Tag Archive for 'farmers market'

North African stewed veggies

Published
by
marc
on August 28, 2008
in Mediterranaen, Soups & Stews, Summer, Vegan, Vegetable and Vegetarian
. 13 Comments

Continuing along with the uncreative titles, here’s a veggie stew I put together using an abundance of fresh produce from the farmer’s market. It’s as simple as chopping stuff up and throwing it in a pot with some seasonings, but it does make for a wonderfully savoury meal despite the lack of meat.

Most of the umami comes from the onions and tomatoes so make sure you get the onions a bit caramelized and you use nice vine ripened tomatoes. I’ve always been too lazy to scrape out the seeds of tomatoes (plus it seems like such a waste), but for those like me, you’ve actually been doing the right thing. It turns out that most of the glutamates (yes, the natural cousin to monosodium glutamate… aka MSG), hangs out in the jelly that surrounds the seeds. By scraping out the seeds, you’re actually scraping out a lot of the flavour.

I served this with some red and yellow Quinoa for some extra protein, but it would also work great with some cous cous or flat bread. One of the great things about this is that you can really use just about any veggie. Squash, okra, green beans, carrots, or pumpkin would all work with the tomatoes and onions.
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Summer Veggie Stew

Published
by
marc
on June 28, 2008
in Soups & Stews, Vegan, Vegetable and Vegetarian
. 7 Comments

I almost hate calling this a stew because it doesn’t really do it justice. There’s no liquid added, so any sauce that develops comes out of the veggies, melding together and caramelizing in the pan to make a wonderfully hardy “stew”.

Its great on pasta, but I think it’s even better scooped up with soft flatbreads like a pita or naan.

For this batch I used some incredibly tender young summer squash along with sweet grape tomatoes, spring onions and fresh peas, but you could really use just about any mix of just-picked farmers market produce. For the seasoning I went with a home made Herbes de Provence mixture of fresh rosemary, lavender, sage and bay leaves, but it’s also great with sumac, lemon rind, and harissa.

While I included measurements below, they’re just guidelines. The idea here is to get the fewest pans, plates and utensils dirty, so do what feels right, taste it then adjust the seasonings until you’re happy.
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Strawberry buttermilkshake

Published
by
marc
on June 14, 2008
in Fruit
. 21 Comments

I’d like to call for a moment of silence for Tastespotting………………………….

When I first saw they shut down at midnight this morning, I could hardly believe my eyes. “Was this some kind of cruel joke?!” Then came anger “Why did some jackass have to go and nail them with DMCA horseshit and ruin it for all of us”. Now I’m just sad more than anything… I keep checking it every few hours to see if it’s magically come back to us.

In all seriousness, I think it’s become like an addiction to both bloggers trying to promote their posts and foodies just looking for some inspiration. That’s why I’ve decided to pick up where Tastespotting left off and launch a new service for sharing your glorious food photos (hopefully without the legal issues). Look for an announcement in the coming weeks.

In other news, Grace from A Southern Grace has given us a Blog of Distinction award. Thanks!

I’m going to be in Oregon for a few days attending a graduation, so I won’t be posting, but I’ll be back before you know it. Here’s a quick little something to tide you over until then:-)

This isn’t a recipe so much as an idea for a wonderfully refreshing summer beverage. The strawberry lady told me the season was wrapping up, so I bought a few cartons on Tuesday and washed, stemmed and froze most of them. While they’re great to make jam and pies out of, my favourite use is to turn them into blended beverages.

Instead of adding ice, you just add the frozen strawberries and some liquid (I used a mix of buttermilk and water) and you have a wonderfully cooling beverage. To make it even more refreshing, try adding lemon juice or mint!

frozen strawberries
water
buttermilk
sweetened condensed milk

Add some frozen strawberries to a blender and pour half water half buttermilk until the strawberries are sumberged. Add some sweetened condensed milk, blend, then add some more if it needs it.

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Inspiration comes in many forms

Published
by
marc
on June 3, 2008
in Spring, Vegan, Vegetable and Vegetarian
. 6 Comments

Danish Lamp or mushrooms?

Shag leather rug or mushrooms?

I scored an unexpected bounty today at a farmer’s market that until this morning I had no idea existed. I came into work this morning to see one of my co-workers munching on fresh peas straight out of the pod. Perhaps sensing an interrogation in the making he volunteered the info about a farmer’s market that runs on Tuesdays at St Marks Church on 10th and 2nd. Who knew?

If you live in NYC and have been less than pleased with the offerings at Union Square this year. This one (along with the one at Tompkins Sq. on Sundays) might be worth checking out. It only had 3 lonely vendors, but 2 of them where local farmers that had just plucked these organic wonders from their fields.

At the first stop I picked up a few pounds of English peas, sugar snap peas and “real” strawberries of the sort I haven’t seen since leaving California. Small, glistening and incredibly fragrant, these little red berries brought back memories of picking my own berries along highway 1.

At the second stop, a weathered man with dirt still between his nails offered up a stalk of purple asparagus to taste. Enamored by the surprising sweetness I quickly picked out a handful of deep purple sticks that still looked alive. Apparently, the reason the purple variety is so rare is that it’s relatively new and since asparagus beds last for 20 years, most farmers are unwilling to dig up their existing beds to plant the new variety (which take several years to start producing).

Next he tore off a cluster of Maitake mushrooms and handed it to me to taste. I have to be honest in that the very pungent odor (not in a good way) and uncleaned rawness of the mushrooms put me off initially, but after taking braving a bite I could see the potential and ended up buying some along with a cluster of yellow oyster mushrooms.

Regular readers know that I’m an advocate for simple preparations of food. Like a good story, I think that food should have a few complimentary main characters with a supporting cast of ingredients that help the main characters tell their story. Too many leads and you’ll have a chaotic tale that’s hard to digest.

For this meal, I just sauteed the mushrooms, asparagus and snap peas over a hot flame with some olive oil, and finished it with a pinch of smoked salt and freshly ground black pepper. The maitake mushrooms proved to be incredibly meaty in flavor, the unpleasant odor all but disappeared turning into a deep rich umami unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. The yellow oyster mushrooms added some color and texture although their delicate flavor was assimilated by the maitake.

The asparagus added some crispness and sweetness while the sugar snap peas added their own brand of cripsy sweetness. A squeeze of lemon juice just before eating was like a splash of sunshine that cascaded through the flavors making this one of the most perfect meals I’ve had in a while.

What foods do you find most inspiring?

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