Restaurant Widow

Market Report::June 5th

 
 Saturday morning was actually a bit cool - kind of refreshing, actually. Of course by the time the day was over, it was swelteringly hot and humid and by the time I was at work I thought there was a very likely chance I might die of heat stroke.

But, on with the market.  This week I failed completely in my effort to take note of the provenance of each item I purchased.  I apologize heartily.

It was a kind of brief trip this week; I was mostly keeping an eye out for things to use for my first cooking podcast! There were lots of strawberries (it certainly hasn't been the greatest year on record for strawberries, what a disappointment) and asparagus. I kept my marketing confined to Clintonville, mostly due to laziness and lack of funds.

I was rather surprised to see so many cherries at this week's market - perhaps it's because it's been so hot so early this year, or maybe I'm just imagining things, but it seemed a little early for cherries.  Nonetheless, I bought a pint each of bings and Ranier (are they still Raniers if they are grown in Ohio?).  Later, I saw some beautiful sour cherries at the Elizabeth Telling stand, but by then I was unfortunately out of money.

I stopped off at Wishwell to buy some broccoli and asparagus:

 
 I was pleased to discover what I think might be a newish farm this year - my attendance at Clintonville was sporadic last year - Swainway Urban Farm.  The people running the booth reminded me of lots of friends of mine - mellow and laid back.  At any rate, I was happy to see they were selling delicious delicious pea shoots! I love those! These were real shoots - no flowers yet.  I also like the tendrils so, Swainway people, if you're listening...tendrils and flowers are delicious too.  Swainway was also selling shiitake mushrooms! Last week, Toby Run didn't have any shiitakes yet, so I was happy to see some at Clintonville:

 
I really think that's about it.  Most of this week's loot went into the stir fry Husband made for himself whilst I was working last night, but it all looked wonderful.

And what did you get this week, Kitties?

Inaugural 2010 Market Report

 

Cue the birdies chirping. I think it's officially Spring.  We might be a few weeks away from our safe planting date, but the trees have leaves, our jardin potager is back with fennel in force, sage, oregano, and mint, and I heard a rumor that the very first local asparagus spears are arriving in restaurant kitchens.

I wasn't really planning on going to the market this week (I've been enjoying sleeping in, I'll admit it), but at work this week Chef shared a plate of this amazing arugula which Tim from Toad Hill Organics had just brought by the restaurant, and after one taste I knew it was time to start heading back to the market.

I braved the drizzle and headed to the North Market.  It was a light wee - just a bag of arugula, a dozen eggs, and a bunch of chives from Toad Hill.

Husband turned the arugula into a simple salad to go with frozen pizza, and I'll be turning the eggs and chives into a pile of creamy scrambled eggs tomorrow.

Nothing crazy, but isn't it nice to get back to the markets?

Did you venture out?  What did you get this week?

Market Report for July 25th

 I just love this time of year. Everywhere you look there are amazing things at the farmer's market - apricots, white peaches and nectarines, blackberries and blueberries, sweet corn, the first of the heirloom tomatoes, sweet onions, zucchini galore, cucumbers, green peppers, cauliflower - it's hard to think when confronted with all of these delights!

I've missed the last few weeks of farmers markets, so I was going to set out early this morning.  When my alarm sounded at 7:30, I lay there, pondering hitting snooze, when a giant clap of thunder sounded; that being a bit of an answer, I snuggled into the covers with a few cats and promptly went right back to sleep.

I love this sort of weather, especially in the middle of the summer.  While the days drag on and on when like this in the wintertime, I love it when it's warm and rainy.  Except for the fact that I don't own an umbrella currently.

Before I get into the market report, here's a funny story.  Frequently on Saturday mornings I go to the drive-through at the bank and then directly across the street to Crimson Cup for my latte (another thing I love about this weather in the summertime - hot coffe).  This morning I went through the drive through, had my money out, and arrived to the pickup window.  Without having stopped at the order window.  I pulled up and handed my money over; the barista had a surprised look on his face and I suddenly realized my error!  I missed the whole ordering part! I said! Clearly I need some coffee!  We both had a good laugh and, after ordering, I was on my way, latte in hand.

Sadly, that's kind of par for the course for me sometimes.

At any rate, I finally rolled into the Worthington around 10am, crossing my fingers for some white necarines, my favorite fruit ever (well, in July and August, anyway). For this reason I headed directly to Gillogly Orchards, where I scooped up not just 2 quarts of white nectarines (top of post) but some apricots as well! It's rare to find good apricots - anywhere, let alone locally - but these seem to be pretty good this year.  The flesh was firm and they are just lovely with their subtle blush:

I stopped by 2 Crows farm, seeing what I thought were black currants; they ended up being garden huckleberries, but I bought them anyway.  I can't say they are necessarily the most delicious berry I've ever eated raw, but after some research it seems they are good when cooked with a good bit of sugar, which I am trying even as I write.

I was happy to see lots of peppers at the market; they are still green this time of year (and with this weather) but I picked up quite a few at Wenger Produce for snacking and maybe pickle-making.  I'm really hoping to make some hot pickle relish this year, so that I can make it exactly to my specifications (lots of cauliflower and carrots, with some hot peppers thrown in for good measure).   From Wenger I also snagged some zucchini and cucumbers.

I bought my first heirloom tomatoes of the year, some Sungold cherry tomatoes from I think Yoder farms. Boy those things are amazingly delicious.

I stopped off at Saum's for some bi-color sweet corn and then grabbed a bouquet of sunflowers from Sundog to take to work with me.

Well, after all that writing about yummy fruits and vegetables, I think I'm ready for some lunch!

So, what did you get this week?

Attention Farmers Who Need Websites

Dear Farmers - if you need a website which is easy for you to update but you don't have the time or energy to do it, I am offering a few farmers my services for free.  I don't create earth-shattering websites, but for a few years now I have been wanting to provide this service. I can take pictures of the vegetables, fruits, and animals you offer, and we can also set up email newsletters if you would like.

I created this very basic mockup to give you an idea of what I could offer you.  If you are interested, please drop me an email to LisaTheWaitressATgmailDOTcom.

Saturday Farm Markets & Hills Market Event

Don't forget to go to the Winter Farm Markets tomorrow!!

Columbus Winter Farm Market.

Worthington Winter Farm Market.

Tomorrow is also Ohio Food Day at the Hills Market!  Lots of stuff to see and taste.

CSA & Farm Market Report for November 15th

What a miserable morning it was yesterday!  As much as I was tempted to stay in bed, it was my week to pick up my Elizabeth Telling CSA, and I figured that if Sandy the farmer was willing to get up in the freezing cold at the crack of dawn to drive all the way here and stand in the cold for 5 hours in the freezing rain, the best I could do was eat my veggies!  Especially since we are winding down for the season.

The market was light, as to be expected, and it was full of apples, greens, and potatoes!  My CSA included tiny little purple kale leaves, eggs, potatoes, a nice fat pumpkin, and cabbage!  I bought some lovely aromatic arugula from Toad Hill Organics, and I stopped by Wishwell Farms too pick up some broccoli and cauliflower, and then to Wayward Seed, where I picked up some wild arugula and these lovely watermelon radishes (aren't they beautiful?):

It's sad to see the ending of the growing season, but it will be nice to sleep in on the odd Saturday.  Don't fret, though, because there are still some chances to eat locally over the winter.  You can stock up now - if you have a dark, cool place, you can store potatoes, root veggies, and squash throughout the winter.  It's also a great time to think about your strategy for eating locally next year.  Maybe you can think about saving up for a CSA, getting a FoodSaver or another sort of preservation device, buying a freezer to store your local goods throughout next winter - there are lots of way you can begin to plan if you didn't get as local this year as you'd like to.

CSA & Market Report for November (?!) 1st

*sigh* so many lasts today.  The last Clintonville market, the last week of my Wayward Seed CSA, last week I'll be up before the sunrise (okay, I'm not too bitter about that one).  I always forget that around this time of year the sun doesn't rise until 8 or later.  It always fools me into thinking I have more time to sleep than I really do.

But the morning was warm and sunny, and I was up so early that when I drove past the Clintonville market this morning, they weren't open yet, so I went on to Target and took advantage of the after-Halloween candy sales (coworkers were bitter I didn't bring any candy to work on Halloween; until then, I wasn't aware that was part of my job description).

I stopped off at the Clintonville market to pick up my Wayward Seed Farm CSA, which included collard greens, lettuce, potatoes, beets, carrots (above), and acorn squash.  I stopped by the Little Farm to pick up a stalk of Brussels sprouts (yum!)

And then I was off to the North Market, where I bought what might be the last of my Toby Run shitakes of the season, and my Elizabeth Telling CSA, which included cabbage, turnips (top of the post), chard, carrots, and potatoes.

And then, I was off to Thurns.  More on that later.

So, what did you get today?

Call for CSA Info/Ratings/Reviews/Desires, etc.

Dear Readers, especially CSA owners and farmers:

You would not believe how many requests I get for CSA information.  This year, I totally slacked on getting together my yearly CSA list together, but now that I know I have lots of readers who own CSAs and use them from various farms, I have a big list from which to pull.

As a group, I would like to compile a list of all of the CSAs available in the Central Ohio area.  I would also like to include what you have received in your CSA - not every single thing, but an overview - how many you think it will feed, how you've used it, what you liked, etc.

If you are a farmer, please let me know if your farm has a CSA and the details as well as website/contact info that you don't mind if I put on my website.

This will be a sort of Zagat-style review format.  I will gather info and update it as we go along.

What is a CSA? You might be asking.  CSA stands for Community Supporte Agriculture.  You invest in a farm in the winter - plan to spend around $500 - and receive produce for the entire growing season.  You will pick up your produce somewhere - usually a farm market, but sometimes at a veg co-op.  Although the initial investment might seem big, it averages out to be pretty reasonable for knowing you will always have fresh produce.

You are also supporting your local food system and economy and giving the farmer a chance to earn money up front to invest in the year's crop. 

So, please email to let me know all about your CSA!

CSA & Farm Market Report for October 18th

Alas, another post with no pictures (yet), so please forgive me.  Here's the excuse: I have a really hard time sleeping when the weather changes.  I am fine for about 4 hours and then I just wake up and lie there, making up recipes, thinking about my upcoming dinner, entertaining a rotating variety of cats, and wishing I could fall back asleep.  All of that to say that I woke up at 9:45 and didn't get to the markets until after 10.  Oh well, you'll have that. 

Here's another pathetic excuse: Typepad spell check isn't working at the moment, so please, forgive any errors.

First up I stopped by the Clintonville market, where I picked up my Wayward Seed Farm CSA - which included eggplant, peppers, lots of cute little potatoes, acorn squash, and leeks.  I also forgot that last week I got lots of sweet potatoes!  YUM.  I stopped by My Little Farm for some tiny white pumpkins and some fresh horseradish - something I've only ever seen in my Elizabeth Telling CSA, so that was pretty exciting.  I also picked up a few more Honeycrisp apples and a few of a new (to me) variety - mutsu - which is a light green apple which apparently is even more delicious than the Honeycrisp.  I'll let you know.

I stopped by Snowville Creamery to chat with my friend Jen - she is working to do some food-related worskshops with Simply Living, stay tuned and I'll provide more updates - and I met Daniel from Petite Boulangerie, who shared with us some butter that he had whipped by hand (freak) from their heavy cream; it was very tasty, epsecially with one of his epi baguettes.  (Confidential to Petite Boulangerie - would you be interested in baking some extra bread for my RW Sunday Supper? I don't have your contact info - or if anyone has it, please send it to me.)

Then I was off to the North Market, where I will now publicly apologize for forgetting that I was supposed to volunteer for Chef Tetzloff's cooking class.  Market Market, please forgive me!!!  And let me know if there are any baked goods which will make it up to you!  please?  I am flakey, I'll admit it right here.  You know I would never knowingly blow you or Chef Tez off!!

I picked up my Elizabeth Telling CSA, which included eggs, a pumpkin, potatoes, braising greens, tomatoes, a pumpkin! and certainly something I'm forgetting.  I'm going to be visiting her farm on Monday!!!  Hooray!  I'll take lots of pictures, some for Sandy and some to share with you.

I bought my mushrooms for the week from Toby Run, and stopped by Toad Hill to see what was going on - he had Jerusalem artichokes!  If you haven't had Jerusalem artichokes, aka "sunchokes," you should really try them some time.  They are delicious.  They have a kind of savory potato flavor, but a crisp texture similar to water chestnuts.  They are kind of a pain to peel, but worth the effort, I think.  I'll try to come up with a recipe sometime this week.

I think that was about all for my Saturday, which started out COLD.  Even with a long-sleeved tee and a hoodie, I was freezing.  And I'm always hot.

So, readers, what did you get this week?  OH, by the way, a reader told me she tried some pumpkin quark at Blue Jacket Creamery!!  Yum!

CSA & Farm Market Report for October 11th

What a nice day today.  Perfect.  Is it just me, or are the trees changing really early this year?  Am I just getting old?  Resistant to the coming Autumn?

Whatever the case, it's still 80 degrees today, so no complaints from me.

I slept in today and only hit the Clintonville market, where I picked up my weekly supply of Gretna Grillin' cheese and cheddar curds from Blue Jacket Creamery.

Global Gallery has taken over the space where the flower shop used to be at High and Orchard, and it's really nice.  If you are looking for fair trade coffee and inexpensive sculptures, textiles, and baskets, it's a great place to stop by.  They were serving coffee outside of the shop today.

I also picked up my Wayward Seed CSA - and I'll post pictures soon.  Today's share included green tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, kale, and a nice big squash I haven't seen before.  I'll have to look into what sort it might be. 

I also bought some kabocha squash today, my favorite for eating and soup making.  Who knows what form it will take this week?

So, what did you get this week? 

CSA & Farm Market Report for September 20th

I really love this time of year.  I know I keep saying that, but what a lovely morning it was yesterday.  And today.

Since my fridge was forcibly emptied by my 4 days hiatus from electricity, I have plenty of room now for veggies and things. 

Sidenote - thank you to everyone who was concerned about my stores of food.  Amazingly, everying stayed frozen in my deep freeze. (Way to go Whirlpool!)  Nothing leaked, no mess, I was really surprised.  Pleasantly so.  The freezer in my fridge didn't fare so well but the truth is, it really, really needed to be cleaned out, so the big thaw was kind of welcome.

I wasn't planning to go to Worthington, but at the last minute I decided to stop by to try out Sassafras bakery; owner AJ had emailed me a week or so ago and I was interested in tasting some of her goodies.  I picked up a cinnamon roll, which was amazing, and an heirloom tomato tart, which was also very good.  I was nice enough to take it to work and share it with my coworkers.  Because we are restaurant workers, we ate it cold, straight from the box, but we all agreed that it would make an amazing light lunch reheated in the oven (as suggested by the baker) and drizzled with a little good extra virgin olive oil.  So, if you are planning a brunch anytime soon, I would highly recommend picking up on of her tarts at the market.  The sage cornbread also looked amazing; I'll have to try that sometime soon.  I'm really disappointed in myself that I didn't take any pictures; next time, I promise.

Since I was at Worthington, I also stopped by Garden Patch Produce to stock up on some more of their delicious garlic.  While I was there I was enticed by these "Brown Beauty" sweet little peppers:

Then I was off to Clintonville, where I bought some ground lamb at Cota farms (disappointed they don't have duck eggs at the market anymore.  I've been dreaming of some duck egg salad).  I also picked up my Wayward Seed CSA, which included potatoes, chard, hot peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, a new variety of squash (top of post) whose name I have, of course, completely forgotten.  Also included were eggplants and tomatillos and probably something I'm missing.  Fruits for the week included lovely pears, apples, and more yummy plums.  Those plums - Stanley plums? why do I keep forgetting their name? - are so tasty.  Very sweet.  I should bake them into something soon.

And then I was off to the North Market where I picked up these kohlrabi from Rhoades:

and my Elizabeth Telling Farm CSA.  This week's share included eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, chard, green beans, basil, and I'm sure something else:

I hope to do a little bit of cooking before I leave for Orlando.

So, friends, what did you get this week?

CSA & Farm Market Report for September 13th

Stop the presses.  It's 8:30pm on a Saturday and I am sitting on my sofa, in my pajamas.  I have already eaten dinner (Pita Pit, YUM - schwarma and falafel), have already had a Hitachino (Japanese beer) at Bob's Bar, I've driven to Plain City, visited my Grandma, gone to the Clintonville Farmer's Market and Weiland's to buy brisket (an uncharacteristically meat-filled day, but really, who can resist the brisket at Weiland's on a Saturday morning?).  I should take more Saturdays off.  Usually, the joy of visiting the farmer's markets on Saturday mornings is completely overshadowed by having to work on Saturdays.  Ask any waitress, and she will tell you.  The only thing worse than waiting tables on a Saturday night is doing it on a Sunday morning (listen up, folks, if you are out to eat on a Sunday, tip 40%; it really is the worst day to work).

At any rate, for those of you who aren't in Columbus, you might be wondering why am I at home on a Saturday?  Did I get fired? Make so much money be paid off by restaurants to give them good burger reviews?  Ill? No, no, don't worry, you will find me at work for the vast foreseeable future.  There is an Ohio State game tonight.  8pm games render the city completely vacant, except for sports bars.  Numerous restaurants are actually closed tonight.  And so Husband and I find ourselves with an entire Saturday evening to ourselves! 

Where am I?  Oh!  Market report!  So, a little history - my family has pretty much the definitive Amish apple butter recipe.  You can find it here and there, but always at the Shekinah Festival, in Plain City Ohio.  My dad is something of an apple butter fiend.  So I agreed to brave the wilds of the country to buy Dad's yearly stash of apple butter - 24 pints.  This is how nice people in the country are - a man in a piece of farm equipment (a Gator, which is kind of like a tough golf cart) drove me and m y 24 pints of apple butter through the mud, to my car, and wouldn't accept a tip.  It's a strange place, the country. 

At any rate, visiting Plain City and then my frail little 90 year grandmother (who nonetheless asked me what did I plan to buy at the Farmer's Markets this morning), I was a little late to the markets (too late for doughnuts!  sorry babe!)  This was fine because I am gearing up for next week's RW Sunday Supper, so I knew it would be a light cooking week.

I really only made it to the Clintonville market today.  I bought some various apples for my friend Kelly, who is making an apple pie for our friend, former RW Supper Chef, and future Bocuse d'Or USA comis Seth, whose birthday is Monday.  I bought some nectarines, and I bought a ton (okay, 25 pounds) of tomatoes for my next supper.  Tomorrow I plan to make some tomato soup.

My Wayward Seed CSA this week included: sweet corn, red cabbage, tomatoes, small fat little eggplants, peppers, and potatoes.  The fruit CSA included nectarines, pears - last week's pears were so amazing.  I managed to completely accidentally take them to work on their perfect day (are you aware that pears really only have one perfect day?).  Coworkers were as delighted as I was.  They were great.  Also included were some Honeycrisp apples!!!!  As you may or may not know, Honeycrisp are my favorite of all the apples. 

So.  That was about all for my day at the market.  Brief and easy.  And then it started to get hot, and I was powerless. I had to go home and take a nap.  It's like my dream day.

So, kitties!  What did you get today?

CSA & Market Report for September 6

What a perfect day.  Seriously.  I heard a few complaints about how cool it was, but for someone who is always sweltering like yours truly, I thought it was completely lovely.  Breezy, cool and sunny.  I was standing at the bus stop later on my way to work, and I couldn't help but think about what an amazing day it was, and how I had to go and ruin it with work.  Alas, Citibank doesn't accept sunshiny days in lieu of money for our lovely yellow house.  So it was off to work.

At any rate, I took my time getting to the markets, stopping to note that my sweet autumn clematis was in bloom, and feeding the various neighborhood cats, and I made it the North Market around 9:30.  I stopped to pick up my Elizabeth Telling CSA, which included lettuce, Swiss Chard, potatoes, basil, tomatoes, eggs, and radishes.  Then it was off for some Toby Run mushrooms (he'll be out the next few weeks, fyi).  I stopped by Toad Hill Organics, where I picked up some cippolini onions and these "Christmas" limas:

I also stopped by Rhoades Farms for a few more of those tiny little bell peppers (top of post - RW Sunday Supper attendees might remember them as the lamb chorizo-stuffed canapes).  Husband and I both love those.  I then went over to Just This Farm to pick up some Sungold Cherry tomatoes and a new heirloom variety of broccoli raab; alas, I can't remember the specific type, but it sounds lovely and Italian and might include "Toscana."

And then I meandered down to Clintonville, right through campus and the game day madness.  I stopped by to say hi to my friend Jen at Snowville Creamery - they are at Whole Foods now, by the way.  I also got some Italian sausage at Oink Moo Cluck - strange thing overheard while walking past, one woman saying to another in a disdainful voice "Sausage is poor peoples' food."  I had two immediate thoughts: I didn't realized people still thought that way, and second, perhaps, but it's delicious, delicious poor people's food.  I'm not usually so blunt, but that was about the most ignorant statement I had heard in quite some time.  There was a time when money didn't really matter, but it was important to use the entire part of the animal because there was no method of cooling.  Thus, curing became very important.  Well, I probably don't have to lecture you, because I don't think any of my enlightened readers would ever think something ridiculous. 

My Wayward See CSA this week included beets, sweet corn, Swiss Chard, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and sweet corn.  The fruit CSA included apples, pears, and nectarines.  I love nectarines, and was reminded of yet another great thing about living in Central Ohio - while nectarines are winding down in some part of the state, they are just beginning in the Northern Ohio Wayward Seed farms.

I have lots of recipes to work on this week, and I'm looking forward to cooking and sharing everything with you.

And what did you get this week?

CSA & Market Report for August 30th

       a 2 day old lamb at Cota farms

*sigh* It was the last Saturday in August.  Looking at the Clintonville Farmer's Market website, they thought it might be the first week for Squash.  Nooooooooooooooo!

Oh well, it happens every year.  Time to settle in for the long cold and gray winter.

But not yet!!

I was passing out corn muffins and homemade maple butter at the Clintonville Farmer's market this week, so I pretty mush missed the markets.  I picked up my Wayward Seed Farm CSA, which this week included a melon, sweet corn, leeks, purple tomatillos, tomatoes and eggplant.  The fruit CSA contained lots of plums, gingergold apples, and gala (I think) apples!

Thanks to everyone who came out to say hi at the market!

CSA & Market Report for August 16th

Have we been having the best weather or what?  I tried to get out really early for the market, but as it turned out, I couldn't make it any earlier than 9:30.  I had planned only to visit Clintonville, to pick up my Wayward Seed CSA.  It was crowded, which I keep reminding myself is a good thing!  I looked for Blue Jacket Creamery, because I really needed some cheese this week for something I'm planning this week, but I didn't see them, so it was off to Worthington. Wow.  Worthington was really crowded.  So crowded, I almost gave up, but at the very last minute, I found a parking space.  I'm glad, because there were a few great things at the market.

First of all, my Wayward Seed CSA this week included sweet corn, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, purple tomatillos (top of post) and this really pretty pointy cabbage.  Seriously, is anything more lovely to look at than cabbage?  It's one of my favorite things to photograph:

 
the fruit part of the CSA included a cantaloupe, peaches and yellow plums:

As much as I love peaches, I really, really love nectarines.  They are probably my favorite fruit.  I know, they are only one piece of genetic code off of a peach, but first, they aren't fuzzy, and two, the flesh seems firmer.  I love them.  I stood in line at Gilogly Orchard and bought 2 quarts of white nectarines.  I think I might have eaten 5 of them yesterday.  I stopped by Garden Patch Produce and finally bought some heirloom tomatoes, which I promptly turned into a snack for work - Cherokee Purples (my favorite) and Green Zebras with some of the peppers from last week's CSA along with basil, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  YUM!  It brought me immeasurable happiness at about 10pm last night at work.  Sadly, I didn't take a picture - it was really lovely.  But I'm sure it won't be the only one I have this year.

I stopped by another farm, which is next to Wayward Seed at the Worthington Market; they had lots of bowls of peppers, and this bowl of tiny little purple chiles caught my eye immediately.  I was warned they were hot, but I was skeptical.  How could something so cute be so hot:

When I got home and was making the salad, I cut into one of this little purple cuties.  I licked half of it.  WOW.  It might have been the hottest pepper I have ever eaten.  Two bowls of cereal later, there was still a burn.  But it was tasty.  I'm going to have to figure out something fun to do with them.  Seriously, look how tiny and adorable it is?  I put it next to this thimble as a source of perspective:

I also stopped by Blue Jacket to pick up some Grillin' cheese and some dill curds.  I was disappointed they didn't have mozzarella this week, because I had those great tomatoes; it sounded as thought they are going to be making some soon, though.

So!  What did you get this week?

CSA & Market Report for August 9th

What a lovely day it was yesterday.  Perfect.  It could have only been improved upon if I wouldn't have had to work.  I was reminded why I usually try to get up at the crack of dawn to get to the markets, because by the time I got to the North Market at 9:30, the parking lot was crowded with people from the convention.  It's maddening.  I can't understand why they can't park in the parking garage intended for convention attendees.  At any rate, I found a spot on High Street and wandered into the market.

It was a bit of a light day, since it was my turn to pick up the Elizabeth Telling CSA.  I just popped over to Toby Run to pick up my weekly supply of mushrooms (which Husband just sauteed up with some Arbor Hill Organics red thumb potatoes and sweet corn.

This week's Elizabeth Telling share included: potatoes, lettuce, eggs, basil, Swiss Chard, little tomatoes (below), a nice big melon, onions, and something I'm sure I'm missing.

And then I was off to the Clintonville market.  I picked up a half gallon of whole milk and a half gallon of heavy cream from my friends at Snowville Creamery, and I finally stopped by Petite Boulangerie, where I picked up this pretty epi (epi is French for "wheat," and this style of loaf is meant to resemble a stalk of wheat) loaf - it's pretty yummy bread, made from unbleached flour and other good things:

Now that we are really getting into the height of the growing season, my Wayward Seed veggie CSA included potatoes, tomatoes eggplants, lettuce, a very aromatic cantaloupe, and sweet corn!  The fruit CSA came with Dragon plums (yum!) (below), peaches (yum!) and little apples (below the plum))!

I am hoping to do a lot of cooking this week, since I am trying to get lots of fruits and veggies in my life.  Yay for fruits and veggies!

So dear readers, what did you get this week?  It's funny how I'm supposed to be the one discovering all of the great things the market has to offer, and every week, you guys manage to find things I didn't see!

CSA & Market Report for August (!?) 2nd

Lazily, I slept in until 9am this morning.  I've been sleeping like it's February lately!  Today wasn't my day to pick up the Elizabeth Telling Farm CSA, so I decided to skip the North Market (sorry guys) and went straight to Clintonville market to pick up the Wayward Seed CSA.  Clintonville was really crowded, which I suppose is a good thing.

My Wayward Seed CSA included lettuce, potatoes, what I believe are Roma beans, poblano peppers, another light green pepper which looks like a wonky shishito, eggplant, pretty red carrots, cucumbers and zucchini.  Lots of good stuff in there!  The Wayward Seed fruit CSA included yellow plums, blueberries, and more Lodi apples.  I think I am going to have to make some applesauce this weekend.

Of course, I also stopped by Arbor Hill Organics for more yummy pink potatoes and a few onions.

When I saw those poblano peppers in my CSA, I started thinking about lamb - I don't know why those two things go so well together, but they do - and I realized that I hadn't been to the Worthington Farmer's market for awhile, and I began to pine for a few things there.  The Worthington Market has expanded the number of vendors by opening up the entire Graeter's Parking lot.  That makes it a little less crowded than in previous years (although there are still way too many dogs there).

I stopped by Northridge Organics to pick up some pretty lavender eggplants, my first tomatoes of the year, and that lamb chorizo I'd been thinking about earlier.  Now I just need some lentils.  Yum!  Dinner is going to be good tonight!  I also stopped by Red Brick Farm because I began thinking about all of their great varieties of garlic, and I picked up 3 heads of Susanville garlic, which is really sweet and mellow.  Very enjoyable.

Somewhere along the line, I picked up some leeks and some really tasty red plums (pictured at the top of the post). 

Well, Husband will be out of town this week, so I plan to do some good cooking for one while enjoying my staycation.  There might a few picnics involved, who knows.  Certainly some yummy salads are in my future, what with all the tomatoes and cucumbers coming into season.  It's enough to make a girl's head spin.

So, what did you get this week?

CSA & Farm Market Report for July 26th

I woke up super early, so I decided to go ahead and get at 'em before it got too hot.  I hit the North Market first and bought my first Toby Run shitakes in awhile - poor Jim thought I might have fallen out of love with his shroomies!  Comb's herbs had also picked some squash blossoms early in the morning, so I snagged two bags of those - really, is there anything more beautiful?

I picked up some arugula from Toad Hill Organics, which became part of my lazy market lunch - boil-in-the-bag Tasty Bit curry (I love that stuff) with brown rice and sauteed arugula.

I was happy to see Quiver Full back at the market.  They are one of the only sources for locally-grown and milled flours and cornmeal.  I bought some cornmeal and a pound of their whole grain pastry flour, as well as some whole grain pancake mix.  The pancake mix is nice because you only have to add water, so you can make just one pancake at a time.  Which I did, to taste.  The pancake was actually quite delicious.  I'll admit it - I'm a bit of a white flour and white pankcake kind of girl, but I need to get more whole grains into my diet.  These pancakes were really good.  The flavor of the flour is really something, and if you'd like an example of how the best of even the most simple ingredients make a world of difference, I suggest you check these out.  The products aren't cheap, but as Mr. Quiver Full was explaining to me, the milling process he use doesn't generate extra heat, so the germ in the grain is still alive.  This is very good fo you, however it can cause insects to try to invade the grains, so they should be refrigerated.  I think I might make some all-local blueberry muffins or something this week.  Well, now I think of it, I suppose there isn't any local sugar.  We'll think on that.

My Elizabeth Telling CSA this week contained Swiss Chard, onions, green beans, potatoes, tiny little carrots, and extra eggs!  Woot!  I'm about to scramble those and place them on toast with some sauteed mushrooms.

And then I was off to Clintonville!  I walked past a new vendor with some amazing-looking artisan breads.  I'll have to check them out next week when I have more time.  Lately, bread has become a conveying device for the loads of butter I've been making, and well, girls can't live on butter alone, so I passed on the bread, and the Amish donuts (those things are evil).  I picked up my Wayward Seed Farms CSA, which contained arugula, more tiny carrots, some baby zucchini, wax beans, a cucumber, some fingerling potatoes (below - they smell delighfully like dirt), and some cute little eggplants (above).  I've had a love/hate relationship with eggplant over the years, but thanks to a reader, I've learned to love them.  I'm going to have to search for that comment and thank that reader.  FYI, the secret is to cook them really well and douse them with olive oil.  The Wayward Seed Fruit CSA contained apricots, apples and blueberries!

I also saw peaches for the first time this week, but I had to pass on them due to already having tons of fruit in the house.

I had a busy week last week (can you believe I actually worked like 50 hours?! well, if you knew me, you'd know how amazing that is), and I have a bit of a busy week this week, so I won't be doing a ton of cooking, but I do hope to get a few things on the table to write about.  Simple and healthy things, because let's face it, there's a little more waitress to love  than I usually like having around, so I see lots of veggies and whole grains in my future.

So, readers, what did you get this week?