farmersmarket365

How I have learned to use the food from the Farmer's market 365 days a year

Month: July, 2013

July 3, 2013

Market Basket —chapter 1

Ever not sure how to use what you see at the market?  Here is a possible market basket and suggestions on how to use the contents now and in the future.  The ideas are actually endless but one rule of thumb, keep it simple. The food tastes best when you just keep it as close to what it is as possible.

Basket One:

peanut butter, fig and onion jam, fruit jam, chicken, pork chops, ground beef, brisket, eggs, pesto, granola, arugula, Kohlrabi, swiss chard, bread, cinnamon rolls, peas, broccoli, tatzoi, nappa cabbage, summer squash, beets, white turnips, kohlrabi, carrots, garlic scapes, lettuce bok choy and green peppers

Multiple meal preparation:

  • Roast chicken with lemons and thyme, remove from bone taking one half the meat, cut up and save for future meal.
  • Cook bones from chicken and freeze for stock.
  • Braise Brisket with carrots, bock choy, garlic scapes and beets.  Divide in half, freeze one half for later,  Take braising liquid and use some for meal, the rest freeze in small portions to be added to soups or stir fry.
  • Nappa cabbage: if too big for this week, shred half and blanch (1.5 min), cool then spin dry.  Freeze to use for soups.

Breakfast

  • Cinnamon roll French toast (especially if the rolls have gotten stale)
  • Poached egg over wilted tatzoi or greens
  • Omelet with broccoli, greens, summer squash
  • Granola with milk or over yogurt
  • Toast with jam and eggs of your own choosing

Snacks

  • Granola, Kohlrabi with soy sauce. Peas and hummus, Peanut butter and bread

Lunch

  • Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
  • Salad with turnips, kohlrabi,  carrots, summer squash and either chicken or brisket
  • Sandwich with either meat
  • Egg salad sandwich or add hard boiled eggs to greens
  • Pickled beets with greens and hard boiled eggs
  • Raw veggie platter

Dinner:

  • Pork chops glazed with fig/onion jam- grilled, grilled nappa cabbage and summer squash
  • Stir fry: garlic scapes, summer squash, broccoli, swiss chard, peas and carrots
  • Hamburgers with pesto, lettuce on a roll with nappa cabbage slaw (with carrots) or carrot and beet salad
  • Pesto pasta and broccoli and tatzoi or chard
  • Nappa cabbage cooked with soy sauce, pork chops pickled beets
  • Swiss chard or tatzoi stir fry with chicken or brisket
  • Grilled pizza with broccoli, ground beef (browned) pesto.
  • Frittata made with chard that is sautéed with garlic scape, also add summer squash
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July 2, 2013

Kohlrabi- The cabbage / turnip

A huge advantage of any farmer’s market is the opportunity to try something new and each year I test run at least two.  This year I my first choice is Kohlrabi the vegetable that some say looks like a space ship; personally I think it looks like the golden snitch in a Quidditch game.  It was a risk but hey if I didn’t like it I could avoid it in the future.

The Kohlrabi is a member of the Brassica family; a group of plants that represent the amazing art of artificial selection.  Take one lone wild cabbage many years ago and create vegetables which include broccoli, turnips, cabbage, kale, and mustard greens, and of course Kohlrabi.  The physical connections are clear: the outer waxy coating of the kohlrabi is very similar to that of a red cabbage, the cross section of the stem is similar in texture and layering to broccoli and the leaves are not unlike those you would find on turnips. When you purchase the kohlrabi you are actually getting a mutated stem (the round part) with leaves on it and with the exception of the skin all of it is useful. 

When and what to buy: Kohlrabi is a cool weather plant, so here in the north east you will find it during the spring and fall markets.  It does come in two colors, purple and green (sometimes called white) and the stem should be no bigger than 3” in diameter.  Any larger and it gets fibrous, though this can be made into puree. (I talk more about this later) The stem should be waxy and firm and the leaves should look green and something you might want to eat.  –they won’t be perfect.  When you get them home remove the leaves and store separately from the stem.  If you have a root cellar, the stems keep when covered in sand, I was hoping they would freeze but from what I read they don’t like it.  I do however include them in foods that will freeze like stew and all is well.   

What to do with them?  The leaves- When you use the leaves treat them as you would Kale taking the rib out of the leaf before cooking.  I found one source that suggested the leaves be blanched before using as it removes water and makes for a less soupy sauté or when added to an omelet.  Not so sure this is necessary when adding them to stews and soups.

The stem-You can eat the stem raw or cooked.  The raw version, I think, tastes like a sweet radish and after having it taste tested at the market some say it tasted like a potato or the end part of a cucumber. To eat it raw, cut off the skin and then use the inside in whatever way you want.  Slices make a good snack, part of a vegetable platter, or just tossed in salad.  Someone suggested that the slices get paired with cheese (I was thinking a creamy gouda) or a dip of soy sauce.  You can also grate the stem and use it in slaw either with cabbage or on its own.  Because of the water content it would be good to salt it and let it stand before making up the salad.  Cooking the stem depends on how you want to eat it.  I have roasted it with other veggies, put it in stew and chili.  It holds up nicely and adds a crunch to the vegetable dish.    Boiling it like a potato allowed me to mash and/or make a puree.  The mash can be added to potatoes or even celery root for a more nutrient dense dish. It pairs very well with beef or pork.  A puree made with the older more fibrous Kohlrabi should be put through a food mill to remove the larger more fibrous pieces.  This puree can be eaten as is or saved and used to create creamy texture to soups in place of cream.   It is recommended that when you do boil the stem leave the skin on until cooked as it adds to the flavor.

Trying new foods is a challenge and risk; this is so true when you are trying to get kids to experience new tastes.  But while offering tastings at the market I ran into a really cool story.  A young girl and her mom approached the table and after a bit of coaxing we were able to get her to take “just one bite”.  She thought it was good, but then realized it was even better when her mom shared that “grandpa use to grow kohlrabi and would be pleased to hear she had tasted it”. They moved over to the vegetable stall, purchased some Kohlrabi and before she left the girl turned, looked at me and gave me a thumbs up.  In the future this girl might not eat a lot of the veggie but she certainly will have memories of sharing the food with grandpa- and really isn’t that the power of food.

Take home information

  • Try new items regularly, you just might find an unexpected taste and a memory
  • Kohlrabi is versatile and almost all the plant can be used
  • By itself or paring it with meat or other vegetables enhances the food.

Resources I used:

 

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