Restaurant Widow

2007 So Far, in Red

Busy, busy, busy - in the meantime, here's a little slideshow I put together.  Enjoy.

CSA & Columbus Farm Market Report for July 28th

Yet another lovely day, if slightly humid.  I'm sure the humidity will grow throughout the day until I have full on halo head (a condition which should be perfectly understood by those with naturally curly hair) and a nice shiny face to greet all of my guests.  I can hardly wait.  At least it's martini day (Saturday, the worst day of the week - and the last one where work is involved - is the day which ends with a dirty Bombay Sapphire martini.  The life of a waitress.  Oh well, if I had become a lawyer, Tuesday would be martini day.

So far (knock on wood), no rain on a market day.  This week, I started off at the Worthington Market, where I kept things very, very light (not very much cooking this week).  Some purple potatoes and kale at Garden Patch produce, some sweet onions from Cottage Gardens, my first little box of mixed cherry tomatoes (above) and a huge bag of basil from Mead Acres, that last of the short ribs from Up the Lane Cattle (I'm sorry if you missed it, but there's always next year), and a few peaches:

and garlic from Gillogly Orchards:

I headed to Northridge Organics for some lamb chorizo and some cute Easter egg radishes (below) And that was about it. 

I headed over to the North Market, just to sneak in and pick up my CSA box, which, this week, included salad greens, wild greens (dandelion, purslane, lamb's quarters), a zucchini, a cucumber, some shallots, a green bell pepper, and some green beans, in addition to the usual 1/2 dozen eggs.  I completely forgot that last week, we got horseradish!  Fresh horseradish!  More on that later.

And then, I came home and made this ravioli out of Trader Joe's dried cheese raviolis (a sin, according to Marcella, by the way) with garlic confit, purslane, fresh tomatoes and basil, because I was too tired (lazy?) to make anything which actually required work.  I do, afterall, have to actually work tonight. 

Roasted Three Color Potatoes, and a Little Bit on the Topic of "Good" Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Updated Friday morning for this: although they aren't my favorite place to buy a corned beef sandwhich in Columbus, I would be remiss not to mention Katzingers when talking about tasting olive oil, since they have a very wide selection and always have some out to taste. 

It has only now just occurred to me that I might never be able to write a cookbook.  I might be able to steer hungry cooks - and shoppers - in the right direction, but then I would say something like: steam for 3 minutes, toss in good extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.  Perfect!  Or, in this case, replace "serve" with "put in 450 degree oven 10-25 minutes, or until everything is browned and crispy.  Delicious!

So, when I was getting ready to write this post, upon realizing this fact, I thought I'd answer a question I received from a reader recently: What sort of olive oil do you use?  This is a loaded question, because I love olive oil, and I'm frequently torn between the cheap adequate stuff and the expensive, over-the-top delicious stuff.  One problem is that Husband, who I love with all my heart, will reach in the cupboard, grab whatever olive oil is closest, and use it for sauteing.  I know that Mario is always saying Italians would only ever cook in extra virgin olive oil, but when I've spent $25 for a half liter bottle of olive oil, I really want to save it for finishing or roasting, and not for cooking.  This is probably completely subjective, but I find that good extra virgin olive oil showcases its flavors when used in roasting (such as when roasting potatoes or, my favorite - olive oil soaked, sea-salt dusted, homemade croutons), but the flavors are lost when used to saute.  I might totally be wrong, but I've taken to hiding the expensive stuff and having cheap bottles within easy reach.

Click here to learn more about what extra virgin olive oil is, and what makes it special and good for you.  Of course, it's Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of sea salt.

You can also take my advice with a grain of sea salt, because I am no olive oil expert - I know it makes a few of your nervous when I say those sorts of things, but wouldn't you be more nervous if I led you astray?  I've learned all of these things by trial and error.  And lots of years in restaurant work.

Okay, so what kind of olive oil do I use?  First of all, please keep in mind that I have not tried every type of olive oil out there, and even I am overwhelmed by the varieties offered.  I am also a little irritated with Whole Foods for taking out their olive oil tasting bar, because I consider it quite risky to purchase a $20 bottle of olive oil without tasting it first, and it isn't as though they have someone there to help me out, like they do in the wine department.  I tend to stick with Italian olive oils, although I do frequently buy California and Spanish olive oils, and occasionally Greek.  As a general rule, and I don't mean to sound like a snob here, but I don't buy extra virgin olive oil in the grocery store. 

Heat and light destroy olive oil, so it's important to purchase it in very dark containers or in metal cans, or in something like this cool new Tetrapak I bought a few days ago at Weiland's (pictured below).  Store your olive oil away from the stove.  Of course, I am a total hypocrite here because we store it above the stove.  Fortunately we use olive oil very quickly in our household. 

Here's another caveat: I can usually buy really good olive oil at wholesale, from Chef.  So that means I spend about half (or less) what you would to purchase it in a store.  I'm going to give you some options for less expensive brands, though, so bear with me. 

My absolute favorite olive oil is Falconero (you have to scroll down, about 6 rows, left side).  I haven't found it for sale locally, but I am sure if I tried hard enough, I could convince someone at the North Market (cough-Curds & Whey-cough cough) to bring it in for me, as it is distributed locally.  You can buy it online for $26 through the link above.  My second favorite is probably Ceppo Antico, which is about $22 for 500 mg; as of last week, Ceppo was carried by Weiland's, along with other good olive oils.  I have to admit that when I have really good, expensive olive oil on hand, I have a tendency to hoard it (a bad habit I'm trying to rid myself of).  Of course, hoarding it does no good, as it doesn't last forever, or really even very long, so there's no point in hoarding.  You may as well drizzle it freely over everything that strikes your fancy, reminding yourself the whole time how happy you're making your heart.  You might eventually find, like we have, that olive oil will begin to replace butter as your fat of choice.

So what about decent alternatives?  Head to that old budget gourmet standby, Trader Joe's.  I have found 2 really great, budget-friendly extra virgin olive oils at Trader Joe's, the California estate olive oil (center) and the Italian "First Lady Reserve."  Both of these olive oils offer a nice fruity, peppery olivey flavor and cost a mere $6 per bottle.  (and here's the part where you might disagree - I remember reading on someone's chef food blog, can't remember whose, and it was a long time ago, that you can't expect to make a good mayo or salad dressing with "Trader Joe's Crap Olive Oil."  See?  That person might be right, or I might be, who knows.  That's why I began by saying I'm no expert) And, after the packaging sucked me in to the Spanish olive oil on the left, I think I've found a great all-purpose (Husband can use it for sauteing, and I can use it for roasting and finishing, in a pinch) olive oil, a steal at $12 for a full liter (left, purchased at Weiland's).  Although it's hard to see in the picture, the Spanish olive oil is tetrapacked in an octagonal container, so it pours just like it's coming from a bottle, but it is perfectly packaged to keep heat and light out.  Any of these olive oils make a nice "intro" to "good" extra virgin olive oil without breaking the bank. 

And now, another recipe!  This recipe is a great way to show off the variety of potatoes available at the farmer's markets.  Of course, I've never met a potato I didn't love, and would be happy with pretty much any sort of potato, but the variety makes things fun.

Olive Oil Roasted Tri-Color Potatoes - serves 2

1 pound scrubbed mixed potatoes - these are Peruvian blue, Red Thumb, and Fingerlings, purchased from Elizabeth Telling Farm at this past week's market
Good Extra Virgin Olive oil
Crunchy Sea Salt
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Steam potatoes - whole, mind you - for 8 minutes.  When they have cooled just enough to touch, cut each potato into fourths (I'm assuming your potatoes are small, as mine where - if not, cut into 1/2" pieces).  Place in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.  Toss to coat.  Sprinkle over salt and pepper and again, toss to coat.  Spread into one layer on the baking sheet, and roast for about 20-30 minutes, rotating pan after 15 minutes.  Check frequently after 20 minutes, just to be sure they don't burn.  Serve with meat or anything your heart desires.

Things to Do This Week in Columbus - July 25th Edition

We're being spoiled by a reprieve from the heat this week, so it would seem.  Based purely upon the busy-ness of restaurants where I work or have been this week, it seems as though the entire city is on vacation this week.  So that means it's the perfect time to get out there and eat!  As always, if I am missing an event, please email and let me know about it, or put it in the comments.  Furthermore, please feel free to add me to your press release list for upcoming events you think might fit in with my demographic.

• This week's leading even is the German Village Art Crawl.  This sounds pretty interesting - travel down Macon Avenue, where local garages will be transformed into galleries.  Maybe we should do this in the University District.  Of course, it would probably require a lot more alley sweeping, but it would be interesting, nonetheless.  The Art Crawl takes place this Saturday from 6pm - 10pm, tickets are $20 in advance, or $25 the day of the show.  Click for more details.
• Don't forget the Farm Markets Tuesdays & Fridays in Pearl Alley, between Broad & Gay streets.
• This week is the Pickerington Violet Festival.  A chance to visit one of Columbus' more charming suburbs (so I've heard, I've never been there), visitors can enjoy violets, musical performances (Eddie Money, anyone?), and a Miss Violet contest.  Victory Park, off Lockville Road in Pickerington.  Click to their website for more details.
• For big and little farmers alike, this week's COSI feature is Little Seeds, Big Tractors - learn what it takes to be a farmer in today's world.  Ongoing at COSI are 3D Dinosaurs and secrets of animation, brought to you by the Cartoon Network.  COSI is open daily through the summer, click for more details.
• This week's CAPA Summer Movie Series will feature A Night at the Opera (Wed), Lover Come Back (Thurs & Friday), Saturday Morning Cartoon Capers (Saturday morning), and Dr. No (Saturday and Sunday).  Tickets are a steal at $3.50 to spend an evening in one of the most beautiful venues in the city of Columbus.  Click for more details.
• Until September 9th, you can view the Drawings of George Bellows exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art.  The collection has not been shown in its entirety since the 50s.  Visit the museum's website for more information.
• There are lots of places to hear live music on Sundays (more can be found at the bottom of this post).  The Sunday Music in the Air series continues this Sunday at Goodale Park - bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the music from noon - 1:30pm.  More details.  Alert for boys looking to impress their dates: go to the North Market, buy stuff for a picnic, get some Jeni's Ice Cream, then walk over to the park.  See?  Cheap and easy.  Aren't those the best kind?
• Speaking of Jazz performances, this Friday's JazZoo concert is "A Night at the Cotton Club," featuring the celebrate the music of Cab Calloway and Lena Horne.  Tickets are $15 - $27.  More details.
• This weekend is the Lancaster Festival, featuring music and arts all week long, through July 28th.  Hours are Wednesday - Friday, 10am - 10pm and Saturday 9am - 11pm.  The festival takes place all throughout Lancaster.  More information.
• This weekend's Picnic with the Pops will feature a Teddy Bear Picnic on Friday, and the sounds of ShaNaNa on Saturday.  Arrive at 6 with your chairs, blankets, and picnic; shows begin at 8.  More info.
• This Saturday in Grandview is the Grandview Art Hop, from 6pm - 10pm.  Shop, eat, drink, and get some ice cream.  More details.
• This Sunday is the Powell Antique Street Festival.  Visit street vendors, buy antiques, crafts and the like, all after taking the scenic drive all the way out to Powell.  More details.
• There are two different double features this week at the Wexner Center for the arts.  Thursday's is Cleo from 5-7 and The Cranes are Flying.  Friday and Saturday will show Czech Dream and he who laughs last laughs longest.  First films begin at 7pm.  More details.  Next Wednesday at the Wex, Gus Van Sant himself will introduce his rarely-seen first feature, Mala Noche.  How exciting!  Click through for more information and to see a trailer.
• The following events are ongoing, but should be enjoyed when the weather is beautiful: you can hear free music in the park in Gahanna at Friendship park, in Worthington on the Village Green, and at Whetstone Park (all are at 7pm Sundays throughout the summer). 
• Based upon comments from previous "What to Do in CBus" posts, everyone seems to love British Invasion, which will preform at this week's Sundays at Scioto Summer Concert Series
  7-8:30 p.m. Scioto Park
  7377 Riverside Drive
  Dublin Arts Council
  614-889-7444
  7/29 British Invasion (British Pop/Rock)
• This week continues the Actor's Theatre Group's presentation of King Lear. Performances are Thursdays through Sunday at 8pm bring a blanket or lawn chair (this is becoming a theme).  Admission is free, but donations are accepted.  Schiller Park in German Village.
• Continuing also is Big Bugs! at Inniswood park.   Artist David Rogers uses natural materials to make these 10 foot ants, butterflies, and other bugs.    Click to their website for more information.

The Lazy Girl's Guide to Jelly-Making, part 2

 
I'm really enjoying this "make one cup of jelly at a time" thing (read the first installment of The Lazy Girl's Guide to Jelly Making).  I've discovered that, despite one's love for sour cherries, choosing a fruit which has a high pectin content actually makes for a more satisfying end product.  It saves all of that having to deal with pectin nonsense.  From this past week's farm market purchases, I made this lovely deep, dark jelly.  In about half an hour.  Go Lisa!  I think I've already eaten about a third of it.

Again, I can't guarantee this will work with all sorts of fruits, but most berries have a naturally high pectin content, which means you will almost always have a pleasing outcome, and who doesn't love that?  Blueberries are especially high in pectin, so pretty much anytime you add them, you will have a nice turn out.  Blueberries have so much pectin, in fact, that you can make a dessert sauce out of them with nothing but sugar, and it will stand up on its own, no corn starch or anything required.  Just put them in a bowl and toss with sugar.  Stir and let sit for a half hour or so.  Press through a fine mesh sieve.  In about half an hour, the juice will have congealed.  Easy Peasy!

But we're here to discuss this dark berry jelly - isn't it pretty?  Place one pint of blueberries and one pint of blackberries in a medium saucepan, sprinkle with about 2 tbsp sugar, and add about 2 tbsp water.  Throw in half a lemon, just for good measure (and a little acidity).  Heat over low heat, mashing with a potato masher, for about 15 minutes, or until all of the fruit is crushed.  Pour into a fine mesh strainer (again, I like to place my chinois stand over a one-liter measuring bowl) and allow the juices to strain out for about an hour.  You can stir to encourage the juices, but be aware that pressing on the pulp might lead to cloudy jelly.  After all of the juice has been extracted, measure it.  I had about 12 ounces.  Return it to the sauce pan.

Measure out your desired amount of sugar.  I have to confess I don't like my jelly very sweet, which is why making it for myself in these little batches is perfect.  I used about 1/3 the amount of sugar to the amount of juice (4 ounces of sugar to 12 ounces juice).  Add the sugar in, along with the juice of the other half of the lemon.  Simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring and skimming frequently.  Place in a hot sterilized jar, allow to cool for 12 hours at room temperature, and then refrigerate.  This sort of non-processed jelly will last about 3 weeks in the fridge. 

Housekeeping Notes

And we're back!  Typepad had a little downtime today, but we're back.  I'm sorry for anyone who was crushed by being incomunicado.  I am, obviously, totally kidding.  I mean, I am sorry, but I wouldn't think anyone would actually be crushed by...

Nevermind.  We're back!

8 Random Things

Jenn tagged me for this meme, and, since I am just itching to talk more about Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, I thought it seemed like a good topic.

So, here you have it, 8 random facts about me, Lisa the Waitress:

1. I am adopted.  The concept of familial resemblance is completely foreign to me.   
2. I have always been a complete misfit. 
3. I have always had an overactive imagination and frequently find my head in the clouds when I'm supposed to be listening to someone else.  This made me a complete joy with my teachers, as you might imagine.
4. I can't sit still.  I always thought that at some point in my life, I would learn to be calm and enjoy things such as church, the theatre, the symphony, etc.  But that never happened.  I fall asleep and fidget during even the most exciting symphonies, I can't sit still through the movies, and church?  No way.
5. I have a fear that I will wait on a reader and be horrible, which is why no one is allowed to know where I work.
6. No matter how much I tout healthy eating, no processed foods, keep things as local as possible, as fresh as possible, as simple as possible, what have you, there is a special place in my heart for really great instant Asian noodles, particularly the Indonesian varieties.  I could read the ingredient lists, the endless mentions of MSG and hydrolyzed yeast extract, and it doesn't matter.  I can't help it.  I love MSG.  You do, too, you just don't admit it as readily as I do.
7. I like hardcore rap.  And I sing along (sing along?  rap along?).  When I'm alone.  That might be the funniest thing I've ever confessed here at Restaurant Widow.
8. I HATE getting my hair did.  It's long.  It's curly.  I'm lazy, add it up.  I used to spend a lot of money getting my hair cut and whatnot, I went to a great salon and had it did by one of the coolest Cbus residents, but it was really expensive, and the lighting at said salon was really terrible.  The last time I ever went (um, 4 years ago), I sat there, looking at myself in the full-length mirror in bad light, feeling fat and ugly while whisper thin assistants swung dye-clad bits of hair into my eyeballs, then paid $250, and decided I was never going back.  Occasionally I see my old stylist and feel the smallest tinge of guilt, but at least I don't have to go anywhere to feel bad about myself anymore. 

So there you have it!  8 random things!  The last time I posted something like this a coworker came up to me and said "Um, do you really moo at cows?"  Look, I never said I wasn't a complete dork.

Here are my tag-ees.  I think this is the first time I've ever tagged someone.  Kitsune over Sopressata, Dave from Dave's Beer, Walker from the Walker Evans Effect (despite your banner. Just kidding, it's funny),  Rosie from Rosie's Kitchen, and um, see?!  I'm supposed to tag 8 more people!  I don't even have 8 virtual friends!!

What do You Eat When it's Just You?

After writing about Alone in the Kitchen, and receiving a comment from a reader who is increasingly finding himself alone for dinner, I thought I'd pose the question to you, dear readers:

What do you eat when you're dining for one?

Do you have a favorite dish you'd never fix for company?  A favorite bar you haunt for those wings you can't eat when you significant other is around?  Think the olives in your gin martini count as dinner?  Let's talk about it.

Leave a comment and tell everyone if it's something you cook, include a recipe and, if you'd like, a picture.  If it's somewhere you go, where and why.  If you'd like, you can even wax poetic on whether you like eating alone or not, whatever.  Here, if it makes you feel better, I will confess that sometimes when I'm too lazy to cook but have to eat, I will eat smoked trout right out of the can with Rohini's hot pepper chutney dumped over, and maybe a hard cooked egg.  See?  You'd never be that pathetic, right?
 

Sweet Corn Risotto

Because I love you so much, I am taking a break from Harry to write.  This morning my mom called and said "are you busy with Harry Potter?  Is that why you aren't writing?"  Chastised, I got off the phone and got to work.  I have fewer than 300 pages to go, so I'll probably even be back before the day is done.

This dish is, of course, completely inauthentic.  Why?  Because Italians don't eat sweet corn.  I don't have a written source on that subject, but when Husband was in Italy he was informed that sweet corn was "pig food."  This apparently doesn't apply to cornmeal.  I think it's a sad loss, and I'm grateful that I wound up in the Midwest (okay, I'm really in a Great Lake State, whatever), where sweet corn is a birthright. 

Here was the inspiration for this dish: last weekend, at the Food & Ohio Wine Festival at the North Market, I helped serve at a wine tasting.  The chef was Johnny Dornback from Basi Italia, and he made poached chicken; when someone asked what the poaching liquid was, he mentioned there were corn cobs in the stock.  A lightbulb went off above my head: I'll make a double sweet corn risotto!  I'll make it really light in fat to show my readers how easy it is to make risotto without loading it with butter and cream!  That will be my entire premise!  Unfortunately, I roasted a chicken to go on top of the risotto, and when the chicken was out of the oven, I poured some schmaltz over the risotto.  I couldn't help it - it was begging to be done!  And then I added a little pinch of cream.  See how honest I am?  I could have gone on and on about how low fat everything was and then you'll make the recipe and think "why doesn't my risotto look all creamy and pretty like Lisa's did?"  So, you can leave out the schmaltz and the cream, of course, if you have more willpower than I did.  Or don't have those ingredients on hand.  And then you can feel superior to me.  Go ahead, it's okay.

Risotto is really easy to make.  I mean, there's a lot of standing and stirring; it requires constant vigilance, but it's worth the reward.  I think people (read: chefs) try to make people think risotto is hard so people will be impressed and not try to do it on their own.  It's easy.  You should try it.  Keep a few things in mind: the rice will expand, a lot.  Risotto is really about a ratio: it's about 5 to one, so plan that you will need about 5 cups of liquid per cup of rice, of course, it is sometimes more than that, but rarely less.  About 1/4 to 1/3 cup of dry rice will equal a serving - it might not seem like it at first but remember, it expands.  You need 2 pots to make risotto, and a ladle, and a wooden spoon or spoonula (my favorite tool), and you need 2 free burners.  Your risotto pot goes on the front burner, and your simmering stock goes on the back burner.  Traditional risotto is finished off with a "Mantecare," a big hit of butter which is beaten in at the end.  You don't always have to do this to have delicious risotto; the nature of the type of rice used to make risotto creates a creamy, luscious dish.  You must use arborio, carnaroli, or vialone nano (which is pretty difficult to find): the starch content in these short grained rice varieties ensure a creamy texture.

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of people on TV and the like who say one can make risotto without lots of stirring.  I just can't imagine this to be the case, and indeed, I consulted the matriarch of Italian cooking, Marcella Hazan, who states "The rice must be stirred constantly so that it does not stew in the liquid and become mushy." (Marcella's Italian Kitchen, p 153 - you should buy it, it's a great book).  She even goes on to state "The fundamental technique is unalterable." See?  You have to stir.  No choice.  Marcella also recommends using a nice heavy, heat-retaining pot.  I use an All Clad 8 Quart Stainless Stockpot, but a Le Creuset pot would also be perfect for this recipe.  Don't use a light, cheap pot.

Sweet Corn Risotto - serves 4ish, but I like to make it serve 2, with leftovers

Olive Oil
1 medium red onion (or any onion), small dice
2 medium leeks, whites and light green parts, halved lengthwise and the cut into thin half moons,
4 cloves garlic, fine dice or mashed through garlic masher
red pepper flakes
1 cup risotto rice such as arborio
6 ears sweet corn
1/2 cup dry vermouth or white wine, plus 1/2 cup
4-6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock, for vegetarian version)
salt and pepper
15 sage leaves, cut into chiffonade
butter (optional) or schmaltz (optional)

On your back burner, heat the stock to a simmer.  Add 1/2 cup vermouth or white wine.  Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add a little olive oil, then add the onions and leeks and sweat them over slightly less-than-medium heat.  Stir in the garlic and sweat for about 3-4 minutes, add the pepper flakes, then add the rice.  Stir the rice until it has begun to pearlize - the grain will turn from all white to translucent with a little white spot in the center.  Deglze the pan with the 1/2 cup of vermouth and stir.  While the wine is reducing, cut the kernels off the ears right into the pan.  After cutting the kernels off, turn the knife over to the dull side and scrape the "milk" off the cob.  Throw the cobs into the stock.  Sprinkle everything generously with salt and pepper.  Add one ladelful (I use about 6 ounces of stock per addition) of stock and stir until the liquid has been absorbed.  Repeat, repeat, and repeat for about 20-25 minutes or so.  The risotto is finished when the grains still have bite but are not chalky inside.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.  Add the sage and stir well.  At this point, you can either add another ladelful of stock and stir it in lightly for a runnier risotto, or simply finish when the rice is as described above for a tighter risotto.  I like mine somewhere in between - I don't like leftover liquid, but I do like the whole mess of risotto to relax into the bowl, not to stay in a mound. 

If desired, turn the heat off and add 1/2 stick of butter, softened and cut into chunks.  Beat the risotto for 2 minutes with your spoon.  Alternatively, you can pour about 1/4 cup of schmaltz over, along with 1/4 cup heavy cream, and beat for 2 minutes.  Yum.  Eat with a spoon while still really hot.  Throw a bit of roasted chicken on top, if desired (isn't it funny how different the risotto looks under lightbulbs, above, versus outside, below):

And now, back to Harry.

CSA & Columbus Farm Market Report, July 21st

A purposefully light market day today.  Why?  Well, to be quite honest, I haven't done very much cooking this week.  I still have quite a few things leftover from last week, and I decided if we ran out of things through the weekend, I'd hit Pearl Alley on Tuesday.  I didn't even set my alarm this morning.  Of course, I don't really need to set an alarm when I have 4 cats standing on me because one of them knocked over the water bowl and everyone else is thirsty. 

The weather we've been having Saturdays this summer!  It is something else!  It's not even going to get to 80 today, so get out there and get some sunshine!  Come on, you can take Harry Potter outside (mine hasn't been delivered yet, which is probably for the best.  It was going to be a tossup between writing and reading).

Every week, I document what I receive from my farm share.  Click to discover what a CSA is.  Click here for the full index of posts, For a handy list of what's growing when, click here.

this week I only hit the North Market.  This week's CSA including some long skinny cucumbers (English?), lots of green beens, salad greens, garlic, eggs, and some more of that lovely golden squash.  I augmented this with some zucchini, also from Elizabeth Telling ("what are you going to do with all of those zucchini?! I was asked - it's only three!), some red white & blue potatoes (below), and some purslane (above).  Did you know?  Purslane is very good for you.  While it is eaten very commonly in other parts of the world, we Americans tend to think of it as a weed - it is, kind of, Farmer Sandy was telling me this morning.  It grows as a weed because immigrants brought it over.  She also informed me that purslane has a higher omega 3 fatty acid content than any other known vegetable.  As omega 3 is most readily available in fatty fish, this makes purslane a great idea for all of you vegetarians out there.  We'll investigate this healthy green later in the week.

I bought some blackberries from a farm whose name I can't remember (my apologies):

I'm sure some of you might be aware that a movie has come out which promises to do for ratatouille what Sideways did for pinot noir.  Well, the truth is, I don't really like ratatouille.  And, I, um, don't like eggplant.  Every year, I tell myself this is the year I'm going to learn to like eggplant, and every year I can't cook an eggplant well enough to make it delicious.  Well, I like eggplant parmesan (who doesn't), but I don't consider battering and frying a vegetable and covering it with cheese to actually be enjoying said vegetable.  It is just a conveying device from the cheese and bread crumbs, let's face it.  At any rate, I bought some really lovely eggplant from Toad Hill Organics, along with a nice batch of baby squash (maybe the cute factor will make this combination - eggplant included - more delicious).  If only there were red peppers ripe yet, I would be giving this ratatouille thing another shot.  A few more weeks.  At least the eggplant is beautiful:

I bought some shallots (yay! shallots are delicious!) and my weekly squash blossoms from Comb's Herbs (I promise, some pictures and recipes soon).

You know what? The coffee place in the North Market - Crimson Cup, I think, inside of A Touch of Earth, makes a really good latte.  It's a nice breakfast.  Just thought I'd throw that plug it.