Farmer's Market Friday!

On Fridays during the Fall, Bon Appetit dining services here on campus hosts a lovely Farmer's Market right in the quad outside of the Bookstore.

Being the veggie lover that I am, I usually head out and buy something; one, because I can always use it, and two, because I want to show support for their event.

Today was extra special because there were samples that I could eat. (The last few weeks had been artisan sausages and local cheese). This week was pea greens from Allen Farm in Westport, MA, a 50 acre farm run by Debbie Barrett.

Debbie's sweet delicate pea greens have become quite well known here in southern New England, and are often found in many restaurants here in Providence.

Today the new Chef de Cuisine, John, was featuring the pea greens in a colorful salad that was making my mouth water. He was even kind enough to make a small batch withOUT the cheese so that I might have a taste!

I am not sure of exact amounts, and I'm never too strict when making up a salad, but you can see all the ingredients here below:

Toss together ingredients above with a generous amount of the fresh pea greens, salt and pepper to taste, and some home made Lemon Vinaigrette.

Basic Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon agave
• Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together until well combined.

Here is my cheeseless sample on an adorable bamboo bite size plate!  I was so thrilled that Chef took a moment to make up a batch with out the cheese that I bought all the ingredients to make the salad this weekend at home.

Just look at these beautiful carrots:

Thanks again, Bon Appetit, for another great week! Keep up the good work. ^_^

*** Here is my recreation of Chef John's salad at home. This one is the undressed version still in the bowl. It looked a little better on the plate ;)))

The Benefits of Friends with Gardens: Butter Beans and Greens

I feel truly blessed that I have so many friends and colleagues who were kind enough to share the fruits of their gardens with me this Summer.

My dear friend and colleague, Elaine, brought me this gorgeous bounty from her brother's garden.  Elaine's brother's garden is his livelihood, so this is more than just a backyard patch of tilled soil with  His vegetables are featured throughout Farmer's Markets in the East Bay all Summer long, and Elaine has her pick of all vegetables, anytime.  I am so pleased that she though of me!

I have to say, these tomatoes we the most, red, ripe and luscious tomatoes I have had in a while.  Nothing like Summertime!

I made this salad above for an afternoon lunch with my dear friend, Neil.  The WHOLE salad looked spectacular, but alas, I lost the picture of the full platter on Instagram, due to an iPhone glitch.  Here are the leftovers I took to lunch the next day, which, I think, still looked good.

My folks are living in Italy for the next few months, so I was feeling a bit "Mediterranean".

Butter Beans and Greens
Here we have:
1 can of Butter Beans (cleaned out mom's pantry before her trip, thank you)!

Rinse and drain beans, then toss with:
2 chopped scallions
1 minced fresh red chili pepper, seeded (from the Farmer's Market)
2 roasted red peppers, chopped (another score from mom's pantry)
olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
Set aside

Salad:
1 organic heart of romaine, chopped
2-3 cups fresh arugula (from the Farmer's Market)
1 large cucumber, seeded and chopped (from my dear friend, Tara's garden)
2 large garden tomatoes (from Elaine's garden)
1/3 cup kalamata olives (clean out the fridge)

Dress the salad greens with some olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  Toss with remaining vegetables, and then top with the beans.

We enjoyed this with a fresh baguette, and some pasta with roasted zucchini, eggplant and sweet peppers (pictured above) and tomatoes.  Buon Appetito ^_^

Chilis from the Farmer's Market - the one I used was right in the middle :)

Farewell, My Summer Love...

The fruits of the Summer are becoming a dying breed, so I probably won't be seeing too many more of these gorgeous babies:

And so, for my last two deliciously juicy pints of local grape tomatoes of the Summer, I went for plain and simple:

I sliced the tomatoes in half, drizzled them with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkled them liberally with salt, italian seasoning, (a bit of Sandwich Sprinkle by Penzeys), black pepper and crushed red pepper.  I added to that four cloves of fresh garlic, squeezed through my garlic press and mixed gently. 

By the time I boiled my whole wheat pasta, the flavors had combined nicely.  

If only I had some fresh basil left... Maybe next time! ^_^

Farewell to my Farmer's Market (at least until next year)

The University where I work sponsored a beautiful Farmer's Market every Friday, since the first week of school.

Today, in honor of the campus "Eat Local Challenge," was the final one of the season.  Our campus community came out it great droves from the hours of 11 - 2, to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables, home made breads and jellies.  I, for one, am quite sad to see it go...

So for my final haul, I picked up these:

Photo taken with iPhone, sorry...

I see in my future... warm whole wheat pasta, topped with these halved tomatoes, olive oil, basil and lots of fresh garlic... (and crushed red pepper too, cuz that's how I roll)