Restaurant Widow

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?

CSA & Market Report for July 19th

Are these the dog days of summer?  When do those begin?  Because it is hot out.  Already 80 by the time I hit the market at 9am.  I had someone coming to adopt a kitty today, and it wasn't my turn to pick up the Elizabeth Telling CSA, and I had precisely $26 in cash, so I kept things very light by only going to the Clintonville Market.  It was crowded!  Which I suppose is good, because it means there are lots and lots of people out there who are interested in eating locally and supporting our Central Ohio farmers.

So, today I picked up my Wayward Seed farm CSA - the vegetable share included zucchini, cucumbers, cabbage, green beans, mesclun mix, and some red potatoes!  The fruit share included Queen Anne cherries, blueberries! and Lodi apples (above).  They were also selling plums (yum!) but they were really busy and the line was enormous, and I was in danger of becoming hot tired and cranky, so I took as pass on plums.


I stopped by Blue Jacket Creamery for some lemon quark and cheddar curds, and then bought a dozen ears of bi-color sweet corn at Yoder farmers.  I bought some of the last red thumb potatoes until early fall and some Walla-Walla (above) onions from Arbor Hill Organics (I love the kid who sells those; he's very well-spoken; today he asked me if I was "wistful" about the end of the red thumbs) and lastly, a dozen eggs and some Amish donuts from 2 Silos.

What a week I've had!  I don't know about all of this being busy nonsense.  It's really cutting into my nap time.  But, more on that later.  I have missed writing for everyone, and I am happy to be back to regular writing (probably around Tuesday). 

So, what did you get this week?  And what are you planning to do with it?

CSA & Market Report for July 12th

Wow.  A hot morning.  A hot and cranky morning.  These sorts of cranky mornings don't work well for those who have to smile and be nice to people all evening.  But I got through my day and waited on some very nice people!

I also received some very nice veggies!

First up, I hit the North Market, just to run in and pick up my CSA from Elizabeth Telling Farm.  There was a line forming to see the Top Chef demo - I'm curious; to the best of my knowledge, no tickets were ever made available.  Did anyone see the demos or know someone who did?  How did they get their tickets?  I did see Hung walking down High street later in the evening as Husband and I were walking to our car. 

Okay, so at any rate, in my Elizabeth Telling CSA, I received lettuce, cabbage, eggs, Swiss chard, some baby carrots and an onion.

Then I was off to Clintonville, where it was getting very, very hot.  As much as I love the sunshine and consider myself a convert from loving winter to loving summer, I can really see how people turn crazy during heat waves.  I bought some of my favorite red thumb potatoes from Arbor Hill Organics and a loaf of white bread from My Little Farm, who inquired how I used my bounty of currants (why, I made jelly of course) from last week.  I also bought some Amish Donuts at 2 Silos farms - because in addition to Husband in the house, I have another Guitar Hero Partner, Brother in Law, who is 17.  (17 year olds, what do you talk about on the phone all the time?!)  It's funny, half a lifetime ago, Husband I were Nirvana-loving grunge kids, and now so is Brother in Law.  He's going to need a better moniker.  We also would make the worst parents, I've noticed, being that we eat at pretty eratic times of day, and 17 year olds aren't so great at feeding themselves.

At any rate, my Wayward Farm CSA this week included summer squash, cauliflower, pac choi, mesclun mix, napa cabbage, green beans, and baby carrots.  The fruit CSA contained more apricots! cherries, and a few really early apples.  I'll be taking pictures soon; things here in the Waitress household are a little bit crazy and I have a ton of writing to do this week! 

But I also have some good things to make and write about this week.

A reader called me out for a lack of restaurant reviews lately (I'm a waitress during summertime! I'm poor!)   We're going to talk about this week sometime.

And what did you get?