From TaMara with love:
Tonight’s menu is pretty simple. I’m still kind of cooked-out from the holiday weekend. Figured we could all use something quick and full of fresh garden goodness. Went to the Farmer’s Market this weekend and was unimpressed. Though I did get some raw local honey and some so-so tomatoes. That makes 3 local markets I’ve visited, and none of them will draw me back, except maybe for the pasta guy. He makes the best flavored pastas around. I’m much happier with my local farm stands. There are a plethora of them within 5 miles, so the prices are good and the selection excellent. I’ll try and take photos next trip. Based on the comments I’ve read this last week, you guys seem to have an abundance of basil right now and pesto seems to be the recipe of choice, before it all bolts. What else does your garden overflow with and what are you doing with it?
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On the board tonight:
__1. Pasta w/Fresh Basil
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2. Green Beans w/Red Peppers
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3. Nectarines
As ever, recipes and shopping list at the link.
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P.S. from Anne Laurie: Tamara, I remember reading some local stories about the “conflict” between farm stands and farmers’ markets. Basically, if an individual farm can draw enough traffic on its own, it’s not cost-effective for the owners to spend the time/energy/money to schlep everything to a central location and tie up labor to sit with the cash box for what may turn out to be few or no sales. Of course a good farmers market attracts new customers (some of whom, hopefully, will end up migrating to the farm stand), but you can’t have a good market without top-quality attractions, and those top-quality vendors are the ones who have the most to lose and the least to gain from trading in farm-stand for market sales. So, barring other economic incentives — like the state offering some kind of tax rebate, or a city providing extra “food stamps” for farmers market purchases, or a farmers co-op requiring its members to rotate staffing at the market for advertising purposes — the first vendors at a newly established farmers market are going to be farmers with “so-so” produce who can’t get their customers to come to them. Or, as per your local market, vendors with relatively high-cost products that are easy to pack & transport: stuff like raw honey and fresh pasta!
TaMara (BHF)
Anne that makes so much sense. One of the cool things with the farm stands here is that many seem to have an exchange program with the Western slope (of the rockies) where they grow wonderful peaches, cantaloupe and other goodies.
Note to everyone: I had an email conversation with a frequent BJ commenter who was worried about sharing recipes and links in this thread (despite my pleas for sharing), thinking it might be bad manners or something.
So, I just want to make sure everyone realizes my hope (and I think John and Anne Laurie’s, too) is that you use the Thursday Night Menu thread to share recipes and recipe links, like a big BJ potluck. xoxo – TaMara
Litlebritdifrnt
I went to my local farmers market today (cause my veggie hating DH actually called me at work and said “you are going to the farmers market today and getting me some fresh veggies right”) As usual I wandered through all of the stalls and made a mental note of what I was going to buy from each stall. (I like to spread the wealth so to speak) my usual free range egg stall was already sold out, so I had to go to another one to get my eggs, but I got taters from one, bunched carrots and green beans from another, beets from another. I like the fact that I am rewarding people for growing stuff, and seeing as newly healthy eating DH has an obsession with fresh steamed veggies (green beans, carrots, beets, brocolli) I need a constant supply.
TaMara (BHF)
@Litlebritdifrnt: All that is what I’m always expecting from the local farmer’s markets here, but it is never like that. I’m so used to the big markets in the North End of Boston and in LA, I’m always shocked at the meager pickings here. I like mingling with a lot of people and the energy of those markets….but getting to know my local farmer at his or her farm stand has it’s benefits, too.
EDIT: and what brought on DH’s new love of veggies?
Joey Maloney
I can’t see how that makes much sense at all, at least not universally.
Urban farmers’ markets serve customers who wouldn’t otherwise get to the farmstands – people who may not have cars and in any case get nervous if the concrete coverage in their immediate view falls below a certain point. And especially if we’re talking about markets held close to the very center of many cities, potential customers are likely not to have access to even a good supermarket, let alone a better source for high-quality produce.
When two farmers’ markets opened in my former home, a second-tier Southern city, they had good vendors from the start and did excellent business. (I think their business tailed off for a while once the novelty wore off, but then it built back up steadily.)
My impression was a lot of the vendors, especially those who drove in from further away, used their market stands as loss-leaders and advertising to build up their CSA. The steady income stream and payment in advance from a well-subscribed CSA is what they’re really shooting for. Walkup sales are not lagniappe exactly, but they’re too variable on which to pin a business plan.
Svensker
Since basil’s the only thing the groundbugger didn’t eat, I’m craving pesto. But the DH is on a no-carb diet so pesto/pasta is out. I haz a big sad.
Guess I could try a minestrone with fresh pesto. Anybody else got ideas for pesto that don’t involve pasta, potatoes, bread or rice?
Uplift
@4, I agree. I don’t know generally, but here in the second-tier South (in my case, NC Triangle), the farms are 10 miles out of town. I’m NEVER going to drive that far to buy $15 worth of vegetables OR to pick up a CSA share; just not going to happen.
This is true for many, many people I know. Maybe it’s different in other parts of the world, but almost certainly not in cities for the reasons mentioned; and most ‘mericans live in cities.
Nellcote
@Svensker:
sorbet?
lou
I’ll stop at a farmer’s stand on my way back from the beach (a once a year trek). But otherwise, it’s at least 25 to 30 miles to find such stands. so I’ll use farmers’ markets.
They’re also great for picking up locally raised, humanely raised beef, pork, chicken and lamb.
Svensker
@Nellcote:
It would have to be sorbet without any sweetener because sugar/honey, etc. are carbs and the DH doesn’t do artificial sweeteners.
Guess I could do Thai chicken with mint/basil. Hmmmm.
Josie
@Svensker: I use fresh cauliflower, break off the florets, and cook it in the microwave. Then I mush it up in a little food processor and add Smart Balance spread, sour cream or regular cream, salt and pepper and serve it like mashed potatoes. It doesn’t really taste like potatoes, but it is good. Maybe pesto would work over that. The other way to use the cauliflower is to run it through the processor uncooked so that it looks like rice and then cook it in a skillet in butter until tender. There is such a thing as low carb pasta, but we don’t care for it.
Josie
@Svensker: Or spaghetti squash?
Joey Maloney
In my current home I am one of those car-free urban hellhole dwellers. Today a friend with wheels drove me out to the burbs to visit what I think is one of the largest, fanciest grocery stores in the whole f’ing country.
And after having a lovely meal of asparagus salad, sauteed shimeji and enoki mushrooms, and country bread, I thought I’d stop by here and blogwhore it.