Medford Winter Farmers Market

For all the prosciutto fans out there, I went to the Salty Pig with my father for dinner last week.  The restaurant has a great selection for craft beer and wine plus we had a prosciutto feast!  For the appetizer, you can select what you want for meat, cheese, and, jellies and marmalades.  We picked two different types of prosciutto, one aged and one smoked, with cabot cheese (because I had to have something somewhat local!) and a gouda style goat cheese.  Then we chose to add marinated olives and jalapeno jelly, which I love!  But we didn't want to stop there.  So we got a pizza with prosciutto, roasted red pepper, tomato, and mozzarella.  There is also an option to add a fried egg to our pizza.  We had a discussion about this trend that we have seen pop up.  I have heard of adding a fried egg to a burger and my father had it on a crostini, but I have never had it on pizza.  Since we both like to keep up with the times, when the waiter asked if we wanted to add an egg to our pizza, we did!

Of course, before I went to the Salty Pig, I went to the Medford Winter Farmers Market.  Bring your jacket because this market is located in the parking garage at the Hyatt in Medford.  There were some good vendors that I knew I would see here, Romas Bakery, which has great giant cookies (good for bribing my husband to come to the market with me) and delicious pies.  There are sweet pies such as blueberry, strawberry rhubarb, and apple.  They also have pie like italian cold cut, thanksgiving dinner, and spinach and mozzarella, which I may even have in my freezer!  Another vendor that I am very fond of this winter is Silverbrook Farm out of Dartmouth, MA.  They have a variety of root vegetables as well as greens.  You can also buy honey, jams, and eggs too!  At this market there were lots of treats, which I don't typically buy, but I figured that I would splurge and try the Cookie Lady.  Thanks to Sweet Lydia's, I have been a s'more junkie lately, so I bought a package of petit s'mores.  It was a nice treat to cozy up with a hot chocolate and a s'more when it was snowing out on Saturday.  Other vendors include Stillman's, Big Sky Breads, C and C lobsters and fish, Coastal Vineyards, Q Nuts, and VESTA pizza.

Unfortunately, today is the last day of the Medford Winter Farmers Market, but they do have a summer market on Thursdays from 3-7.  I'll keep you posted when I hear the details.

Recipe of the week:
Healthy Shepherds Pie

I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it is worth sharing.  It uses a lot of root vegetables so it would be easy to find these local this time of year.  I used local kale, onion, and carrots, omitted the peas, and used butter instead of greek yogurt.  Next time I will try to use more local ingredients, but it still came out great!!

http://soletshangout.com/skinny-shepherds-pie-gluten-free/

            

Egleston Farmers Market

Is anyone else feeling the winter blues?  It feels like it has been the longest week and I have wanted to sleep through most of it.  I find myself looking through the summer farmers market pictures on my phone and wanting some of those great summer flavors.  Actually, correction, I looked at the pictures on my phone until it broke.  I never thought that I would be one of those people that would flip out if my phone broke, but I guess I was wrong.  It was not a huge deal, I was able to upload all of my information to my computer.  While my husband was doing this, he said, "why are there so many pictures of vegetables on your phone!"  So now I have my husbands old phone with little to no pictures of vegetables on it.  That all changed when I went to the Egleston Farmers Market!

Egleston Farmers Market was a great find! And I wouldn't have found this market if they hadn't started following me on twitter.  There are some great vendors at this indoor market.  They had two guest vendors, Neighborhood Farm and Brookwood Farm.  I bought some onions, watermelon radish, and dried hot peppers!  I am so excited to try the hot peppers in some chili.  All you have to do is drop it in the chili to get some great flavor.  Also, I have never had watermelon radishes before so this will be a new treat!  If you are looking for some meat, there is Stillman's Farm and John Crow Farm.  I am stocked up on meat this week, so no need to buy anything this week.  For treats, there was the Cupcakory and I also saw a place that sold fudge too.  Foxboro cheese co is there and right next to them was Valicenti Organico to by sauce and pasta.  And this was also the first time that I tried hummus at Seta's Mediterranean foods.  I have to say that it was delicious!  Instead of buying hummus, I bought some kale and chick pea salad.  I can't get enough of my leafy greens lately, so I knew that would be a great meal this week.  And while you are shopping or just hanging out you can get a cup of coffee and listen to music. 

Egleston Farmers Market is located in Egleston Square in Jamaica Plain on Saturdays from 11-2.  It's a great market and go hungry because you can stop by the food truck and get something delicious for lunch.  This week Mei Mei food truck was there and I got some oolong tea and cheese and leek bread pudding.  And their food is made with all local ingredients!!

Recipe of the week:  Roasted Cauliflower

I got this idea while I was watching the Chew this week (it is my latest obsession).  Daphne Oz was making a roasted cauliflower recipe.  I decided that I wanted to try a simple recipe to really taste the flavor and then maybe next time I will play around with some spices.  But Daphne gave me this idea of getting that nice carmelization around the edges of the cauliflower.  This recipe is delicious and super easy.  I though that this was close to tasting like french fries, however, my husband disagreed.  He said that if they tasted like french fries, he would want to eat these with ketchup, which he did not.  Then, later on in the evening, my dad said there is no way that cauliflower would ever taste like french fries.  Regardless, these are delicious and I recommend trying this recipe.

1 head of cauliflower chopped into same size pieces (so they cook evenly)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Wash and cut the cauliflower into same size pieces.  Liberally coat with olive oil so all the pieces are covered.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put in a roasting pan and cover with foil.  Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes and uncover.  Continue to roast stirring every 10 minutes until the cauliflower has that nice brown color.  It took me about 30 minutes total.

Natick Winter Farmers Market

Before the big Christmas feast, I got the chance to stop by the Natick Winter Farmers Market.  I remember going to this farmers market last winter, but I like it even more this winter.  There were two produce vendors and I got so excited to see the tomatoes that I forgot to get the name of the vendors.  One vendor has my favorite juliet tomatoes, which is a tiny tomato similar to a grape tomato.  I sampled one and it tasted just like summer.  There were also plenty of collard greens, scallions, potatoes, carrots, and parsnips.  The other tomatoes that I bought were a little bit bigger than the juliet and came in red and yellow, another favorite summer time treat.  I put those tomatoes in my winter local salad that I served on Christmas eve.  I was excited to see boxes of nice mixed greens and bags of baby spinach that also went into the local salad.

Other vendors at the market include The Cookie Lady, Fior D'italia, Naragansett Cheese, Nobscot Cheese, and several vendors with goodies such as jam, fudge, breads, pickles, and soda.  I also saw some coffee as well, but I had already had my morning cup at that point.  

I was very happy with this visit because I was able to get everything I needed for my winter local salad.  I like to eat a lot of salad and I now know where to get everything this winter to continue eating local.  The Natick Winter Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from 9am-1pm and located on Union Street at the Leonard Morse Hospital.  Parking is easy and there are signs to get you to the market.  In the parking lot, there is a vendor, Chestnut farms, which sells beef, pork, and chicken.  Go check it out!

Recipe of the week:  Tomato Jam

The first time I tried tomato jam was last summer.  It has a very unique flavor of the sweetness of tomatoes, but a little flavor with the basil.  This is a recipe I found from the food network and made over the summer.  I brought this to a New Year's Eve Party and it was a big hit.  Serve with some crackers and goat cheese.  If you find some winter tomatoes, try it out.  If I can find some good tomatoes and may make more for some gifts ;)

2 1/2 lbs. fully ripe tomatoes (about 5 large)
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons snipped fresh basil (I saw basil at the Wayland Market today!!)
1/4 cup sugar
1 (2 ounce) package powdered fruit pectin
2 3/4 cups sugar

Peel, core, and de-seed tomatoes, then chop.  Place tomatoes in a large pot (at least 6 quarts) and heat until boiling, reduce and simmer about 10 minutes.  Add lemon and basil and combine 1/4 cup sugar with the pectin and stir into tomatoes, heat to a boil.  Then stir in remaining sugar and return to boil.  Remove from heat and skim foam with a spoon.  Ladle into sterile mason jars, leave 1/4 inch head space and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Home canning does come with risks, so be sure you do your research before trying this out.  You can always make the jam and serve the same day or put it in the fridge.  Check out www.foodinjars.com for some great canning tips.

Brookline Winter Farmers Market

Well, it's been some time since my last post.  It's seems to be a combination of not having any farmers markets to go to and being in a routine of working long hours.  I did find some time to stop by the Brookline Winter Farmers Market two weeks ago.  It's a indoor, small market in the Arcade building in Coolidge Corner.  I went thinking I could go to the market and then stop by the nearby trader joe's to stock up on wine and goodies.  I have had better ideas than tackling Brookline on a Sunday afternoon.  Parking was tight and trader joe's was jam packed with people.

The vendor's include Stillman's Farm, Silverbrook farm, Cape Cod fish share, the Cupcakory, Nella pasta, Samira's homemade, and clear flour bakery.  I stopped by Stillman's to get some lettuce, tomatoes, and breakfast sausage.  Stillman's has a variety of roots and greens, but also sell meat.  For those not to familiar with Stillman's, they are advertising their holiday meal samplers or you could order a fresh turkey for your holiday meal.  Next, I stopped by Silverbrook Farm to get some scallions, carrots, and kale.  The farms are full of beautiful root vegetables and fresh greens this time of year.  I like to make a beef stew filled with various root vegetable for a fresh, warm winter meal.  Samira's homemade is a delicious spot to stop for hummus and other mediterranean goodies.  For those that like something sweet there is cupcakes and they looked pretty good.  I also saw some hot chocolate, but didn't get the name of it.  Overall, if you live in Brookline, this would be a nice weekly trip to get your local veggies during the winter.  The goal of the market is to have a farmers market for all four seasons!  If you feel like being adventurous and battling a crowd, check out the Brookline Winter Farmers Market on Sundays from 12-5 on Sundays.

I have also been compiling a list of winter markets to shop at this winter.  Here is what I have so far:

Brookline Winter Farmers Market - Sundays 12-5
Egleston Farmers Market - Saturdays 11-2 ( I have been following this market for some time and I am dying to go)
Somerville Winter Farmers Market - Saturdays 9:30-2:30
Cambridge Winter Farmers Market - Saturdays 10-2
Natick Winter Farmers Market - Saturdays 9-1
Wayland Winter Farmers Market - Saturdays 10-2
Medford Winter Farmers Market - Thursdays 3-7
Framingham Winter Farmers Market - Thursdays 12-5:30

These all the markets I know of in the Boston area.  If you know of other ones in your area, let me know and I will add it to my list!!  Keep in mind that some markets do not open until January.  It makes it hard to eat local in December!!


Recipe of the Week:  Homemade Cranberry Sauce from foodinjars.com ( I doubled the recipe since I was going to multiple dinners)
I made this homemade cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving.  And I can't take all the credit because my husband helped, as he reminded me of this all day on Thanksgiving.

10 cups cranberries
6 cups white sugar
2 cups apple cider
juice of 2 lemons

Put all of the ingredients in a large pot on medium high heat until the cranberries burst.  Get a large bowl and a strainer and push the sauce through the strainer, leaving the cranberry skins and seeds in the strainer.  This sauce can be canned, but I put the sauce in mason jars and put in the refrigerator since I would be eating this the next day.


My thanksgiving goodies!!

Union Square Farmers Market

When I met Carl Hills, owner of Kimball Farm, he told me about the Union Square Farmers Market in Somerville, one of which I have yet to go to, until last Saturday.  He said it is one of their craziest markets, where it is only open for four hours, it gets busy.  I have never been opposed to a little craziness in my life, so I took up the challenge, and off to the Union Square Farmers Market I went!

I am a big fan of Somerville to begin with.  I love tiny cities with so many restaurants to eat your way through.  I also like farmers markets on Saturday mornings, so Somerville just earned a couple points in my book.  Of course, Kimball farm was there, which was my first stop.  My mom, who has been quite the farmers market shopper these days, came with me and she has never been to Kimball farm.  So I had to tell her about the bags of mixed greens with flowers that I love to buy from them.  I like to mix these bags with a head of kale to add some extra goodness to my salads.  As I am saying this, a man working there asks me if I massage my kale.  I have never heard of such a thing, but I am intrigued by this question.  Take some parchment paper, put the kale between two sheets, and gently roll over the kale with a rolling pin.  It is suppose to make it sweeter, so I have a new project and a little lesson to take with me.

So now off to walk around the market!  There are several smaller vendors such as Drumlin Farm, Flats Mentor Farm, Hollis Hills, and Hutchins farms.  If you are looking for some specialties there are Stillmans Farm (for your Thanksgiving turkey!), Fiore Di Nonni, Iggy's Bread, Robinson Farm (cheese and meat), Seta Mediterranean Foods, and Taza Chocolates.  I just remember thinking, there are a lot of "no no's" at this market.  Regardless of my thinking, I went over to Taza Chocolate.  At a wedding I went to a few weeks ago (I believe I wrote about the centerpiece), taza chocolate was the favors.  I got salted almond and it was delicious.  My plan at the market was to get some more, but as usual I get distracted by something else.  The woman that worked there was very nice and told me about the cinnamon disks, which make great hot chocolate.  As a hot chocolate lover, she didn't have to convince me anymore.  Needless to say, the recipe of the week is Taza hot chocolate!

Union Square Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from 9-1 in Somerville.  The last day of the market will be Saturday November 17 and I heard there is a winter market in Somerville.  I will be posting more information about winter farmers markets as the fall season is quickly coming to an end.

Taza Hot Chocolate

One disk of taza chocolate (I used cinnamon, but any flavor you like will work)
2 cups milk or water
1 pumpkin spice marshmallow from sweet lydia's (optional)

Boiling 2 cups of water (or milk).  Grate or chop the chocolate.  Slowly stir in the ground chocolate into the hot water.  Top with a marshmallow to make the chocolate a little frothy.  Enjoy!

 

A little Wedding Bliss

So we survived the three weekends in a row of weddings of all good friends.  It was such a fun and exciting time, but a little to busy for my liking.  I am happy to say that I am sitting in my favorite coffee shop, sippin on a dark roast, and blogging, a hobby I have not done in some time.  And as I am sitting here, I am watching the vendors and volunteers pack up the Waltham Farmers Market.  I really have nothing to blog about accept weddings, since that has been my life lately.  I went to the farmers market today for the first time in three weeks!!  I was hoping to go to the Kennebunkport Farmers Market while I was there last weekend, but I didn't have the heart to ask the bride to stop at the farmers market between hair and make-up on her wedding day ;)

I have been fortunate that I can stop at Strawberry Hill Farm on my way home from work and continue my local lifestyle.  I also talked my husband into taking a detour from Maine last weekend and going to Springdell farm to stock up on meat and veggies.  It was a much needed trip and they still have some tomatoes too!  Things seem to be settling down at the market these days.  I couldn't find any red tomatoes today, only green.  I bought them anyway because I love to pickle these.  There are many root vegetables such as celery root, carrots, parsnips and there are the greens such as kale and swiss chard too.  Apples seem to be plentiful as well.  

With all the wedding fun, I managed a way to connect my blog and the weddings!! There appears to be an fantastic trend of putting fall vegetables in centerpieces and bouquets and I have found the courage to cook them!  Every wedding for the last three weeks has had either basil, kale, artichokes, and plums!
At one of the weddings I got to take home the fabulous centerpiece full of plums, kale, and artichokes!  And of course, I had to cook it!

The first thing I did the next morning was chop up the kale.  I like to try to sneak kale into dishes so my husband doesn't notice.  I chopped up the kale and sauteed it with some olive oil, onion and garlic.  Then I added some great northern beans and served it with some fresh fish.

The real challenge was the artichokes.  I love artichokes, but I'll admit that I buy them canned.  With the help of you tube, I was able to figure out how to cook this beautiful vegetable.  I made grilled artichoke with garlic mayonnaise.  The first steps are to peel the stem, cut off the top, and trim the leaves on the choke.  Then cut in half.  Here's the tricky part, scooping out the seeds.  The seeds are super small and are covered in these feathery like strings, which get all over the kitchen.  And the video makes it look so easy, just scoop it out with a spoon.  Well I had my knife in there and tried to cut it out.  By the third artichoke, I found the best way to do this was cut a half circle with a knife and scoop it out with a spoon and put some muscle into it!  After you have the fun with the seeds, steam the artichokes on high heat for 5 minutes and then low heat for 25 minutes.  Be careful when you take them out, I squished one by accident.  Set on a plate and brush both sides with some olive oil and sprinkle a little S&P.  Grill on each side for about 2 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy.  These really were good especially to dip in the garlic mayo.  The garlic mayo is simple to make and you can do it while steaming the artichokes.  Take one half cup mayo, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and mince two garlic cloves and mix well.  If you are up for a little challenge, try it out!  I hear butter or mustard goes well with artichokes too!

And those plums... those were great as is!  A sweet late night snack after getting home from a night of dancing.

So I guess I managed to eat this centerpiece!  Congratulations to the happy couples!!


Before...

After...

It's fall and the livin's busy

So 3 weddings in 14 days and 2 babies being born during that time.  Let's just say that life has got in the way of my farmers marketing.  But here's a big congratulations to all and you know who you are!

With all the excitement, I was able to squeeze in a visit to the Waltham Farmers Market this past weekend before the trip down to Narragansett RI for the wedding.  This time of year you can find the best fall foods, such as butternut squash, spaghetti squash, pumpkins, apples, pears, peppers, brussel sprouts, and maybe if you are lucky you can find some corn.  I was fortunate enough to find some hot peppers too!  Over the summer, I canned some hot peppers and I saved the brine to pour over my salads.  I get home one night and my husband informs me that my spicy brine has spilt all over the floor.  I knew that it would be hard to find hot peppers this time of year, but when I found some from Dick's Market Garden, I stocked up.  Now that I know these can be canned and/or frozen, why not?  Several people came up to me to ask me what I was going to do with so many peppers!  To be honest, I may have gone a little over board, but I figure the worst that could happen is that some of these beauties end up in my freezer.

One of my favorite veggies this time of year is spaghetti squash.  I personally think the best way to eat it is pour some olive oil on it and top with some parmesan reggiano cheese.  However, I saw this recipe on the Whole Foods website and I just had to try it.  I got many comments on it during lunch time this week!

Recipe of the week:  Spicy Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans

1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno seeded, minced
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sweet corn
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/3 cup cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon salt

Cut the ends of the squash and slice length wise.  Place squash, cut side down in a pan in 1/2 inch of water.  Roast in the oven, covered, at 375 for 45-50 minutes.  When cool, scoop out flesh with a fork, leaving the shell in tact for stuffing.

For the filling, hear oil in a large pan and saute red onion, jalapeno, and red pepper for 2 minutes.  Add beans, corn, and chili powder, saute for another minute.  Add cooked squash, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.  Cook about one minute until heated through.  Fill squash shells with mixture.

If you don't feel like making the mixture, follow the instructions to roast spaghetti squash, scoop out flesh, mix in some olive oil and top with parmesan reggiano cheese.  Yum!