At the Farmer's Market

We are really enjoying our Saturday trips to the Farmer's Market. The apple stand right now has Cameo apples which have been my favorite apples for eating this season. We also are getting more pork products---for some reason a lot of greens recipes are paired with pork, either bacon or sausage. I also got a bag of hearty whole wheat bread and a pound of shelled pecans. Real quick on pecans: if you can find unshelled pecans, they are usually a lot cheaper. I've enlisted by 2 (at the time) year old's help in shelling last fall. I cracked them with a meat tenderizer mallet and she helped pick out the "meat" of the pecan (the edible part). They do take some time to do though, but if time's not an issue, it makes sense to buy them unshelled (or even go gather your own).

I've learned a little bit about getting pork at the farmer's market. First was the sausage that gets cooked in a skillet like hamburger meat has three names and different farmers call it different names. The sausage I get (not links or patties) is either pan sausage, breakfast sausage, or bulk sausage. I've gotten decent response by always asking for bulk sausage, so I tend to stick to that. I also make sure I always get the mild. They tend to season the sausage and it can be anywhere from slightly seasoned (like the mild I bought that my kids to eat) to hot (which is almost too spicy to eat myself). I've also discovered that different farmers season/smoke bacon differently. I need to ask more about this. The farmer I've been able to get bacon from (the other one is out a lot) doesn't season their's much at all. I tend to like a little more seasoning because it does taste different than what I am used to. It works fine for seasoning greens or dishes, but I am not sure I would want to eat it plain (it's not bad tasting, just a little bland).

Weekend in Review

It was a rather busy, hectic weekend, with meals out, a babysitter, and a birthday party.  I prepared supper for the evening the kids were with the babysitter, granola to eat with the yogurt I made earlier in the week, chocolate pudding just for me Friday afternoon, because sometimes you just need good comfort food, pancakes for breakfast this morning, and then this evening's dinner of cheddar waffles (I haven't decided yet whether to serve eggs with it or a sausage gravy---need to consult the hubby).

Here are my recipes:

Granola:  Mix together 3/4 c unsweetened coconut, 4 c rolled oats, 1 c sunflower seeds, 1 c wheat germ, 1/4 c sesame seeds, and 1 c chopped pecans.  On the stove, bring to a boil 1 c honey, 1/2 c oil, and 1 T cinnamon.  Once it boils, combine with the oats and nuts.  Spread on 2 oiled 9 x 13" baking pans and bake for 30 minutes in a preheated 325 degrees oven.  Remove from the oven to stir every ten minutes (twice) and then for the last 10 minutes, every 5 minutes.  Allow to cool undisturbed.  Once the granola is cooled mix in 1 c dried tart cherries and I c dried cranberries.

Chocolate Pudding.  Let me just start by saying if you have never had homemade, made from scratch chocolate pudding you haven't eaten chocolate pudding.  I prefer to make this with the leftover unhomogenized local milk I use for yogurt.  I think the pudding is actually best eaten warm, but it is still mighty fine after it's been cooled and refrigerated.  This is a more time intensive recipe--it involves standing at the stove and stirring quite a bit, but I have found this quite bearable if I am watching Grey's Anatomy at the same time (a true comfort evening!)

The recipe:  Mix 1/3 c cocoa, 1 c sugar, 2 T cornstarch, and 1/2 t salt in a pan.  Gradually stir in 2 c milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil one minute.  Remove from heat, gradually stir in 1/2 of milk mixture into 2 egg yolks (slightly beaten).  Gradually stir egg yolks into saucepan.  Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat (again).  Stir in 2 t butter and 1 t vanilla.  Chill (if you haven't eaten all of it while it was still warm).

Oatmeal Pancakes:  Soak 3/4 c rolled oats in 1 1/2 c milk for 5 minutes.  Add 2 egg yolks (beaten) and 1/4 c oil.  Mix well.  In a separate bowl, combine 1 c whole wheat flour, 2 T sugar, 1 T baking powder, 1 t salt, and 1 t cinnamon.  Add to oatmeal mixture.  Beat 2 egg whites until stiff.  Fold egg whites into batter.  Fry in skillet until golden brown, turning once.

Since both kids are now eating pancakes, I double this recipe for our family of 4.  One recipe would be enough if we didn't want leftovers.  However, if I double it, we will have pancakes for breakfast for the next several mornings (reheated in the toaster oven).

That looks like a lot!  I'll save the kids' meal (Spaghetti Pie) and cheddar waffles for another posting.  

We did manage to make it to the Farmer's Market yesterday before our birthday party.  It ended up being a big spending day--I needed a chicken (which I got a 5 3/4 lb bird, the farmers told me how proud they were of the rooster because it's been their biggest chicken in a while.  I love the information you get by shopping at the Farmer's Market!), honey, and Curtis wanted a lot of apples for apple pies (both for us and to give to friends).  I also was looking for bacon, but neither pork farmer had any this week.  Bacon is one of those things that is often hard to find for some reason.  

Off to finish the waffles...I think I'll go with sausage gravy on top (that makes it seem a little more dinner like) and bok choy salad on the side.

Today at the Farmers' Market

The Farmers' Market was greatly reduced in size today. The threat of high winds and rain from Hurricane Ike kept many vendors and shoppers away. We missed the bakeries and the apples especially. Curtis had been planning on making an apple pie, but that will have to wait until next week.

What we did get was 2 beautiful eggplant for only $2. M picked them all by herself for Baba Ganoush later in the day.

I have this new rule on Saturdays. I don't cook. The exception is if I really feel like cooking or have something special I want to make. Baba Ganoush fit my exception today. It was easy to make and went well with our Greek takeout.

I pierced the skin of the eggplants with a fork (to prevent exploding) and put on the grill. I grilled them, turning occasionally until the skins were charred and the eggplant oozed when I would squeeze it. I immediately put them in a container of cold water upon removing them from the grill. Once they were cool enough to handle, I took off the tops and the charred skins. Everything else (including seeds) went straight into the food processor. I processed the eggplant until it was smooth, then added 1/4 c tahini, 1/4 c lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 t cumin, and 1 T olive oil. I processed again until it was well combined. When it was finished I tested it to see if it needed more of anything, and it did. I threw in some more lemon juice to balance the tahini flavor. Occasionally the Baba Ganoush will taste bitter. This unfortunately is caused by the eggplant. Eggplant doesn't need to be bitter. Good eggplant isn't. If you find it is bitter, you can experiment with seasonings. However, I have found that sometimes no amount of seasonings will save a bitter eggplant. It happens.

M and J would have just eaten Baba Ganoush and pita bread for supper if I would have let them. Now I have a weeks' worth of snacks (and parts of lunch) for them.