Vlita

Greek leafy green

Mozzarella

Ovolini (egg size) 4 ounce balls
Bocconcini (bite size) 1.50 ounce balls
Ciliegine (little cherry size) .33 ounce balls

Farmer’s Market Week 3 July 4

The farmers market this week offered a few newcomers for this year.  One stand had squash blossoms, which I passed up knowing I wouldn’t get to them for several days.  I did get some baby zucchini, however, along with some gorgeous broccoli.  I still had the beets and kohlrabi left over from last week, so I tried to play it pretty safe.  I got some cilantro and scallions which adorned by July 4th taco dip, more sugar snap peas and strawberries, which were delicious but were probably already a day past their prime by the time I got them.  I bought some lamb arm steaks from a vendor who is usually in Brookfield, but was here for one week only.  Also, I got my first eggs from Jones farm, which were the very best eggs I’ve ever had.  Gigantic, dark golden yolks with firm whites, very rich and delicious.

Farmer’s Market Week 2 June 27

This week, I bought perfectly, very nearly over-ripe strawberries, knob onions, creminis, peas, beets, kohlrabi and some “Bistro” cheddar cheese, which is flavored with shallots, black pepper & tarragon.

On Monday I utilized the greens from the kohlrabi and beets in the braised greens from the previous week. There were only 7-8 strawberries left, which was good because they were goo by Monday.

Tuesday night dinner was very eclectic – boiled peas with butter, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper (they were a little starchy, but delicious nonetheless). Italian-style turkey meatballs as a sandwich with homemade tomato sauce, chipotle puree and melted provolone on a French baguette.

I’ll still have to get through the beets, kohlrabi, knob onions and mushrooms this week, concentrating on the latter two first.

Peas

17.6 ounces fresh shell peas = 5 ounces shelled peas

Carne Adovada

Native to New Mexico, carne adovada is meat (pork) marinated with New Mexico chiles, oregano, cumin and garlic, then slow-cooked (source: http://www.blue-kitchen.com/2008/08/13/taste-of-new-mexico-carne-adovada/).  Other sources include vinegar, onions and broth.  There seems to be consensus on marinating – 2 days being generally recommended.

Foods to always buy organic

According to the Environmental Working Group, foods most likely to have the highest concentration of pesticides are peaches, nectarines, apples, bell peppers, strawberries, cherries, pears, raspberries, imported grapes, celery, potatoes and spinach. Foods that you peel, such as bananas, peas, sweet corn and tropical fruits are probably ok conventional.

There’s an iphone app available to keep up on this info!

Farmer’s Market Week 1 June 20

In the market: strawberries, lettuce, young garlic, kohlrabi, mushrooms, knob onions, herbs, radishes

I bought 2 heads of leaf lettuce, radishes, 2 kohlrabi bulbs, 1 pound cremini mushrooms, brick cheese curds, steel cut oats.

Washed & chopped the lettuce, then dried and stored in open ziploc wrapped in paper towels. Trimmed & washed the radishes. Separated the kohlrabi bulbs from the leaves, cut the leaves from the tough centers, roughly chopped the leaves and stored same as the lettuce. Trimmed tops and gnarly outer leaves from the knob onions.

So far ate most of the radishes out of hand, spicy and small. 1 salad with radishes, lettuce, chopped roasted almonds, cucumbers, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

Dinner Wednesday: made tahini-lemon sauce (parsley, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, salt, water to thin until light). Marinated large shrimp in dried oregano, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, olive oil. Salt, pepper and red wine vinegar just before grilling. Whole wheat pitas lightly moistened with water, then wrapped in foil. Cleaned and trimmed knob onions, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cored red pepper and cut into quarters. Diced tomatoes, cut English cucumbers into 1/8″ half moons, crumbled Greek Myzithra cheese. Pre-heated grill, set to medium, placed foil on grill to keep greens on onions from burning, whites and light greens over direct flame. Onions grilled 5 minutes per side, then whole onions moved on foil to finish cooking through. Peppers roasted until skins blackened. Skins rubbed off peppers. Pitas kept on top of grill to warm through. Shrimp grilled, pitas brushed with oil and grilled slightly. Pitas falling apart, so make into fattoush salad by tearing pita into large pieces, assembled with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, roasted red peppers, cheese, knob onions, shrimp, drizzled with tahini lemon sauce.

All that’s left for the week is the kohlrabi and mushrooms. Plan to braise the kohlrabi leaves in lard with chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, maybe onions, lemon juice. Peel and chop the kohlrabi bulbs and sweat in butter until soft. Saute the mushrooms in olive oil with fresh oregano. Pasta or rice, pork tenderloin or chicken breasts.

Friday, sauteed the mushrooms (whole or halved) with butter, served over bone-in ribeye. Thinly sliced the peeled kohlrabi, sweated in olive oil.

Kohlrabi leaves lasted 9 days(!). I bought another bunch of kohlrabi this Saturday, so I prepared those and added them to the first batch Sauteed sliced red onion seasoned with saltin olive oil, added red pepper flakes and cooked another minute. Added greens, 1/4 cup water and a couple cloves of chopped garlic, covered tightly and cooked ~45 minutes. Added some beet greens, which I held off on because they were more tender, then covered and braised on low for another 45 minutes. Added a few tabpespoons red wine vinegar and cooked until nearly dry. Turned off the heat, added a knob of butter and folded in a handful of grated parmesan cheese. Covered and let sit 5 minutes

Served with baked rigatoni with homemade tomato sauce, Italian sausage & provolone.

Sustainable Food Blogs

A compiled list of sustainable food blogs to check out.

Compote

Fruit (either fresh or dried) cooked very slowly with simple syrup and flavorings.    The fruit should be cooked gently enough to retain its shape.