Restaurant Widow

When are the Markets Starting & What's Available When?

It's hard to believe that it's time again to talk about going to the markets, but here we are.  The sun is shining, it's over 70 degrees out, and we have charcoal waiting to be used up.

I've received a few emails about when the markets open, and what to expect at various markets, and I thought I'd answer market related questions all at once, for everyone.

North Market: There are already a few vendors at the North Market, so I suppose it's safe to say they have already begun.  Again, it's mostly herbs, greens, and plants at this time.  The first major market event will be Cinco d'Ohio, which takes place May 3rd.  Cinco d'Ohio is an event which highlights all sort of great Ohio products.  And the next day, Sunday May 4th, is the first of a new event at the market: Artisan Sundays.  The market will be teaming up with local Ohio craftspeople on the first Sunday of each month.  It's a great chance to get out and buy some super cool locally-made items.  And, of course, May 17th is the Apron Gala, the Market's annual fundraiser which includes lots of local food, beer and wine. 

Worthington Farmer's Market: there is one more Worthington Winter market.  The last scheduled market is April 26th.  The regular market begins Saturday, May 10th with the Plant Fest.  This is early in the season, so usually you might expect to find a lot of greens and herbs, and tons of plants for planting.

Clintonville Farmer's Market: there is a preview of the market on Saturday, May 3rd, where farmers will be bringing plants to start your own garden.  There will also be some early Spring veggies.  The regular market begins Saturday, May 24th.

Pearl Alley Farmer's Market: there have been some shake ups at the Pearl Alley Market over the past year.  I'm not quite sure what is going on, because their website hasn't been updated since 2007, but last year they started June 1st, so let's just say it's they'll maybe begin the first Friday in June.  If you know that to be otherwise, please let me know.  The Pearl Alley Market is a weekday market - it takes place from 10:30a - 2p on Tuesdays and Fridays.  This market includes artisans as well as farmers and food producers. 

Westerville Farmer's Market: takes place in downtown Westerville on Wednesday afternoons from 3p - 6p.  The first market will take place on Wednesday, May 7th.

The Bexley Farmer's Market: takes place across from Capital University on Saturday mornings beginning at 10am.  Again, the website is not updated, but last year in began on July 14, so, let's say a reasonable guess is July 12th?  Again, if you know, please let me know.

Again, if you have any additional information, please let me know.

This is a reprint from last year - What's Growing When:
This is, of course, just a guideline, so don't get bitter when it's July 10th and there are no tomatoes  yet.  For a listing of specific (average) dates, please visit the Pick Your Own Ohio website.

May:  Asparagus, Broccoli, Greens, Peas, Radishes, Rhubarb and maybe Strawberries (late)

June:  Asparagus, Beans, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Green Onions, Greens, Lettuce, Peas, Radishes, Rhubarb and Strawberries

July:  Beans, Beets, Bell Peppers (late), Blueberries (late), Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery (late), Cherries, Cucumbers (late), Eggplant, Grapes, Green Onions, Greens, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Peaches, Radishes, Raspberries, Squash, Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, Watermelon

August:  Apples (late), Beans, Beets, Bell Peppers, Blueberries, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumber, Eggplant, Grapes, Green Onions, Greens, Onions, Lettuce, Peas, Peaches, Pears, Potatoes, Radishes, Squash, Strawberries (second, smaller season), Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, Watermelons

September:  Apples, Beans, Beets, Bell Peppers, Blueberries, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cantaloupe, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Grapes, Green Onions, Greens, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radishes, Raspberries (second season), Squash, Strawberries (second season), Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watermelons

October (with most things decreasing rapidly in their availability except greens, which are just getting better):  Beets, Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Green Onions, Greens, Lettuce, Peas, Pears, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radishes, Squash, Turnips

Things to do in Columbus::April 16th Edition

I hope it's safe to say Spring is here, but I'll say it really quietly, just in case mother nature is listening and is in a bad mood.  But, according to the weather report, there's no more frost in the foreseeable future.  The trees are blooming, some flowers are out, and I'm walking to work today.

So, if your taxes are done and you need to relieve the headache, get outside and get some fresh air!  Sunshine makes everything better!

As always, if there is an event I am missing, please email me or leave it in the comments.

• First up, this Saturday is the CCAD Spring Student Art Sale.  This is one of my favorite events.  I keep saying we are going to have more art in our house, and this is a great opportunity to buy some fabulous art for studen prices.  It's also cool to meet the students, and see the prolific amount of art they produce to take place in this event.  I can't find the event listed anywhere on their website, but it costs $5 and takes place at the Loann Crane Design Center (Cleveland & Long).  $50 gets you early entry (8:30am).  Call 614.224.9101.
• Tomorrow night (Thursday) is Third Thursdays in the Short North!  All of the shops will be open until at least 9pm, giving visitors a chance to shop a few stores which might typically only be open during regular business hours.
• Celebrate Earth Day at the Statehouse this weekend by exploring fossils in the rocks used in the building of the Statehouse.  The tour, guided by a geologist, takes place on Friday at noon.  The Statehouse is also hosting a Student art show from Columbus students in K - 12.
• You can also celebrate Earth Day in the Short North by cleaning out your basement and getting rid of all of that junk you don't know what to do with.  It will be a good opportunity to get rid of some things in a green way - electronics and the like.
• Have a weekend of piano film at the Wexner Center: As part of their Milos Forman retrospective, the Wex will be showing Amadeus on Friday, and on Saturday & Sunday, see Note by Note:The Making of Steinway L1037.  Some of us are piano nerds, and would find that fascinating!
• This weekend is the Glass Axis Spring Art Sale.  You can also make your own pulled glass flower for $35.
• This weekend is another opportunity to mix your Puccini with your popcorn at the Polaris Rave Theatres.  The San Francisco Opera brings us Madama Butterfly this time around.
• This Sunday is the Columbus Toy & Comic Show at Vet's Memorial.  Admission is $3.  Comic Book nerds unite!!
• This Saturday is Agora at Junctionville Studies.  This is one of those fun art events I can never attend because I'm always working on the weekends, but I thing the Junctionville space is really cool, and they've had some great events so far.  Agora starts at 3pm.
• This week in drinking news, Spagio Cellars' tasting this Thursday will feature Spring Wines.
• and in more drinking news, if you have always wanted to create your very own beer list, consider this your chance to become part of the process.  The Columbus Beer Wench has teamed up with Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails for a community-created beer list.  The event is this Sunday at 5pm and costs $15, which includes beer and sweet potato fries.

Now get out there and have some fun!

                                                                                       

In Which Lisa the Waitress Finally Tries Soup from Northstar

Anyone who has been reading my site for awhile, or who knows me, knows how much I have taken Northstar to task for not having soup available.  So it was funny when they finally started making it a few months ago - I receive a flurry of emails and text messages, pictures from iPhones and everything "Lisa!!  Did you know Northstar has soup now?!!!"

Thanks, faithful readers.  It took me awhile to get to Northstar to try out their new soup, and in the meantime, there was a lot of hubbub over the fact that the new soup sold for around $8 a bowl.  Could it possibly be worth it?

This past Saturday, for no particular reason I can think of, I was getting ready for work and then realized it was 3pm, I was ready for work, standing at the bus stop, when I realized I was over an hour ahead of time.  I decided to stop off at Northstar for a little pre-work lunch and email answering.

By the way, a cup of soup is available for around $5.  I ordered a veggie burger with a cup of soup instead of salad and a coffee.  I think there might be a slight discount when ordered this way, because my total was $15.  It is a little high for lunch, but if you consider I can only eat half of the veggie burger at once, and have the other for a mid-shift snack, then I suppose it isn't so bad.

The veggie burger was good as always; I really love the Northstar burger.  How about the soup?  The soup was good.  Made from canned tomatoes and dosed with a good bit of olive oil, the soup tasted nice and tomato-ey.  It was topped off with lots of crumbled toast bits, a little scoop of lightly spiced olive relish with basil and Parmesan.  It was a tasty soup.  Was it worth the price tag?  I'm not sure.  $5 does seem a little high, but it is a good soup.  Even the best Sicilian tomatoes are only about $3 per 28 can, and that's retail, at a specialty shop.  A 28 ounce can would made around four 4 ounce servings, with reduction factored in, so with toast and peripheral ingredients figuring $1 per serving (which is high), even at $3 a can, we're looking at around a 500% markup (400% profit), or a food cost of 20%.  I will admit, that does seem a bit greedy.  I haven't seen the bowl of soup size, so I can't say if it's worth $8 or not.  But, keep in mind that I calculated these prices based upon retail, and Northstar is paying wholesale for their ingredients.  Of course, I didn't factor in the labor, either, and considering there are always around 6 cooks in the kitchen, I'm guess that is mostly what you are paying for.

So, that being said, value is in the tongue of the eater.  I can't say I necessarily felt ripped off by my $15 lunch, except that I forgot to eat the other half of my veggie burger at work, and my busser ate it instead, I did feel a little let down with the soup, because I felt as though I could make an equally delicious soup at home.

I like Northstar.  I think their success has made them a little lazy in the idea department; I can't eat there as often as I'd like, because you can only eat the same things so many times before they grow old.  If there were anything I would change, it would be expanding their menu by having around 5 specials per day, and not the same specials every day.  But I suppose they might say why mess with a good thing. 

info: Northstar has 2 locations: 951 N High (Short North) & 4241 N High (Beechwold)

First Market Report for 2008!!!

Saturday morning was the Columbus Half Marathon.  Nothing like waddling through a bunch of whisper thin runners early on a Saturday morning . . . just kidding, of course; congratulations to all of those who ran (to be true, when I was arriving at the market, the winners were finishing or were at least very close; I don't know the exact route).

There were a few farmers out at the North Market this morning - Toad Hill Organics, where I bought some eggs and arugula (which will make a great salad with some nice bacon I bought this week at Weiland's); I also bought a few catnip toys from someone else, who I can't remember right now (I'm rusty, folks!!)  The kitties were very fond of the toys, and began rubbing them on their faces from the moment I stepped through the door.

I went into the Market, just for a few minutes - the house is clean, and we are having a wine tasting Sunday night, so cooking is restricted at Chez Widow until everyone is gone!

I stopped into the Greener Grocer to see if they had morels (not yet, but soon!) and discovered they are carrying Snowville Creamery Milk!  Which is delicious, and local.  It's also less expensive than the Ohio Organic Milk, which is about $5 a half gallon.  Snowville was $3 for a half gallon:

I also bought some hot sauce from the Sauce Cartel.  I love hot sauce, and I had heard of them but hadn't tasted it yet.  I made the mistake of tasting the first variety which sounded good to me, it of course turned out to be the hottest, and I loaded it on; it was a slow burn, but tasty - nothing a little sample of ice cream from Jeni's couldn't calm.  The guy from the Cartel was telling me how they like to use a lot of fruit for the sugar content and flavor, creating a hot sauce which has a strong, full flavor first and then goes into a slow burn.  it was pretty good, and I have a few good ideas for it . . . (right now I've just been pouring the mild sundried tomato & chipotle on anything that will sit still long enough)

And then it was off to Worthington for a brief stop, where I saw my favorite mushroom man! (Jim Rockwell from Toby Run Mushrooms; he'll have shitakes first week of May, FYI) and bought the oyster mushrooms, pictured at the top of the post which Husband is currently turning into bruschetta to go with our vino tonight (18 wines! Yikes!)

Restaurant Widow's Sunday Suppers Updates

Okay, someone else sort of came up with that name (thanks, DW!), but I like the way it invokes a thought of a family cooking and eating together - like in Soul Food.

First of all, someone has offered us a GREAT location.  I couldn't have asked for anything better.  It will be absolutely perfect and I know you will love it, too.  I am working hard on a menu and I think I've secured some great recruits to help out.

Thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in attending.  So many, in fact, that I am going to create a lottery system.  I will email everyone who has emailed me by this Thursday.  That will give everyone a chance to let me know if you can come on June 8th or not, and then I will draw names.  Those who are wait-listed will be given first crack at the July dinner.

I will be setting up a password-protected PayPal site where you can pay your fee.  I would ask that you pay by June 2nd, which will give me time to pay for my goods and will give me plenty of notice to invite a waitlisted guest if someone has to cancel. 

I will be sending more detailed information to lotto winners in by email.

I am trying very hard to keep dinner afordable ($50/person). 

Announcing Restaurant Widow Educational Dinners

In an effort to help you navigate the farmer's markets and learn simple dishes to create with your finds, I am planning a series of summer dinners.  Here are my thoughts so far - I look forward to hearing your imput if you have any ideas, including a space for these events. 

• The dinners will (probably) take place on Sunday evenings.
• Unfortunately, because I do not have unlimited resources, I can't offer these dinners for free; however, I will make every attempt to keep them as low-cost as possible by begging some of my favorite restaurant workers to lend their services for free, or at least for food & wine.
• These will not be cooking classes per se, however the recipes for the dinners will be provided at the event.
• I will provide resources for finding the ingredients used.
• It is my plan at this point, to focus on a particular market for each dinner, although because you know me, you can expect them to include items from the North Market, and the Worthington & Clintonville Farmer's Markets.
• These dinners will focus very heavily on seasonal, local ingredients.  At this point, I have translated some traditional recipes to use local ingredients.
• Husband will provide a brief education on each beer or wine selected for each course.
• Dinners are limited to around 16 people.  20 if demand is high and you are willing to wait a few minutes between courses!
• Ideally I would like to limit the dinners to people who I don't hang out with on a regular basis; because you have to listen to me ramble on ad nauseum.
• I would also like to limit these dinners to non-food bloggers, for the same reason as above, and because most of you are already pretty well educated on local foods.
• The basic layout of the evening will be:
  arrive, meet & greet with a cocktail and light canapes
  brief introduction on the season we are in & ingredients used
  each course will have a brief introduction on ingredients, farms, inspiration for dish, and discussion of wine pairing from Husband
• There will be around 4-5 courses.
• I promise you will get your money's worth.
• The first dinner is planned for Sunday, June 8th.  I really wanted to start in May, but with Memorial Day being the last weekend, and being unsure what will be availale earlier than that (with the late start our farmers are getting), June 8th it is.  Expect lots of strawberries and asparagus.
• There will be no free passes for press members, not surprisingly.  I can't afford to bring anyone for free.
• If you have an idea for a location, say an empty loft apartment with a fabulous kitchen and view, for example, please let me know.  Galleries would also work, although room for a kitchen would be good.  Obviously, the cheaper (or free-er!) the rental the better.
• Please let me know any and all of your suggestions/critiques/criticisms/ideas/cost limitations/etc.
• If you have any interest in being the high end of a sliding-scale payment, so that those with more financial restrictions can attend, please let me know; this will be on the honor system, so I'd ask people to not take advantage of the kindness of others.
• If you are a farmer who would like to be featured, please let me know!
• If you would like to attend a dinner, please send me an email.

There will also be a limited number of spots to join me for shopping on Saturday morning; this will include a tour of the farmer's market chosen, which will be very helpful if you are new to farmer's marketing.  Must be willing to get up very early and walk fast!  You will also get a behind-the-scenes look at the process I go through when shopping - how to get inspired by the market, the finished dishes I see when looking at raw product, etc.

Okay!  let's see how it goes!

Where to Find Things

I am sorry I didn't specify where to buy the ingredients for my Monkfish Cheeks & Morels!

Both were purchased from Weiland's.  They had halibut cheeks ($18/pound) and monkfish cheeks ($14/pound); cheeks can be few and far between.  I have also purchased halibut cheeks in the past from Whole Foods.  You can interchange the two, but halibut cheeks are much more delicate and don't take as long to cook as monkfish.  I would probably only cook them 1 minute per side.

Morels were also from Weiland's.  Don't let the $60/per pound scare you.  I bought $11 worth and it was plenty.  There were about 12 morels.  They are hollow, and mushrooms don't weigh very much anyway.  You can probably also find morels at Whole Foods and the Greener Grocery.  These are white or "blonde" morels, black morels are more common.

When shopping for morels, look for soft morels which are feel slightly spongy and aren't dried out.  It can be hard to find nice-looking morels, so if you find some and they are all dried out, kindly ask the produce manager when they expect a fresh shipment.

Updates to Things to Do

Every week I keep a running list of things in my head to add to the "Things to do" list, and every week I forget all of them.  Here are a few I remembered or of which I was reminded:

• This Saturday is the "Open Market" at the UU Church in Clintonville.  The Open Market features crafty moms selling their crafty wares.  The Church is located at 93 W. Weisheimer, market from 1p - 3:30p.
• This Saturday is also another Winter farmer's market in Worthington at the Griswold Center.
• OEFFA members & nonmembers alike are invited to learn to make mozzarella this Sunday.  Click for details - you even get to take your mozz home with you!  Fire up the pizza oven!

Morels & Monk Cheeks on Toast

Ah, Spring.  On Monday Husband & I celebrated by sewing grass seed (blech), weeding (blech), and grilling for the first time!  YAY!  I love the first grilling of the season.  I had to race to Weiland's to make sure I got a bag of real charcoal.  Seriously, nothing is better than real charcoal.  It makes everything so delicious.  Whilst at Weiland's, I was standing at the fish counter, trying to find something I might be able to grill.  Alas, Copper River Salmon was $37 a pound.  So I started thinking maybe we'd just have some seafood for an appetizer. 

And my eyes landed on Monk Fish Cheeks!  Now, I am quite a fan of cheeks - I've written about halibut cheeks before, so I won't go on and on about how you should eat cheeks.  Suffice it to say that cheeks are delicious.  And I love monkfish. But I've never had monk cheeks before.  I wasn't even aware there were cheeks on a monkfish.

I think I might have said before that monk fish is a great starter fish if you are nervous about cooking fish.  It isn't really thin and flaky, so it won't fall apart when you try to turn it, it withstands overcooking pretty well, and it has a mild, sweet flavor and aroma, so it won't stink up your kitchen.

You could make this recipe with a regular monkfish filet, but you might want to slice it into medallions before cooking, to keep everything small. 

The toast isn't necessary here, but I've been baking a lot of bread yesterday and we made grilled bread with olive oil, so we just topped it with the saute; it is nice because the toast sucks up all of the butter morel-y goodness and is very tasty to eat after the topping are gone.

This would be especially delicious with fresh chive flowers, as soon as they arrive in farmer's markets!

Monkfish Cheeks & Morels on Toast - serves 4 as an appetizer

1/4 pound Morel mushrooms, or other flavorful mushroom such as shitake or maitake
4 monkfish cheeks, or halibut cheeks, or 1 8 ounce monkfish filet
6 tbsp butter, cut into 1/2 tbsp chunks
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
3/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp lemon juice

Here's a little lesson about morels: they contain a lot of bugs.  And sometimes worms.  Just be forewarned.  If you are given to fits of formication, you might want to ask a loved one to cut the mushrooms for you.  When I put the morels onto a plate to photographed, I looked away and when I returned to them about 2 minutes later, the plate had about 30 tiny little jumping bugs on it *shiver*.  But it's okay.  Slice each morel in half lengthwise and place them in a colander in a bowl.  Fill with water and drain.  Repeat until the water is clean and bug-free (it might take up to 10 rinsings).  Forget all that nonsense about the mushrooms retaining water.  You are going to use them immediately and the water is going to cook out anyway.

When the morels are clean, trim off the root end.  Bring a nonstick pan to medium heat and add 1 tbsp butter and a bit of olive oil.  Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to brown lightly.  If they give off any water, turn the heat up to high and saute until the water has evaporated.  Remove them to a bowl and set aside.

Pat the monkfish cheeks dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tbsp butter and a little olive oil.  When the butter has melted, carefully add the cheeks (they should sizzle).  Cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until they are nicely browned.  Add the white wine and cook until it has reduced to about 1/3 cup liquid.  At this point, the cheeks should be done; they should be firm to the touch.  You can check the doneness by inserting a sharp paring knife into the center; hold if for a second and then remove and touch the knife to your tongue or lip (carefully!) if it is hot, the fish is done (now you know a secret kitchen secret!!).  Remove the cheeks to a plate and add the remaining butter to the white wine in the pan; stir lightly with a whisk and then add the lemon juice.  Add the cheeks and morels back to the pan and toss to coat.  Serve over toast, drizzling with any leftover sauce.

Congratulations: you've made a delicious appetizer and learned how to make a pan sauce!  Woot!

Things to do in Columbus::April 9th Edition

The joy of sleeping with the windows open, and waking up to hear a light Spring rain and an entire jungle's worth of birds singing - I think Spring is here.

Okay so there are a few cold days in our future, but I think all in all, I thing it's safe to say Spring is here?  (you really hate to say that too loudly around these parts, we could have snow in a New York minute.)

Now that we've discussed the weather, let's discuss the events!  As always, if you have something to add, please leave it in the comments section.

• The Capital Pride Concert Band presents its Spring Concert, Life's a Stage this Saturday at the Capital Theatre.
• This Saturday is another opportunity to see an opera performance without all the fuss of going to the opera: Saturday at Rave Theater (Polaris), you can see the San Francisco Opera perform Don Giavonni.
• To get some culture in your life without being stuffy, Broadway Across American presents the Tony Award Winning puppet adventure Avenue Q, which features full puppet nudity, according to the funny billboard at Goodale & 4th St.
• Bring your little princess to the Princess Tea Party this weekend at the BalletMet performance space and have your picture taken with the heroines from BalletMet performances. 
• Learn about the struggles for freedom and the part the Kelton House played in the Underground Railroad this weekend at Second Sundays:Trails of Hope.
• This weekend is the Health & Fitness Expo at the Hyatt Regency downtown, and also the Cap City half marathon.  Have fun, all of my crazy marathon running friends!  I'm glad I'm here to make you look better!
• Chamber music, anyone?  Chamber Music Columbus presents Artemis String Quartet at the Southern Theatre this Saturday.
• The Wexner Center celebrates the work of filmmaker Milos Forman this week with a screening of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (and next week with Amadeus!).
• Also at the Wexner Center this weekend, a collection of rare film from the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Vaud-villities, the singing and dancing extravaganza, takes over Vet's Memorial this weekend.
• Next Tuesday is another Columbus Underground Happy Hour at MoJoe in German Village.
• This week at Sur la Table, learn to host a Spring Tapas party, about the global pantry, cooking light, the Mexican kitchen, attend a chocolate workshop, and learn to cook with beer!  Click over to their calendar for more information.
• This week at Whole Foods Dublin, you can learn all about gardening all day Saturday.  You can also learn about natural allergy relief, green spring cleaning, and Monday's Secret Ingredient will feature local products.  Speaking of local products, beginning Wednesday, April 23rd, Whole Foods will have a community market and festival featuring items from local producers.  I'm glad to see they decided not to try to compete with our established farmer's markets this year.  The OSU store still doesn't have a functional calender.