Farmers Market Thursday - June 19, 2008

lettuces
asparagus
spring onions
spinach
dandelion greens
beets
fresh oregano



strawberries
spicy greens mix
carrots
tatsoi

The variety is growing at Tantre...

And then we bought:



squash blossoms
fresh mozzarella from Zingerman's Creamery
a rhubarb truffle, Leopold Bros. Blackberry Truffle, and Leapin' Lemon from Sweet Gem Confections

C is at camp this week, which means D and I can eat vegetarian and eat some things that he might turn away from.

This must be the week for squash blossom yens, because both Shana, from The Gastronomical Three, and Mae, from Mae's Food Blog, made similar recipes this week. I will be going their route, as well, although I think I'm going to use some of the fresh mozzarella.

At this point, with the strawberries, we're just eating them fresh. They're too good to do otherwise.
I'm making a huge pot of minestrone today, using spinach, some homemade chicken broth, the carrots, beets, canned tomatoes, canellini beans and some pasta.
We plan to wrap the asparagus in proscuitto and grill it.
I'll also do a stir fry with the tatsoi, spicy greens mix, some of the carrots and onions, and some marinated tofu.
And, of course, salads.


To see what some other local folks have come up with shopping at the same market, see:
The Farmers Marketer
Una Buona Forchetta
Teacher In the Hood
Mae's Food Blog
The Hungry Masses
The Gastronomical Three
An Organic Summer

Farmers Market Thursday - June 12, 2008

Lettuces
garlic scapes
mizuna
asparagus
lemon sorrel




spring onions
satsoi
strawberries

That's our bounty for this week.

So how'd we do with last week's planning? Well, I came into an unexpected windfall of spinach, and spent much of last Thursday and Saturday blanching and freezing. So we've actually done less cooking with spinach than I'd planned to.

Spinach quiche - this will be tonight, and it will actually be a spinach, green onion, asparagus and zucchini quiche.
Spinach-Brown Rice Casserole - didn't happen. And for those who asked for it, I will be getting this recipe out to you - it's been a crazy week!
Salads of all stripes and forms - absolutely! My salad from yesterday's post, surprise salad, a salad made with spinach, apples, parmigiano reggiano, toasted walnuts and vinaigrette (based on a suggestion by Goofball), spinach and radish salad with vinaigrette and a fried egg on top.
Sweet Potatoes baked with spinach and hardboiled eggs (delicious, even if it sounds weird). - Another entry that didn't make it.

What we did have was cornmeal-crusted whitefish on a bed of asparagus and yellow squash (this will be my What's Cooking Wednesday recipe/Cooking for Bri recipe for next week), burgers and grilled asparagus for an early Father's Day meal, and an evening of asparagus/spinach stir fry and hotdogs (yeah, this last menu was more one of convenience).

We picked up some last rhubarb on Saturday, which I froze for later use.

This week's plans:

Vegetable quiche or souffle (see above)
the salad and "tortilla" combination from yesterday, and I think I'll make it again when D can share it.
strawberry shortcake!
strawberry-cornmeal pancakes
summer vegetable soup
more glorious salads

Two other interesting notes about the Farmers Market this Wednesday - we now have a knife sharpener who will be there each Wednesday. I'm really excited because I have a santoku and a serrated bread knife that are both in desperate need of sharpening and his prices are reasonable. The second is the addition of John Roos and his coffee roasting business. For those locals who don't know Roos Roast, it's worth your time to get acquainted. His beans are also either all fair trade or direct trade (in the case of direct trade, these are small, family farms working towards Fair Trade certification, but they aren't there yet).

To see what some other local folks have come up with shopping at the same market, see:
The Farmers Marketer
Una Buona Forchetta
Teacher In the Hood
Mae's Food Blog
The Hungry Masses
An Organic Summer

Farmers Market Thursday - June 4, 2008

Greens galore
Spinach bunches bigger than your head
garlic scapes
oregano
spring onions
the sweetest radishes to grace the Earth

That's our bounty for this week.

I looked at last week's meal list and laughed. I did make some of the dishes, but often ended up with riffs on what was planned.

The lamb chops and grilled asparagus were heavenly. When I pulled out the pomegranate molasses, however, it had solidified, so a quick switch was made with blackberry vinegar and the results were still food of the gods. I didn't make the pitas, but we still had fresh bread.

Strawberries came in, and so did a wonderful frozen yogurt recipe, via Su Good Sweets, (click on her link to "make your own") so we've been having frozen yogurt with muddled strawberries.

I didn't make the lasagna, but I did make a layered, hot, spinach, green onions and asparagus with ricotta terrine. D loved it.

We've been doing lots with pasta and spinach or pasta and asparagus.

Since we received our share yesterday morning, I made a whole wheat pasta with sauteed spinach, green onions and garlic scapes, mixed with toasted walnuts and feta for a teachers luncheon at C's school, and last night I made whole wheat pasta tossed with the same vegetable sautee, lemon pepper, lemon juice and canned salmon and tuna.

Today we're having grilled lamb chops with an oregano-mint marinade, boiled new potatoes and steamed spinach with lemon juice.

In the next few days, I can see these things on the menu:

Spinach quiche
Spinach-Brown Rice Casserole
Salads of all stripes and forms
Sweet Potatoes baked with spinach and hardboiled eggs (delicious, even if it sounds weird).

We'll probably pick up some rhubarb and more strawberries this Saturday, but that may be it.

I'll be interested to see what my fellow Tantre members come up with.