning I heard this story about a couple who set some Capital R RULES for themselves, and then published a book about it.

As for the question we're circling -- Is it food miles or organic-ness or supporting local merchants that drives this project? I am starting to think that it might be impossible to do all three at once except occasionally, but in the search to meet any two of these criteria, the third one (whatever it is) is likely to be met, too. What do you think?

Saturday, May 19, 2007

75 Asparagus Recipes

~ just in case you run out of inspiration before you run out of asparagus

Victoria Island Farms Asparagus Recipes

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Testing Our Little R rules

So let's see how tonight's supper scored.



from left to right: rhubarb sauce - rhubarb from the garden, sugar from Hawaii (minus 5?); spinach/asparagus quiche - spinach from my garden, asparagus from the FMkt., eggs & milk from somewhere in Iowa, cheese from Wisconsin, onion & nutmeg from the big store, and crust from the big store (Yes, I can cook, but not pie crust); radishes from the garden; bedtime snack - chips from La Cruz with salsa from Wellman.

and it was good, too!

Rules of the Game?

Since we each have our own game board seemslike we would each have our own rules, with some perhaps in common. My rules (with a soft "r") are something like this:

  1. First choice-walking distance from the house
  2. Second choince organic
  3. independant retailers only ( which includes the market)
  4. Food from retailers either organic or locally produced.

Each item, meal , snack, etc would therfore end up with some kind of rating =one * for each "rule" that applies. Comments might say "all but the ginger 4*" or what ever.

What think Ye All?

Lucy

Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry with Warm Pita Bread

A recipe to try - I have never eaten this, but have all the ingredients except the pita bread, and I made that once many years ago, so I'll probably do it again. A spinach salad will complete this meal.


Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry with Warm Pita Bread

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 bay leaf
1 ½ cups red lentils
Pita bread

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. In a saucepan or kettle, bring 3 ½ cups of water to a boil.
2. In a large saucepan over high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, and 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the sweet potato, ginger, garlic, curry powder and bay leaf and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the boiling water and stir in the lentils. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the lentils break down and the sweet potatoes are tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Season with salt.
4. While the potatoes and lentils are cooking, wrap a stack of pita breads in a slightly damp cotton towel, and place in oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serves 4

Friday, May 11, 2007

First Market ~ May 10

Asparagus, more asparagus, a giant sweet potato, and a loaf of honey oatmeal bread will be part of the menu in the coming week.



I passed on a box of eggs because we have plenty at home, but I hope they keep bringing them. I heard there were some radishes, but I didn't get there in time. The radishes in the garden are not ready yet, but I picked another colander full of spinach. I'm thinking about making a pizza with mondo bizzaro sauce, asparagus, and ? ? ?

Anyone else?

Monday, May 7, 2007

What "RULES" (ack,ack,ack!) are we using, hm-m-m-??

Just throwing my gloves on the ice, so to speak.

If I had my druthers, we'd each make our own rules, and then try to live by them. I know I have a hard time living by other people's rules.

But anyway, since the first market day is this Thursday, what are your goals for playing this 'game'? Are you pulling for local businesses? or for lower food miles? or both? or something else?

What about those private agendas, like trying to lose 10 pounds of winter weight?

Why play at all?

Saturday, May 5, 2007

We're In Too!

... um, in our own special way.
This is Anne and Paul @ Your Local A&P, and we (well, I) am a derivative of Maude, of Maude & The Capt'n, and are playing long-distance from Portland, Oregon. This place is Green crazy: construction, roofs, paint, Flexcars & public transit, greenways, and greenspaces. There are 14 Farmer's Markets city limits, and several more outside, for crying out loud! Along those lines, the one thing we're concerned about is the cost associated with buying fresh and local. Buying Organic is one way for businesses to capitalize on our devotion to Green, starting with the Hummer drivers. We know that buying green (at Whole Foods, New Seasons, and Wild Oats) is a popular way to show that you're a hipster PDX'er, so we're looking forward to finding out if green + local loses that annoying baggage. So, next-next weekend we will visit one of those FMs, and we'll check out our nearest local independent co-op as well.
Onto the challenge! One (ahem) of us repels most veggies that are on 'the list,' including asparagus, but that's OK. We like to improvise! Here's an awesome recipe from a friend. It incorporates asparagus, for which we have substituted green beans.

::TORTELLINI SALAD::

"I have never measured out any ingredients, eyeballing is good enough:"

Equal Parts::

  • cooked cheese tortellini
  • steamed asparagus
  • seasoned and grilled chicken
  • Italian dressing mix

I usually create a marinade or rub for the chicken with a lot of cayenne pepper and spice. I like it the best when there is a distinct flavor crust to the chicken to contrast with the other ingredients.

The dressing is from one of those packets of powder. Substitute balsamic vinegar for the white wine vinegar for a more complex flavor. You could use a dressing off the shelf too.

Serve this salad warm, room temp or cold. It is easy to make ahead and improves flavor after sitting in its juices a while.

Also, my mom adds canned mandarin oranges and chopped green onions, and her friend (the original source) adds cut pineapple as well. It sounds weird, but it's good!

---------------------------------------------------------------

::ALL-PURPOSE SPICE RUB::

Makes 1 1/4 cups (enough to season 5-10lbs. of meat, poultry, or seafood)

  • 1/3 cup course salt
  • 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup paprika
  • 2 Tbs. ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbs. dried oregano
  • 2 Tbs. dried thyme leaves
  • 1 Tbs. cayenne pepper, optional

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, using your hands to break up the sugar. Store in an airtight container, away from heat and light, up to 6 months.


Shoppers' Confessional

We've just returned from our Saturday shopping. The Capt'n was looking glum on the trip home - probably afraid that we'll slowly waste away. We were good, though, and planned the week's menus up until Thursday before we went shopping. MY goal was to use up foods that we already have on hand. With the garden providing spinach, asparagus, chives and parsley, and with some of last years home canned beans in the basement, the menus were designed to use those things along with the half cabbage, the broccoli, carrots, celery, mushrooms, etc. in the refrigerator.

This is what we bought at Fareway ~


While some items are self-explanatory, others are 'farewell' purchases. Maybe that's why my tomato man was so glum. If I can't (and don't know that I can't, just haven't found a source yet) buy certain things at independent merchants, at least I will buy products that don't have a lot of mileage on them. Hence the Shullsburg cheeses and Amana bread.

From the Stone Mill ~


Yes, this really is all we bought today. Watch for the olives and pine nuts in a future recipe. It involves eggplant, so it will be much later this summer.

Crustless Asparagus Quiche

Crustless Asparagus Quiche

This recipe is as much about prep as it is about ingredients. It is a required breakfast repast at this particular time of the year. Preparation time is minimal, but requires leftover asparagus from the previous evening. I know some of you may aghast at the concept of leftover asparagus, but it can be achieved if you overachieve the night before with steaming of the precious commodity. As this is a breakfast for two you need only have a ½ cup of heaven’s produce for our purposes. If you have more than that, remember cold asparagus on an evening salad is also a bit of paradise.

The required stuff:

Tsp of extra virgin olive oil
Well mellowed steamed asparagus
A handful of Morel mushrooms
A snippet of chives from the garden
Garlic encrusted sea salt
4 eggs
A dab of sour cream
A handful of Mexican style crumbly cheese
A cheese grater
A WELL mellowed cast-iron skillet with a lid
A chopstick

Now for the method:

Heat the skillet and olive oil over medium heat. Place the mushrooms in the skillet (you can dice them or not, depending on your mood). Toss the chives in with the mushrooms and salt to taste. Warm the ingredients stirring occasionally. After a sufficient time, this varies with the range top, for me it is about 5 minutes, break the eggs into the skillet and stir in the sour cream with the chopstick, until it looks omelet-like. Toss in the asparagus and cover with the lid. The whole thing will fluff up quite nicely and when the top has finished cooking cover with the cheese and turn off the heat. If you are using a cast-iron skillet, the cheese will melt and there you go.

Enjoy and be sure you use cast-iron that is properly seasoned, you will have an amazingly fluffy creation.

Thanks,

Uncle C

Friday, May 4, 2007

WILD IDEAS

Hey Guys!

This is Lucy.....it is the perfect time of the year for Violets, new mint, baby dandilion greens, fresh new nettles, wood sorrel and more....so...what's on your plates?

recipes

Asparagrass----
dice it raw
put spoonfull of rasberry preserves +oil +vinegar in small jar and shake
drizzle over small pile of A. on a plate
top with cruncy copped nuts or granola

steam A.
put peanutbutter + mustard in small jar with oil-- shake (first, rinse well if used above)
dress steamed A.

soak and cook quinoa
dice raw A., + can of garbonzos (can the bozos?) + diced leeks (just a smattering)+soaked sesseme seeds
dress with olive oil and leamon juice

Steam A.
place in strips on ezekial bread spread with humas
add horseradish to taste

who's next?

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Take the "Asparagus Challenge"



Do you have what it takes to become the asparagus champion? Send us your recipes by posting a comment, and let us know just how good your top-secret-in-the-family-for-generations-recipe is!

We dare you!

We're Playing!

Hello! We're joining this edible experiment.

We're Maude and the Capt'n. We live in Washington, and have a vegetable garden in the back yard which will provide some of our locally grown food. We also plan to shop the Washington Farmer's Market on Thursdays, as well as our local independent grocery stores.

It's not that we're against the big guys, because we will continue to shop there, too, for those special items - like toilet paper! - that we can't find from the independent sellers.

Now - off to the garden to see what's ready to harvest.