Farmers Market
It’s that awesome time of the summer when we are inundated with tomatoes and corn – and by “we” I mean people who have a summer CSA. I’m psyched about ours. Every other week I carry Danny in the baby carrier thingamajig to the yoga studio on our corner, pick up our 2 big bags of veggies, fruit and eggs… and pretty much look like a pack mule walking back down the street.
But hey, the food is great.
And if your produce comes from the supermarket, surely you’ve noticed tomatoes and corn on sale! Let’s hear it for seasonal veggies, huh?
So, I was gazing out the kitchen window the other day, thinking about how when we first moved here, pre-baby, I *thought* we’d be hosting BBQs in our backyard all summer. With our new entourage of friends that we’d somehow meet in this new city? While we kicked back and drank beers and grilled burgers, not a naptime care in the world?
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August 4th, 2011 | Farmers Market, quick and easy, recipe, summer | 9 Comments »
About once a month I have a marathon coaching day, where I set up on the couch and talk to 7 or 8 clients in a row. Whew! These aren’t my regular clients though – they’re my student groups from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. As a graduate in the Immersion program I’ve committed myself to these guys for the past 6 months or so, acting as a health coach/business coach/open ear/mentor/friend.
It’s kind of cool to go through IIN again, this time from a new perspective. Hey, I know a lot of you are interested in IIN because I get a ton of emails about it – if you want the scoop, check out their upcoming Q&A webinar on Tuesday June 8th. Sign up here and please tell them you heard about it from Michelle Pfennighaus.
But I will tell you – these marathon sessions are a long day on the phone for me! I have a break for lunch, during which I whipped up a really easy seasonal lunch. It’s one of those things where you look in the refrigerator and just piece something together! I started with the radishes I picked up yesterday from the farmer’s market. Most people think of radishes as raw slices for a salad, but I love to cook mine in butter and include the greens. I find them much tastier and more versatile this way.
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June 4th, 2010 | Farmers Market, quick and easy, recipe, spring, vegetarian, where I went to school for nutrition | 11 Comments »
What did you do on Saturday? I got up early to pack bags with kitchen tools and a cooler full of veggies. Then Max and I carried everything down to the bus stop. The we realized we’d missed the bus. (This is typical) Imagine it: the two of us on the corner carrying a 14-cup food processor, a Breville juicer, and about 5 tons of collard greens.
So we waited it out for the next shiny ride and took it to Grand in Union Square for my Veggies are Grand raw food tasting event!
It was two hours full of meeting cool folks while preparing 5 different raw food recipes. This was in tribute to summer and the Union Square Farmers Market, which happens every Saturday from 9-1. Super fun to see all of you who came out and said hi!
As promised, here are the recipes so you can recreate these easy, inexpensive raw dishes at home. One requires a juicer, the others are done best in a food processor but a blender can also work. And if you have neither, just go to town on it with a knife and cutting board and mix up with a spoon. It’s all good.
These recipes are adapted from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen and Living on Live Food.
Spinach Avocado Soup
1 big handful spinach
1 avocado
1 handful fresh parsley
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup water
Blend until smooth.
Tomato Basil Soup
4 tomatoes
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. sea salt
fresh basil, sliced fine for garnish
Blend everything except basil, which is for garnish. Duh.
Plant Blood
1 cucumber
2 stalk celery
1 apple
1 lemon, peeled
1 large handful kale
1 large handful collards
1 large handful spinach
1 large handful (insert leafy green thing here)
Put everything through juicer.
Cheezy Italian Herb Wraps
2 cups raw sunflower seeds
1 lemon, juiced
1 bunch dill
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup water or as needed
Blend in food processor to create ‘cheese’ and set aside
1 head collard greens
1 tomato, sliced
Fresh full basil leaves
Slice thick stem away from collard leaves so you end up with two halves of the leaf. Wrap a spoonful of ‘cheese’ up in the wrap along with some tomato and basil.
1 head collard greens
Sundried Tomato Hummus Wraps
2 cups zucchini, chopped
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup tahini
1 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbl. basil leaves
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes
pinch paprika
Blend together in food processor until pretty smooth. Wrap in collard leaves, as in previous recipe.
So, Saturday ended by carrying home all our equipment, doing a ton of dishes, and then falling onto the couch to relax and watch Little Britain on Netflix. Have you ever seen that show? Hilarious!
Enjoy the recipes and I promise that my next post won’t be about raw foods – time for something different bc I’ve been going off on this raw thing for awhile. Promise!
June 21st, 2009 | Boston, Farmers Market, raw foods, recipe, vegan | 13 Comments »
For months I’ve turned green with envy at those of you who have brilliant farmers markets practically year-round. Ours have just begun recently in the Boston area and this year I have my own table at the local market. Cool, huh?
I’ll tell you the coolest part – all the different people. At the market in the middle of the day I see kids with their pregnant moms, older folks going for a stroll, recently graduated college seniors who haven’t started work yet, local business people…it’s really very nice. I give out recipes that use fresh produce and talk to people about health counseling. As the crowd gets bigger each week, I’m planning to give some free yoga classes too! But right now I think people are just starting to remember about going to the market because it’s early in the season.
Anyway, the other coolest part of the market is obviously the fresh produce! I love just sitting there all day next to it. The farmers were kind enough to donate some items for my table display, and then before I packed up to leave I bought a few bags of goodies to make for dinner.
I had an interesting conversation with one woman who was lamenting that none of the farmers were organic this year. We talked a little about local vs. organic but she seemed set on only buying organic. I later asked one of the farmers about it and they assured me that they used no chemicals or pesticides but simply were not certified organic because of the expense! USDA organic certification isn’t free, so lots of smaller farms don’t think it’s worth it. Lesson learned – talk to your local farmers and ask about their farming techniques. Next week if I see that woman I’m going to tell her to go ask some questions!
It’s been really cold up here the past week, so when I finally got my chance to hit the produce stalls, the fresh basil and tomatoes spoke to me and said, “Make sooooooouuuup” So I did. I had never made tomato soup before and I kind of just made it up as I went along. It came out really yummy! Try this recipe but use what you have on hand…I think it’d be difficult to go wrong.
Farmers Market Tomato Soup
3 tomatoes, halved
2 whole cloves garlic
4 Tbl. olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
1 handful fresh basil, finely chopped
s+p
Use 3 Tbl. olive oil to coat tomatoes and garlic. Place on sheet in oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, chop onions and celery. In a soup pot, heat remaining 1 Tbl. oil and saute onions with salt until soft and golden. Add celery and cook a few more minutes. Pour broth into pot and add cloves, parsley, s+p. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.
When tomatoes are done and garlic is starting to turn golden, add to soup. Continue simmering another 10 minutes or so. Using an immersion blender to blend into soup as smooth or chunky as you like. Top with fresh basil.
Have you ever made tomato soup before? What’s your favorite recipe?
This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays.
June 12th, 2009 | Boston, Farmers Market, organic, recipe, vegan, vegetarian | 22 Comments »
As a continuing shout-out to farmers growing sustainable food, I’d like to share that:
#1 Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the Medford, MA Farmer’s Market where I’m lucky enough to have my own table this year! I got to mingle with the locals and spread the Real Food love. In coming weeks I think I’m even going to get the chance to teach yoga for a midday class, right in Medford Square at the market. Sweet, huh?
#2 I also earned myself a magnificent farmer’s tan while sitting at the market. Oops.
#3 Today I’m heading down to NYC for another weekend at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and when I get there I’m heading straight for the Union Square Farmer’s Market.
And #4, today I have a recipe for you that I made using fresh goose eggs from a farm in Western Massachusetts. (But you can use chicken eggs!) This is a great way to use up any herbs you have leftover from other recipes, or maybe fresh gorgeous herbs from your garden (lucky you!)
No-flip omelette with loadsa herbs
1 goose egg (Or 2 chicken eggs, preferably from pastured, local chickens)
1 Tbl. water or milk
2 big handfuls of fresh herbs (basil, parsley, oregano, etc.)
1 Tbl. organic butter
S+P, to taste
1. In bowl, whisk egg with water or milk. Heat butter in small pan over medium heat. Make sure you have a tight fitting lid for this pan.
2. Coat pan with melted butter, then add egg. Evenly distribute 1 handful of herbs across the top. Add S+P.
3. Cook for 2-3 minutes until bottom of egg is somewhat firm. Using spatula, lift edge and allow uncooked egg to run underneath.
4. When only a small pool of uncooked egg remains on top, cover with lid to finish cooking. Before serving, top with the other handful of fresh herbs and more S+P.
This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday!
June 5th, 2009 | Boston, Farmers Market, farming, New York, quick and easy, recipe, where I went to school for nutrition | 20 Comments »
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I like to plan. I like lists and calendars and reminders and to-do lists. My Franklin Covey planner is always within arm’s reach. So you can imagine how I go about making dinner, right? Recipe, grocery store trip, list, check, check, check.
Except when the Farmer’s Market has FINALLY arrived in Boston! Every Tuesday and Wednesday from now until I think October, Copley Square is bustling with fresh veggies, homemade goods, and Red Sox fans dressed up in suits for their day job. Other markets in the area will open soon, but Copley is the first.
I had this dilemma: the gym is near the Farmer’s Market. If I went to the gym first, I risked missing out on the best picks at the market. But if I went to the market first, I had to bring all my veggies to the gym locker room. It’s a nice, clean, cool locker room. I went to the market first. See, always planning.
But as you know, at the Farmer’s Market you’re never sure what they are going to have until you get there. It’s gonna be fresh and wonderful but planning is less important than just going and seeing what looks good. I navigated through the stands, picking up green curly kale, collards, garlic scapes, arugula and…wait, now what are these?
Beautiful reds, pinks, purples and whites stood out among the early season’s greens – Easter Egg radishes! And the embryo of dinner formed in my head at that moment.
Just like beets, radishes have gorgeous greens that are often overlooked. In fact, radishes themselves are often overlooked. I knew them from the supermarket salad bar as a kid – ick!! To me, those tasted like onions, something with a sharp bite. But fresh lovely radishes like these cooked up in some butter are tender and sweet, with plenty of health benefits. This recipe took about 15 minutes total because I had some leftover brown rice already cooked.
Easter Egg Radishes, from tips to tops
1 bunch fresh radishes, with greens
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
3 Tbl. organic butter
1 Tbl. olive oil
1 garlic scape, chopped roughly (or 1 clove garlic or 1 small shallot)
2 cups cooked brown rice
3 Tbl. lemon juice
S+P, to taste
1. In a small pan, dry toast walnuts. Set aside. Wash and chop radishes into pieces of about the same size, and chop greens separately.
2. In a large pan, heat butter over med heat. Add garlic scape or chopped garlic or shallots. Cook for a few minutes, until browned. I included the entire garlic scape and the green ends turned nice and crispy in this stage.
3. Add radish pieces to the pan, mixing to coat in butter. Add S+P. Add a splash or two of water and allow steam to help them soften. When soft and color from the skin begins to bleed into the whites of the radish, transfer contents of pan to a bowl and cover.
4. In same unwashed pan, add leftover brown rice. Stir to coat in remaining butter/garlic flavor and heat. Add S+P. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. In same unwashed pan (this is good for dishwashing time later!), add olive oil and chopped greens. Sitr and add S+P to taste. Allow greens to wilt but not to the point of mush.
6. Prepare plate with greens on the bottom, a scoop of rice, then radishes and top with walnuts and some lemon juice. I used the horrid kind from a yellow squeezy thing bc that’s all I had. Oh well! It was still delicious!
Don’t forget to enter to win your free bag of Massa Organics brown rice. Enter here!
May 23rd, 2009 | Boston, Farmers Market, organic, quick and easy, recipe, spring, vegetarian | 9 Comments »
