Timing is Everything - June

Finally, the summer farmers markets are beginning to open!  This first fruit that you will be able to find at the markets now are strawberries.  On Saturday, I bought some strawberries at the Natick Farmers Market.   And be sure to buy lots of them because strawberry season always seems to go by so fast.  Strawberries are best eaten right out of hand!  Nothing beats a fresh strawberry!  You can also use strawberries in salads, jams, and desserts.  The best way to preserve strawberries is to freeze them.  Hull the strawberries and lay them on a baking sheet and put in the freezer overnight.  Then pop them into a freezer bag and freeze up to six months.  Its a great way to enjoy strawberries beyond the month of June.

The Federation of Massachusetts Farmers Markets  has the strawberry dessert festival going on now through July 7.  Local restaurants will be preparing a special strawberry dessert and part of the proceeds will go to support Massachusetts farmers markets.  Check out the website for participating restaurants.
 
http://www.massfarmersmarkets.org/?ShowPage=FMFMCUSTOM2.aspx

Other in season fruits and veggies that you will find at the farmers market now include beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, corn, lettuce, and kale.  I have also seen radishes, lots of greens, and even some early tomatoes.  Things are starting to look up!

Farmers Market Update:

Allston/Harvard Farmers Market - opens Friday
Arlington Farmers Market - opens Wednesday
Belmont Farmers Market - opens Thursday
Brookline Farmers Market - opens Thursday
Waltham Farmers Market  - opens Saturday

Opening day at the Waltham Farmers Market

Finally, the opening day of the Waltham Farmers Market!  The Waltham Farmers Market was the first farmers market that I have ever been to and has definitely changed my eating habits.  I couldn't believe the difference in the quality of food I was eating on a poor grad students budget.  And you can't beat this place, the location is great and it's on a Saturday morning.  I quickly got into a habit of yoga, coffee, farmers market every Saturday. It is located right in the center of town and there are tons of restaurants and shops to check out.  Here I am six years later still going to this market almost every Saturday.  I check out other markets as well, but this one will always be special to me.

I made sure to clear my morning to get there early.  The market was busy and full of nice strawberries and veggies to buy.  I love Dicks Market Garden because they always have tons of good stuff.  I got some juicy strawberries, cucumbers, lettuce, and a tomato.  And because I bought the cucumbers and lettuce, I got to choose another green for only a dollar.  I tried a nice leafy green called tot soi, which is similar to spinach.  It was really delicious and I have been sauteing it with some onion and putting it in my eggs each morning.  I also checked out a new vendor from Littleton MA called Spring Brook Farm.  They were a bit pricey for me, but I bought some garlic scapes and asparagus.    Another vendor that I love is Roma's Bakery.  They make these pies, not only with fruit, but veggies too.  They are 2/$10, so I bought spinach and mozzarella and roasted cauliflower and parmesan.  They freeze well too!  I stocked up before the winter to keep in my freezer for a quick bite.  While I was there I overheard a costumer saying that he still had some of his "stash" from the fall.  I guess I am not the only one that stocks up!

Another new vendor that I am super excited about is Soluna Garden Farm, which carries herbs and spices.  They will be coming every week starting June 22.  I have bought their rubs and spices and have been very happy with what I bought.  I have tried the rubs on steak, chicken, and salmon and it has given my meals a nice tang.  They have a one acre farm in Winchester MA and do not use any chemical, pesticides, or preservatives.

At lastly, there is a new food truck that I am looking forward to trying called Kefi's Kitchen.  They use local ingredients when possible and make items from scratch.  I can't wait to try to grilled cheese throw down!

Check out the Waltham Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9:30-2 on the corner of Main and Moody Street!  I hope you like it as much as I do!


  

Natick Farmers Market

Last spring, I made strawberry rhubarb jam and strawberry rhubarb pie (using Cindy Crawfords recipe).  Both came out delicious and I have been dying to make them again.  I was also going through some recipes in Animal Vegetable Miracle and found a recipe for strawberry rhubarb crisp.  Well this is going on my baking list.  I know the rhubarb is available at the farmers markets, but its still a bit early for strawberries.  So Saturday morning I was on a mission to get some strawberries.  I woke up early to go to the Natick Farmers Market on a beautiful morning.  The Natick Farmers Market is a large, busy market on the Natick Common.  There is everything from homemade soaps to baby clothes to an abundance of vegetables.  Although I didn't get my strawberries, I got asparagus, radishes, grapes tomatoes, cucumbers, and rhubarb.  Rhubarb freezes well so when I find the strawberries I will be ready to make strawberry rhubarb crisp and some jam.

Natick has some good vendors too!  Tangerini's Farm, Flats Mentor Farm, Natick Community Farm, Samira's homemade, Cookie Lady Treats, Everything Jalapeño and Not, Bagel Alley, Q's Nuts and many more.  You can also find wine, coffee, cheese, and fish.  There are many crafts as well. One vendor that I frequent is called Kaleidscope and she has great homemade soaps made out of goats milk. She comes to the market one time per month and I try to stock up on my favorites when she is there.

Natick Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from 9-1 on the Natick Common. I love to have a good cup of coffee in the morning, so you can stop by Bakery on the Common after you buy some great stuff!

It's still asparagus season, so I have another recipe :) I brought these to a friends graduation party over the weekend and they were gone quickly so they must have been good!

Recipe of the Week: asparagus wrapped in prosciutto 

1 bunch asparagus

1/3 pound prosciutto sliced thin

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  Chop the rough ends off the asparagus and wash.  Put asparagus in a baking dish and drizzle olive oil over asparagus coating well.  Liberally sprinkle salt and pepper.  Roast asparagus in the oven for 15 minutes.  Let cool completely.  Wrap 1/2 slice prosciutto around asparagus spear.  Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Copley Square Farmers Market

Well, I am glad that I choose to go to Copley Square last Friday instead of yesterday.  It was the most beautiful day to hang out in Copley Square.  I went to this market last season and it quickly came to be one of my favorite markets, not only because of the Andrew Ference sighting, but great vendors and view!

This season, the setup of the market is a little different due the Boston Marathon Memorial.  Most of the  vendors are lined up along St. James and wraps around Dartmouth St.  Dick's market garden wasn't there on the day that I was there, but it looks like their booth may be along Boylston St.  When I first got to the market, I have to say that I was anxious to see the memorial.  So that was my first stop.  It is really beautiful, but it is a lot to take in at once.  So I had to take a break and walk around the market for a bit.  

My first stop was to Sienna farm, where everything always looks gorgeous and you just want to take pictures of everything.  They had plenty of asparagus, greens, arugula, radishes, beans, eggs, and cheese.  I picked up a bag of mesclun salad greens for $5.  My next stop was to Silverbrook farm as the scallions caught my eye.  I picked up a bunch of asparagus for $4, radishes, and scallions.  Now it looks like I can finally make a local spring salad that I have been waiting to eat for so long!  Another vendor that I love, and recently read an article about in Edible Magazine, is Seta Mediterranean Foods.  I highly recommend the hummus and kale salad.  Both are absolutely delicious!  So I had to pick those up as well.  I took another walk around the market to see what else is there.  Mostly the same vendors as last year, including Atlas Farm, Crystal Brook Farm, Iggy's Bread, Sofra Bakery and Cafe, Stillman's and many more.  I am posting the prices of what I bought because I am trying to compare farmers market prices to my local grocery store, which is Hannaford.  Both the greens and asparagus are at grocery store prices!

Okay, then back to the Memorial.  I walked around taking pictures and reading the messages that people wrote.  There is an overwhelming amount of shoes and hats with messages and also thank you messages to the first responders.  I saw many flags from other cities sending their thoughts and prayers to Boston. There were also large message boards that people wrote on.  There is chalk and markers so everyone can write their own messages on the boards.  Looking closely at it you can see the faint messages that have been washed away and more messages written over it.  Because there was so little space to write on, I made a small heart with my initials to show my support for the victims and first responders and love to my city.  For some reason, a Stanley Cup Champions hat with Martin written on it got to me and the water works starting coming.  I thought that would be a good time to head down to Roxy's Grilled Cheese.  Although it is very emotional, this is a beautiful memorial and is worth a visit.  It really shows how many people care.

I managed to calm down on the short walk to the Boston Public Library to get myself a green muenster.  Yep, its a grilled cheese with bacon, avocado, and muenster cheese.  A don't forget a basil, coriander lemonade to go with it.  I made a nice picnic for myself at the park and enjoyed this beautiful day at Copley Square!  I just love this city!

Many farmers markets are opening this week!  Happy farmers marketing!!

Recipe of the Week: Lemony Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus

1 lemon for juice and zest

2 tbsp olive oil

S&P

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut the tough ends off the asparagus and wash.  Put olive oil and lemon juice into a large baking pan.  Add asparagus and top with lemon zest and some salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for about 10-15 minutes (depending on the thickness of the asparagus).  Take out and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and put back in the oven for another five minutes until melted.  I enjoyed this with some sweet and spicy salmon and black beans, but this would go great along chicken or white fish as well. 

     

Timing is Everything - May

The month of May, such a great time of year!  The weather is getting warmer and the summer farmers markets are just beginning to open, where the asparagus should be plentiful!  I happened to take a trip to the Copley Square Farmers Market on Friday and I was able to find some rhubarb, radishes, scallions, leafy greens, such arugula and spinach. Something else that I found which I have bought in the past are garlic scapes, which are the tops of the garlic plant and edible just like the bulbs.  Now that I am writing about these, I wish I bought some on Friday.  You can use garlic scapes in place of garlic in any dish that you make.  They taste great chopped and tossed into a salad, add to a pasta dish, or even in a salad dressing.  I guess I will have to go back to get some!

Rhubarb is a great in-season fruit that should be available in the farmers markets.  Rhubarb is a very tart fruit which is often paired with sweeter fruits, such as strawberries, or paired with a sugary dessert like a pie or crisp.  Last spring, I made Cindy Crawford's strawberry rhubarb pie, which I found in a magazine, and strawberry rhubarb jam.  I hope to make both again this year because I was very happy with the results.  Other things to know about rhubarb...it stores well in the crisper and be sure to cut off and discard the leaves because they are toxic.  Rhubarb is also good for you and has tons of calcium, vitamins, and antioxidants.

And lastly, make yourself a great salad with the greens, radishes, and scallions that are available now.  Maybe make a fresh salad dressing with garlic scapes.  Gotta love the month of May!

Farmers Market Update:

Lots of summer farmers markets are starting to open!  Here is a list I have so far that are currently open:

Copley Square - T/F 11-6
Natick - Saturdays 9-1
Charles Square - Fridays 12-6 and Sundays 10-3
SoWa - Sundays 11-4
Central Square - M 12-6
City Hall Plaza - M /W 11-6
Dewey Square - T/F 11:30-6:30 (opens this Friday)

And the list should continue growing!!
  

      

SoWa Open Market

I was so excited to hear that Tempo Bistro in Waltham is doing a rhubarb tasting menu for the month of May.  So I suggested to my husband and my brother-in-law it would be a great place to go on Saturday night!  Tempo is an American style restaurant where the food is local and the menu changes frequently to accommodate the seasonal changes.  It is one of my favorite restaurants in Waltham.  Tempo often features food from Waltham Community Farm, which they did for the rhubarb tasting!  You can't get much more local than that!  Of course, I had to get the featured strawberry rhubarb cocktail.  For an app, we got the tuna tartare, which was not part of the rhubarb tasting, but had fresh micro basil from Waltham Community Farm.  It was so fresh and delicious and went well with the tuna.  For dinner, I had organic salmon served with a potato hash, which included the local rhubarb, cabbage, and bacon.  We were so stuffed from our dinner that we didn't have room for dessert, but I am sure that I can talk someone into going back with me before the end of the month.  Any takers?

The next morning, I woke up early to head out to SoWa Open Market!  This is a great Sunday morning/afternoon event to check out.  There are four parts to the market including the food trucks, farmers market, vintage market, and the arts market.  This is a great market to get some food and walk around to check out everything it has to offer.  There was also tons of dogs too, so feel free to bring your dog and walk around.

My main focus was the food trucks and the farmers market, although we did browse around the vintage market.  I am not going to get into vendors for this post because I urge you to go check it out for yourself!  However, I can tell you about my experience.  My friend was super excited about this bakery out of Hyannis and she tried a salami butter sandwich and raved about it.  I, however, was holding out for the food trucks.  I continued my mission for some asparagus.  It may be a bit too early for some of the farm because I was unsuccessful in my hunt for asparagus, but I am hopeful that I will find some this coming weekend.  I did go home with a purple basil plant!  After the farmers market, we headed over to the food trucks.  I was hoping to try bon me, but the line was too long.  Another food truck that I have been following is Area Four.  The line was shorter and the menu looked great!  I ordered a classic flat bread with asparagus (found the asparagus!) and a pistachio cookie.  This was made with prosciutto, cheese, arugula with a lemon vinaigrette.  Everything was delicious!  The prosciutto was sliced super thin and the vinaigrette paired well with the arugula.  And one last thing about the market, parking is tight, so take public transportation if you can or go early to get a spot.  My husband was upset when we were driving around for 20 minutes looking for parking.

SoWa Open Market is open on Sundays from 11-4 and is located at 460 Harrison Ave in Boston.  It is a great way to spend your Sunday!

Recipe of the week:  Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
I made this recipe last summer.  I didn't have my canning equipment ready in the spring, so I froze the rhubarb and strawberries and the consistency of the jam came out great!  I found this recipe on food.com and made some changes to it.  I hope to make it again this spring before the weather gets hot!

2 Cups chopped rhubarb
4 cups chopped strawberries
3 cups sugar
1 lemon zested plus juice
1 packet liquid pectin

Add rhubarb, strawberries, and sugar in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Add lemon zest and juice and cook for about 15-20 minutes (the temp should be around 220F).  Add pectin and cook for another 5-10 minutes.  This jam can be put into jars and processed in a water bath, if you want to preserve it, or you can store it in the fridge.
    

      

Cambridge Winter Farmers Market

When I went to the Cambridge Winter Farmers Market, I couldn't buy too much because I was going to New York City for a few days, but I still wanted some local snacks to bring along.  My new obsession, Q's nuts is at this market so I picked up some cayenne mango cashews, which I love, and also sweet and salty and chocolate almonds for my husband.  I stopped by red fire farm because they had frozen green, red, and yellow peppers, which I am fresh out of in my winter freezer stash.  They were also selling popcorn kernels, which I have yet to see at a farmers market, so I picked those up as well.  Another great find is Soluna Garden, which sells spices, rubs, and tea.  I bought some spices from them at the Wayland Winter Farmers Market and was very happy with their spices, so I bought a sweet chili pork rub and garlic pepper.  I haven't tried the pork rub yet, but the garlic pepper is great to use on scrambled eggs, chicken, or salad.  Other great vendors you can find include coffee trike (I love the heart in my latte!), Jordan Bros Seafood, Follow the Honey, Lillac farm, Silverbrook farm, and many others.

Cambridge Winter Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from 10-2 at the Cambridge Community Center.  There is a garden on the outside of the building, which I thought was fantastic! Unfortunately this markets last day was yesterday, but that means that we have the summer markets to look forward too!  Cambridge has quite a few summer markets that will be opening shortly.  Two markets that I know of are the Central Square Farmers Market and Charles Square Farmers Market.  Central Square is open on Mondays starting May 21 and Charles Square is open on Fridays and Sundays starting May 20.  And June 19 starts Harvard University's farmers market.  Many good things to come!

And now let's talk about my trip to NYC!  This was a surprise trip to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary and my husband surprised me with tickets to see The Chew!  It was a Hollywood themed show, so we had to wear our best clothes, plus with Clinton Kelly there we would have had to dress nice anyway.  We got to see Brooke Shields (yes, she is gorgeous in person) help Mario Batali make short ribs and then Michael Symon made Halibut with chips made out of root vegetables, a possible project for me in the fall.  Another great part of out trip was celebrating our anniversary at BLT Steakhouse.  We had some fabulous tuna tar tar with avocado and soy sauce and smoked bacon on a popover.  If that wasn't enough we had delicious fillets with asparagus and truffle mashed potatoes.  My next project will be replicating the truffle mashed potatoes because they were out of this world.  And finally dessert, we ordered apple crisp, but also got the "legendary" chocolate peanut butter mousse as a surprise for our anniversary, which we started devouring before I got to snap a picture.