Monday Market Meals - Pork and Tomatillo Stew

Monday, July 25, 2016


Heirloom tomatoes


There are a lot of things I love about summer, but one of the highlights is the abundance of fruits and vegetables available at the farmer's market. Front and center in many crowded market booths, the juicy and colorful tomato stands out in a sea of greens. Whether sliced and served on a plate with a drizzle of balsamic and a slice of mozzarella, or nestled between slices of bread for a classic sandwich, or used for cooking and baking in soups, stews, pie or quiche, the possibilities are nearly endless.

Double Chocolate Cheesecake with Berry Compote

Wednesday, July 20, 2016


Double Chocolate Cheesecake with Berry Compote

 I'm re-discovering my love of cherries.  As a child, I would tag along with my parents when they picked sweet cherries from the tall tree planted on a little knoll overlooking the small berg where I grew up. Mostly I ate and they picked. Then in later years, we would order 25-pound boxes of them, freshly picked from the Great Lakes.  My dad and I would sit on the porch swing, a tray of berries in our lap as our fingers plied the stubborn pits from the plump fruit. Meanwhile, mom readied the canning jars and started the process of preserving the fruit.

Monday Market Meals - Purslane

Monday, July 18, 2016


Purslane


I can't tell you how many times I have pulled purslane from my garden beds where it tried valiantly to find it's place amongst the more desirable herbs and flowers, or from along the edge of my sidewalk where its vining pink stems with teardrop leaves tried to get my attention. Who knew this tender, earthy "weed" was edible?  And not only edible, but packed with nutrients and gentle in flavor?

Sydney's Surfing Chef

Friday, July 15, 2016


Sarah Glover - redefining cooking, as we know it. 

Sarah Glover carries passion for many things, but food and water rank at the top of the list. And while most of us consider those basic survival ingredients, for Sarah it's a different story, as this wild-at-heart, adventurous Aussie loves cooking and surfing - and not necessarily in that order. Sarah's out-of-the-box creativity reflects beautifully in the pure pleasure she exhibits in outdoor cooking as she hovers over an open fire.  Whether preparing a freshly caught fish or stirring a steaming pot nestled in embers, her billowy skirts hunch about her as she intuitively seasons, stirs, and serves up romantic dinners ocean-side or on dreamy tables set in the Outback.

Monday Market Meals - Sweet Corn and Tomato Quiche

Monday, July 11, 2016


Barefoot Farms Farmer's Market

Today's guest blogger for Monday Market Meals is Kim Byer from South Carolina, host of the blog The Paper ApronKim splits her time between South Carolina’s inland capitol city—Columbia-- and the sea islands in the Lowcountry near Beaufort, South Carolina. Her food articles can be found in Charleston Living, Columbia Living and Wilmington, North Carolina magazines. When not hanging out with her husband, her two Golden Retrievers or tending to her flock of chickens, she’s likely on Instagram @paperapron.  Thanks, Kim, for the post!
A few years ago we built a cottage on stilts in a fishing village on a sea island off the coast of South Carolina. My father designed the house, we had it built, and now my family is slowly finishing the interior. Slowwwwwwly. Because by a few years, I mean four and by four I mean realistically ten. Here in the Lowcountry, not only do we talk more slowly, but there is no need to rush—it’s simply too hot and humid to hurry. And if the pace of life on these Carolina sea islands seems even slower than the rest of the South, then it shouldn’t come as a surprise to know that the slow food trend has been trendy here for centuries. Not that there aren’t take-out pizza nights and trips to the drive-thru and the grocery store, but for the most part, when we’re on the island and we’re not DIY-ing or crabbing or readying the Whaler for a day of shrimping, we’re headed into town to find the roadside food stand with the reddest strawberries or the market with the watermelon that thumps jussssst so.
The drive to town takes me within a stone’s skip to the turn where Pat Conroy was recently laid to rest in an unremarkable and secluded Gullah cemetery off of Highway 21. When Pat chose where he wanted to be buried, he chose the center of absolute nowhere and at once, the center of the universe. I pass a massive live oak, called the Lincoln Oak. Legend has it that a tall man in a stovepipe hat once stood atop a box and read a lengthy declaration that all men held as slaves should henceforth and forever be free. I pass the road to Penn Center, where a young civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, penned the beginnings of a speech that would echo throughout history as his splendid, majestic dream.
I mention these things because they’re important. I may be driving through the land of tomato packing plants and junked school buses heaving beneath the weight of a thousand watermelons, but the blood and bones and sweat of our ancestors enrich the soil that grows the seeds that spit out the plants that catch the unbearably bright Lowcountry sun to feed our summer dinner whims. Eating local food means understanding and honoring its origins.


Eating local food means understanding and honoring its origins.

I stop at Barefoot Farms and buy the reddest seedless watermelon I’ve ever seen and a handful of spicy peppers and heirloom tomatoes. In Port Royal, the next town over, the Saturday market is a lively respite in the breezy shade of a ring of oaks. Smells of wood-fired pizza and teriyaki dumplings mix with freshly baked bread and herb bouquets. Purple okra pods and fuchsia plums sit alongside gold and green zucchini and everywhere I look, local tomatoes are front and center on the farm tables.
Market mornings all over our country are redefining the way we feed our families. By honoring the local farmer’s food, the cheese monger’s cheese and the baker’s homemade goodies, we are honoring our community and feeding more than our families; we are feeding our souls.


In Port Royal the Saturday market is a lively respite in the breezy shade of a ring of oaks.

I head to my car with a bouquet of flowers and living basil, a piquant hunk of salty brie, a loaf of lemon curd cheesecake, some peaches and a few ears of corn. Recipes are swirling in my head as I start the engine and push my face into the air conditioner vent. I’ll use my hens’ eggs and a chunk of Gruyere along with my tomatoes, corn, peppers and basil to make a crustless quiche. I turn on the radio and listen to NPR. I think I’ll go a little slower as I pass by the Lincoln Oak this time.
-Kim Byer
 

Sweet Corn and Tomato Quiche 
Sweet Corn & Tomato Quiche
Serves six
Butter or oil for pie plate
1 1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 ears fresh sweet corn, off the cob
3 to 6 jalapenos or banana peppers, seeded and minced (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil + extra for topping
5 eggs
1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
1/8 t freshly ground pepper
1/4 t salt
Sour cream or goat cheese for topping
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch pie plate with butter, cooking spray or oil. Layer the bottom and sides of the pan with the Gruyere cheese. Continue with layers of onion, peppers, and the slices of one tomato. Add the corn and top with slices of the second tomato. In a medium-size bowl, crack five eggs and pour in one small can of evaporated milk. Add salt and pepper, whisk, and pour over vegetables. Add basil and another grind of  pepper. Bake for 30 minutes or until center is set. Top with small or torn basil leaves and a dollop of sour cream. 


Crispy Chicken Tacos

Wednesday, July 6, 2016


Crispy Chicken Tacos 

Have you ever been so hungry for something you see in a cookbook but you don't have all the exact ingredients listed in the recipe? That happened to me today. I am cooking through What Katie Ate on the Weekend this month with my friend, Deborah Balant and her online cookbook club, Rainy Day Bites. While I planned ahead for some things on the menu this week, today's meal was decided on the fly when I opened the book to Crispy Chicken Tacos and just had to make them.

Monday Market Meals - Silver Beet Omelette

Monday, July 4, 2016


A colorful array of greens and vegetables from the garden.

It's Monday, and I'm kicking off Monday Market Meals with a guest post from fellow blogger, Shaheen Hughes from Perth, in western Australia.  While it's summer in North Carolina, it is winter in Australia, so read on to find what's growing seasonally in Shaheen's part of the world.

My absolute favorite thing to do on a Monday morning, in the luxurious calm of the post-school drop-off, is to visit my mum for a quiet cup of tea and a stroll in her incredible garden.  We catch up on the weekend’s news and gossip, and fill baskets with some of the amazing things she grows: lemons and limes, oranges, cumquats, pomegranates, drumsticks, java plum, guava, curry leaves, ginger, turmeric, chillies, coriander, holy basil, basil, mint, silverbeet, mallow.

Foreign Markets

Sunday, July 3, 2016


Miniature eggplant at Asia Grocery on Peters Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem. 

In pockets throughout cities across the U.S., ethnic food markets are springing up to meet the demand of a swelling culture of diversity fueled by America’s growing immigrant population. Their aisles are often crammed with everything from quail eggs and grape leaves to pickled cow’s tongue and barrel-aged feta, and their shopkeepers are quick to offer warm greetings to all those passing through.

The Farmer's Daughter

Friday, July 1, 2016


Green Tea Ice Cream

Kelsey Siemens might carry a degree in Geographical Biogeoscience but most days you'll still find her in the orchards of her parents' apple farm in southwestern British Colombia. Walled in by majestic mountains, the beautiful Fraser Valley cradles the 20-acre farm where the Siemens grow everything from corn and potatoes to rhubarb and pumpkins, in addition to orchard fruits such as apples, pears and plums.