$11 Well Spent

This morning I headed out to my favorite honor system farm stand in search of something to go in between the chicken pieces for tonight’s kabob dinner. I never know what will be available but hoped for zucchini, yellow squash and perhaps a green pepper or two. I visit regularly to see what they have, as produce varies by season and by what is ready for picking each day.

Sometimes I am truly surprised by what I find and have had the opportunity to try things new to me like patty-pan squash. Today, I found exactly what I was looking for and also grabbed a pint of little tomatoes to brighten up the dish. I rounded out the day’s purchase with a couple big, ripe tomatoes, 3lbs of new potatoes, three cucumbers and – today’s new treat – a canary melon. (I’ve never tried this type of melon but imagine it will taste similar to a honeydew). 

I wait anxiously each spring for them to open the stand for the season because, even though it is a few extra miles from my house, I find the whole experience to be charming.  Sometimes the owner is there dropping off a bushel of fresh picked green beans, corn or tomatoes, but more often than not, I have the place to myself.    

There is a scale to weigh my goods and a little pad of paper, pencils and a calculator to add up my purchase. I drop my money in the green metal box on the wall, pack my produce in my own shopping bag or grab a recycled plastic bag from the holder on the shelf, and pause for just a moment to enjoy the peace and solitude that’s an added bonus of driving a little extra out of my way.

This round of grocery shopping was done, and plans were made for the squash, peppers and tomatoes.  Now...what to do with the rest.  Potato salad? Creamed potatoes and peas?  Kombu-zuke (a type of Japanese pickled cucumber)? Who knows.  Only my imagination knows.  And, I can't help but wonder what he'll have next week.

My shopping style

I like grocery shopping because I enjoy picking out the foods I need to cook, but I hate the tedium that is the act of shopping itself. However, this time of the year I rarely venture into the grocery store. I do buy milk (organic!) and browse the flyers to see who has what meat on sale (a particular favorite is the buy-one-get-two boneless, skinless chicken breast special one local store frequently offers). Other than that, there are no major expeditions to stock the pantry and deep freeze. As a matter of fact, I have vowed to get to the bottom of the freezer and back of the pantry using every last thing I may find on this sort of archeological dig. Why?  For starters, I tend to hoard, stockpile, gather - whatever you want to call it - food items and need to thin the herd, so to speak. And, secondly…from early May to late September I primarily “shop” at the local farmer’s markets and fruit stands – and there are so many to choose from in this area.

Take my latest haul. I hit one market, the Old Beach Farmer’s Market, last Saturday morning and literally spent every penny I had on me. I went for steamer clams and corn but walked away with much, much more. After I secured the clams (I paid 30 clams for 100 clams - haha) and a baker’s dozen ears of corn (as well as eight beautiful peaches and two plump ‘maters from the same stand), I started thinking how good a loaf of the fresh baked French bread would be as an accompaniment. After I picked up a loaf, I remembered the dairy stand around the corner and figured fresh butter would go nicely with the clams, the corn and the newly acquired bread.

Both reusable grocery bags were packed to the top when I walked past the organic veggie stand and spied the most beautiful red, white and blue new potatoes. Of course I needed to get a couple containers. They were $4.00 a quart or two for $7.00 tax included. I wanted to get a pack of white and a pack of blue. Alas, as I scrounged around in my pocket, I found I only had $6.90 left. The kind lady running the stand spied my pile of crumpled ones and assorted change, and I confessed my shortfall. She smiled and gave me a quarter off the register left by a previous customer. I returned the favor by leaving my extra 15 cents in the same spot and left with taters in tow.

Back home, my bounty spread out on the counter, I contemplated lunch. As is often the case, I bought too much, so I opted to skip the potatoes after all. I warmed the bread in the oven, dropped the corn in my biggest pot (with some sugar and salt added to the boiling water) and the clams in my next largest (steamer bucket installed), melted a little butter and rallied the troops.

As we feasted, I decided I liked my shopping style.  It was good for my patience, the local economy and my stomach!   

Peter Rabbit, Eat Your Heart Out

The calendar might not quite say it’s summertime, but the produce stands sure do! Strawberries are ending their run as are peas, asparagus and spring onions, but the summer bounty is starting to come in hard and fast. Earlier this week I headed out to my favorite honor system stand to see what it had to offer. Mr. and Mrs. McGregor (No, no, not their real names) had been very, very busy. Laid out for my shopping pleasure was a bonanza of veggies, so I indulged – perhaps even overindulged.

I bought a half-dozen or so beautiful little zucchinis and summer squash – not a ding or dent to be seen (yet another benefit of living on fresh and local produce) – a cabbage that would make Peter Rabbit himself swoon, a bunch of green onions, broccoli, a pound of kale, two cucumbers, and three tomatoes (I’m almost sure they are not local but they actually smelled and tasted like real, vine ripened tomatoes) and spent a whopping $11.45 (and I rounded up).

There was more to be had – little red potatoes, sweet onions, sugar snap peas, snap beans, even some pickled okra – but I was out of money.

As I dropped my bills and change into the green metal box bolted to the wall, I knew I’d be back...and soon. The corn was already knee-high and I saw more squash just waiting to be picked.

Tomorrow morning I plan to head to the Old Beach Farmer’s Market to pick up even more fresh and local produce. Check them out here: http://www.oldbeachfarmersmarket.com/

Oh, and check out the spring edition of Buy Fresh Buy Local buying guide for more ideas and sources for yummy summer produce: http://buylocalhamptonroads.org/

Spring into good eating!

Spring arrived this weekend while we were at the Highland County Maple Festival. It actually showed up precisely at 7:04am (EST) on Saturday, the 20th of March. Along with it came a few lambs, some daffodils and rain. Any other time I would lament having this much rain, but I do not begrudge the spring showers the important job they must do – and that is make my food grow!

I am fond of all the seasons and don’t really have a favorite weather-wise, but I absolutely LOVE spring for all the good eats that pop up from the rich, dark earth. After a winter of starchy root vegetables, I love a big plate of Spring Eats. I am a fan of fresh, local foods – especially produce – and eagerly await the last week of April/first week of May to make my first of many, many weekly trips to the local farms. During the spring and summer and even fall months, my dinner table is almost always topped with the bountiful harvest courtesy of area produce stands.

First up are spinach and spring onions which lend themselves nicely to several of my favorite Japanese dishes (Horenso no Goma-ae, for example). Next come the strawberries and peas. Yum! The strawberries rarely make it into any type of dish and are usually consumed immediately upon picking – a few right there in the field – although I did make a Really Good Strawberry Sorbet with a some last summer.

I also pick pounds and pounds of May peas as well as a bunch of crispy sugar snaps. Once home I like to lightly steam the sugar snaps and toss them with a little butter for dinner. Then I shell the May peas for blanching and freezing, once again finding myself nibbling on the little green sweeties.

Soon, the Hampton Roads chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local buylocalhamptonroads.org/ will begin to distribute their Spring Food Guide!  I can barely wait to see what other Spring Eats this area has to offer.  Find a chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local near you - buylocalpa.org/

And, be sure and try these delicious recipes:  

Horenso no Goma-ae

• 1lb. fresh spinach, rinsed well
• 4T toasted sesame seeds
• 1T sugar
• 1.5T soy sauce
• 3T dashi

-Parboil spinach in ample, lightly salted water until just tender. Immediately rinse in cold water and let soak for ten minutes.

-Grind sesame seeds in mortar and pestle until half ground. Mix with dressing ingredients.

-Drain spinach and squeeze out excess water. Cut into 1” lengths, mix with dressing and enjoy!

A Good Cooker’s Really Good Strawberry Sorbet

• 1.5lbs strawberries washed, dried, topped and quartered
• 8 oz (by weight) honey
• 1 cup moscato wine

• 3/4 cup water

-Mix honey and wine and pour over strawberries in large jar or other airtight container ensuring berries are submerged.

-Stand at room temperature 6 hours.

-Pour into flat-bottomed 2qt dish and freeze until solid.

-Chop into chunks and puree in food processor. Slowly add 3/4 cup water until mixture is smooth and frothy.

-Return to dish and store in freezer 1-2 hours or freeze in ice cream maker.