Kale chips are delicious, but they are often somehow too crispy on the outside and too mushy on the inside. Sister-in-Law Barefoot was making them a few weeks ago and we learned the secret is to cook them low and slow on about 200 degrees. This is problematic in the summer when you don't want to run the oven, and your toaster oven doesn't make more than a single serving. But they do cook faster - about 30 minutes on 250 (lowest setting our toaster oven has that isn't keep warm). But otherwise, let's talk flavoring. I found this Carolina Mustard Barbecue sauce at Harris Teeter and it makes for some really good kale chips - just enough kick, just enough flavoring. Ironically, I hate barbecue chips, but these are pretty much the best kale chips I've ever had.
Recipe:
-4-6 leaves of kale chips, rinsed, torn into bite sized pieces
-Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce or some other mustard based barbecue sauce.
1.) Preheat oven to 250.
2.) Toss 2-3 tsp of barbecue sauce with kale chips until all leaves are well coated.
3.) Spread kale leaves in a single layer on baking pan.
4.) Bake at 250 for 30 minutes.
Showing posts with label farmer's market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farmer's market. Show all posts
Monday, July 22, 2013
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Sweet & Sour Stir Fry
This week in the CSA, we got radishes and bok choy. Also, cabbage, kale, and arugula. And another sweet potato. I'm a little CSA-weary these days, but we haven't had time to go to the farmer's market since the beginning of August, so thank goodness my sister keeps showing up with fresh veggies on Tuesday. This week, we are sort of overrun with leafy green things, and I am feeling the need to cook everything so nothing goes bad. (Suggestions for things that freeze well are appreciated.)
Tonight, I finally used up some tofu that was on it's last legs, the radishes, the bok choy, and an onion to create a simple but delicious stir-fry. If you are afraid of bok choy, don't be. I was freaked out at first too, but it turns out it is easy and delicious. Same goes for the radishes. This was super easy and I'm really pleased with how everything tasted.
Ingredients:
Tofu (I used a 2-block pack from Costco, but you could probably just use one) cut up into 1/2 inch dice and drained
1/4 cup Sweet and sour sauce (I used about a half cup, but was using 2 blocks of tofu)
1/4 cup Soy Sauce (all liquid measurements are approximate, you want a mixture that is a little runny but still thick)
2-3 cloves Garlic
1 onion
1 bunch radishes, cleaned, trimmed and cut into quarters
1 bok choy, cleaned, separated from stalk and with leaves trimmed off and set aside (just cut them off and put the leaves separate from the white part)
More soy sauce
Olive oil
Brown rice or starch of your choice (I throw the rice in the rice cooker first, since it takes so long.)
Procedure:
1.) Heat olive oil in a pan on medium-high. Add the tofu and allow to cook until edges are crispy (this took around ten minutes, during which I chopped everything else.)
2.) In a separate pan or wok, start the onions cooking over medium-high heat.
3.) Once the onions have softened, add the radishes. Allow them to cook for about 5 minutes with the onions.
4.) Mix the soy sauce and sweet and sour sauce together. Add to tofu. Turn to medium-low heat.
5.) Add the bok choy to the onions and radishes. Add about 1/4 cup of soy sauce to the mix and allow to cook over medium-high heat for another 5-10 minutes. Radishes should taste crunchy but fork easily.
6.) Once the radishes are edible, add the bok choy leaves and stir into the mixture. Cook 1-2 minutes more, until leaves are just wilted.
7.) Serve tofu and veggies together over brown rice.
Tonight, I finally used up some tofu that was on it's last legs, the radishes, the bok choy, and an onion to create a simple but delicious stir-fry. If you are afraid of bok choy, don't be. I was freaked out at first too, but it turns out it is easy and delicious. Same goes for the radishes. This was super easy and I'm really pleased with how everything tasted.
Ingredients:
Tofu (I used a 2-block pack from Costco, but you could probably just use one) cut up into 1/2 inch dice and drained
1/4 cup Sweet and sour sauce (I used about a half cup, but was using 2 blocks of tofu)
1/4 cup Soy Sauce (all liquid measurements are approximate, you want a mixture that is a little runny but still thick)
2-3 cloves Garlic
1 onion
1 bunch radishes, cleaned, trimmed and cut into quarters
1 bok choy, cleaned, separated from stalk and with leaves trimmed off and set aside (just cut them off and put the leaves separate from the white part)
More soy sauce
Olive oil
Brown rice or starch of your choice (I throw the rice in the rice cooker first, since it takes so long.)
Procedure:
1.) Heat olive oil in a pan on medium-high. Add the tofu and allow to cook until edges are crispy (this took around ten minutes, during which I chopped everything else.)
2.) In a separate pan or wok, start the onions cooking over medium-high heat.
3.) Once the onions have softened, add the radishes. Allow them to cook for about 5 minutes with the onions.
4.) Mix the soy sauce and sweet and sour sauce together. Add to tofu. Turn to medium-low heat.
5.) Add the bok choy to the onions and radishes. Add about 1/4 cup of soy sauce to the mix and allow to cook over medium-high heat for another 5-10 minutes. Radishes should taste crunchy but fork easily.
6.) Once the radishes are edible, add the bok choy leaves and stir into the mixture. Cook 1-2 minutes more, until leaves are just wilted.
7.) Serve tofu and veggies together over brown rice.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
CSA Routine
Sorry for being so MIA lately, I got a new job and it comes with a commute and a somewhat more harried lifestyle than the last job. Also we've been throwing together meals at the last minute, rather than really planning, and then I'm too tired to remember what goes in them.
But, after a couple weeks of this, we are finally making the CSA work with our hectic lifestyle. We get our CSA share on Tuesday nights, and the routine is to immediately come home and prep the food. This includes:
-chop onions - I do them into strips and into a dice, for different recipes
-tear up Kale leaves into bite sized pieces for making kale chips; wash and put away (I store them in tupperwares lined with paper towels)
-green beans/snap peas get washed and trimmed so they are ready to use
-lettuce gets cut up, washed, and stored in the salad spinner, so handfuls can be grabbed and put into salads
-beets get washed and if time permits, roasted and cut into slices or cubes
-cucumbers get sliced for easy snacking (although this week's cucumbers are a little bitter)
-everything gets cataloged and we talk meals for the rest of the week, even if we don't make a formal meal plan (last week, we said, "okay, let's do stir fry, eggplant pasta, and tacos for weeknights"; this week it's "lets try this weird zucchini thing and maybe do a risotto and tacos")
We still hit the farmer's market on weekends for the things we know aren't coming in our CSA share, or the things that we know we'll need more of than is coming in the share. That gets us through Sunday/Monday meals, and gives us veggies to supplement our meals. We still haven't perfected it though, like I really wish I had bought eggplant when I saw it on Sunday at the Farmer's market, but we're getting closer. I suspect by next year, we will be old hats at this and have our routine perfected.
Even if we don't continue to have a CSA, it makes sense to be doing this after we get back from the farmer's market, but usually on Sunday we are rushing off to one place or another and don't have the time.
Anyone else like to pre-prep their food? Any tips to share re: washing, storing, or pre-cooking?
But, after a couple weeks of this, we are finally making the CSA work with our hectic lifestyle. We get our CSA share on Tuesday nights, and the routine is to immediately come home and prep the food. This includes:
-chop onions - I do them into strips and into a dice, for different recipes
-tear up Kale leaves into bite sized pieces for making kale chips; wash and put away (I store them in tupperwares lined with paper towels)
-green beans/snap peas get washed and trimmed so they are ready to use
-lettuce gets cut up, washed, and stored in the salad spinner, so handfuls can be grabbed and put into salads
-beets get washed and if time permits, roasted and cut into slices or cubes
-cucumbers get sliced for easy snacking (although this week's cucumbers are a little bitter)
-everything gets cataloged and we talk meals for the rest of the week, even if we don't make a formal meal plan (last week, we said, "okay, let's do stir fry, eggplant pasta, and tacos for weeknights"; this week it's "lets try this weird zucchini thing and maybe do a risotto and tacos")
We still hit the farmer's market on weekends for the things we know aren't coming in our CSA share, or the things that we know we'll need more of than is coming in the share. That gets us through Sunday/Monday meals, and gives us veggies to supplement our meals. We still haven't perfected it though, like I really wish I had bought eggplant when I saw it on Sunday at the Farmer's market, but we're getting closer. I suspect by next year, we will be old hats at this and have our routine perfected.
Even if we don't continue to have a CSA, it makes sense to be doing this after we get back from the farmer's market, but usually on Sunday we are rushing off to one place or another and don't have the time.
Anyone else like to pre-prep their food? Any tips to share re: washing, storing, or pre-cooking?
Friday, May 27, 2011
How much?
Mr. Barefoot and I have been having a lot of trouble getting enough vegetables and dealing with our meal plan for the past month. I think this is because we have recently decided to eat more vegetables and also not throw things away. So in trying not to overbuy, we are underbuying and running out of food. We also have a meal plan, but this month's didn't work out since we are trying to eat more seasonally, but the farmer's markets have only radishes and chard.
Our CSA is still two weeks away from starting, and I've realized that the biggest problem for us is that we have no idea how many vegetables to buy for ourselves, unless they are part of a recipe. If you do the math, to get the recommended 3-5 servings a day of vegetables, we need to be buying 6 servings of vegetables per day for a week. Which is 42 servings, total.
A serving, in case you were wondering, so something around-ish 1/2 cup of vegetables or one tennis ball sized vegetable (so a small head of brocolli).
Which means that what we should be buying, if we were only eating fresh vegetables, to feed two people reasonable vegetables for a week is something like:
1 lb green beans (should create 4 servings of vegetables)
2 zucchini (a word I still can't spell) - 4 servings
2 yellow squash - 4 servings
2 heads broccoli - 2 servings
4 peppers - 4 servings
1/2 lb snap peas - 2 servings
1 Eggplant - 4 servings
2 cucumbers - 4 servings
1 lb of spinach - 4 servings
1 lb salad greens - 4 servings
2 bunches radishes - 4 servings
1 lb peas - 4 servings
So, upon writing that list, uh, holy cr*p, 3-5 servings a day of vegetables is a LOT. More importantly, our current produce yield looks something a lot more like:
1 bag salad - 2 servings
1 bag spinach - 2 servings
1 bunch asparagus - 2-4 servings
1 bunch radishes - 2 servings
1 eggplant - 2 servings (they are small right now)
2 peppers - 2 servings
1/2 lb green beans or snap peas. - 2 servings
That is about 14 servings of vegetables, for two people, for a week. It works out to about 1 vegetable a day. So clearly we're not buying enough vegetables. (This by the way, is a REALLY GOOD week for us.) I'm not really sure what to do, short of buying a ton of stuff at the farmer's market on Sundays, then coming home and menu planning. Which does sound exhausting, but might be worth it. I feel better when I'm eating fresh vegetables, and right now, we have the time. But then we run into the problem of - sometimes we go out to eat. Sometimes vegetables go bad. How do we keep the vegetables from going bad and make sure we eat them fast enough? I think strict menu planning and using all my vegetable cookbooks is going to be the answer. Also making sure things like cucumbers are already washed and ready to eat will help me reach for them for snacks.
Anyone have any tips for how much vegetables the Barefoots should be buying? I feel like I should be walking out of the grocery store with at least one reusable bag filled with just produce. I also didn't include onions on this list because I don't know if they are a vegetable. Thoughts?
Our CSA is still two weeks away from starting, and I've realized that the biggest problem for us is that we have no idea how many vegetables to buy for ourselves, unless they are part of a recipe. If you do the math, to get the recommended 3-5 servings a day of vegetables, we need to be buying 6 servings of vegetables per day for a week. Which is 42 servings, total.
A serving, in case you were wondering, so something around-ish 1/2 cup of vegetables or one tennis ball sized vegetable (so a small head of brocolli).
Which means that what we should be buying, if we were only eating fresh vegetables, to feed two people reasonable vegetables for a week is something like:
1 lb green beans (should create 4 servings of vegetables)
2 zucchini (a word I still can't spell) - 4 servings
2 yellow squash - 4 servings
2 heads broccoli - 2 servings
4 peppers - 4 servings
1/2 lb snap peas - 2 servings
1 Eggplant - 4 servings
2 cucumbers - 4 servings
1 lb of spinach - 4 servings
1 lb salad greens - 4 servings
2 bunches radishes - 4 servings
1 lb peas - 4 servings
So, upon writing that list, uh, holy cr*p, 3-5 servings a day of vegetables is a LOT. More importantly, our current produce yield looks something a lot more like:
1 bag salad - 2 servings
1 bag spinach - 2 servings
1 bunch asparagus - 2-4 servings
1 bunch radishes - 2 servings
1 eggplant - 2 servings (they are small right now)
2 peppers - 2 servings
1/2 lb green beans or snap peas. - 2 servings
That is about 14 servings of vegetables, for two people, for a week. It works out to about 1 vegetable a day. So clearly we're not buying enough vegetables. (This by the way, is a REALLY GOOD week for us.) I'm not really sure what to do, short of buying a ton of stuff at the farmer's market on Sundays, then coming home and menu planning. Which does sound exhausting, but might be worth it. I feel better when I'm eating fresh vegetables, and right now, we have the time. But then we run into the problem of - sometimes we go out to eat. Sometimes vegetables go bad. How do we keep the vegetables from going bad and make sure we eat them fast enough? I think strict menu planning and using all my vegetable cookbooks is going to be the answer. Also making sure things like cucumbers are already washed and ready to eat will help me reach for them for snacks.
Anyone have any tips for how much vegetables the Barefoots should be buying? I feel like I should be walking out of the grocery store with at least one reusable bag filled with just produce. I also didn't include onions on this list because I don't know if they are a vegetable. Thoughts?
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
What food looks like
I remember being surprised, when we first started shopping at the farmer's market, at how crooked my sweet potatoes were. They were so hard to peel! They had dirt stuck under everything! These weren't the vegetables I was used to, the straight, clean, easy to peel sweet potatoes my father used to hand me before dinner to deal with.
Now, when I go to the farmers market, I expect my potatoes to look like they just came out of the ground, I expect the mushrooms I buy to have dirt on the end. I expect my vegetables to be crooked. I was really surprised last week though, when we went to buy carrots, and I was confronted with Giant Carrots. They were at least three inches in diameter. I mean, they were enormous. I'm used to organic, farmers market produce being smaller and less shiny, like my strawberries. I'm not used to organic produce being massive.
The first time I saw Brussels sprouts on a stalk, I was confused. (I was also 23, so there's that.) You mean Brussels sprouts don't just come in a plastic bag from the grocery store? I'm still not entirely sure what peas come in, although I hear a pod, because I'm convinced they come in a white package in the freezer section. (I'm hoping there is a recipe in one of my cookbooks that uses fresh peas, and then I can figure this out.)
I think it is a good thing, to constantly challenge our perceptions of what food looks like, what food should look like, and to recognize that aesthetics aren't everything and vegetables taste the same, regardless of shape. (Size is a different matter.) It's also important to know where our food comes from, not in a cage-free, hormone-free, go to the butchers and watch them kill a cow kind of way (although, go to town, if you're up for it); but in the most basic way. What kind of plant the food you are eating is part of. Is it a tree or a bush or a root? Does it grow on a stalk? Are there flowers involved?
What has been your most surprising, "Huh. So I guess that's how that vegetable grows" moment?
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Those elitist Barefoots
I read through this article about food and elitism, and I started wondering if I'm a food elitist. I mean, can somebody who makes macaroni and cheese on a regular basis really be a food elitist? I mean, okay, sometimes it's not Kraft, but nonetheless. I am a woman of simple tastes, and if I could do it without gaining weight, I would live pretty much entirely on grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese. Oh, and pizza. Which I buy frozen from Costco, most of the time. With a side of brocolli, because I have a degree in public health and parents who raised me to not get scurvy.
But I don't like champagne, or truffles. I don't have an appreciation for really fine foods with fancy-sounding ingredients. I like good, simple food. I don't like having to ask, "what is xyz?" when I'm at a restaurant. I like wine that tastes like juice, and much to Mr. Barefoot's constant annoyance, I can't kick my soda habit.
Mr. Barefoot and I try to shop locally, we buy organic when we can, and to make that financially possible, we also choose to buy in bulk (a savings which in some ways is countered by our high rent for our apartment that is large enough to keep bulk items in - room for a 25lb bag of flour is hard to find, but that bag cost the same as the 5lb bag of King Arthur.) We have a shelf in our pantry dedicated to a rag-tag team of containers filled with cous-cous, four kinds of rice, barley, cornmeal, and anything else that comes in those iffy-looking containers. We recently switched to dried beans, because we eat a lot of beans and the price of dried organic beans is vastly cheaper than canned conventional beans. Dried beans hardly seem elitist to me, especially when we are buying them to save money.
I mean, maybe going to the Farmer's Market often enough to take engagement pictures there makes us elitist:
But I don't like champagne, or truffles. I don't have an appreciation for really fine foods with fancy-sounding ingredients. I like good, simple food. I don't like having to ask, "what is xyz?" when I'm at a restaurant. I like wine that tastes like juice, and much to Mr. Barefoot's constant annoyance, I can't kick my soda habit.
Mr. Barefoot and I try to shop locally, we buy organic when we can, and to make that financially possible, we also choose to buy in bulk (a savings which in some ways is countered by our high rent for our apartment that is large enough to keep bulk items in - room for a 25lb bag of flour is hard to find, but that bag cost the same as the 5lb bag of King Arthur.) We have a shelf in our pantry dedicated to a rag-tag team of containers filled with cous-cous, four kinds of rice, barley, cornmeal, and anything else that comes in those iffy-looking containers. We recently switched to dried beans, because we eat a lot of beans and the price of dried organic beans is vastly cheaper than canned conventional beans. Dried beans hardly seem elitist to me, especially when we are buying them to save money.
I mean, maybe going to the Farmer's Market often enough to take engagement pictures there makes us elitist:
(By Prema Photographic)
I do think we do a lot of things that make us elitist. We both own Kindles, and we read a lot of books. We go to movies, then put our noses in the air and say the book was better. We travel, often to places that require passports, and when we do, we go to museums or we go scuba diving. In our house, computers outnumber people, we recently bought smartphones, and we both have post-graduate degrees.
So yeah, we're elitist. But not when it comes to food.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Cheating.
I want to eat all good, local ingredients. I want to make the sensible financial decisions. I want to make delcious, transcendant meals. But sometimes, you just can't.
Today I'm trying to make this using this recipe. Reader C. sent me the recipe as a possible thing to do with a pumpkin, but since I already mashed my pumpkin up, I decided to just buy butternut squash.
Have you ever tried peeling a butternut squash by the way? It's very very hard. So I totally took the easy, cheating way out. I bought 2lbs of pre-cubed butternut squash at Costco. I used about a quarter of it for this, meaning I have plenty left for Moroccan spice butternut squash and butternut squash soup.
Yeah, it's cheating and it's not local and it's probably kind of expensive (I think I see BNS for $3 at the farmer's market, but arguably, this is two squashes worth and so $6 is pretty reasonable.) But I just made risotto in 5 minutes. It probably won't taste like transcendance in a bowl, but it probably will taste pretty darn good. I'll let you know.
Today I'm trying to make this using this recipe. Reader C. sent me the recipe as a possible thing to do with a pumpkin, but since I already mashed my pumpkin up, I decided to just buy butternut squash.
Have you ever tried peeling a butternut squash by the way? It's very very hard. So I totally took the easy, cheating way out. I bought 2lbs of pre-cubed butternut squash at Costco. I used about a quarter of it for this, meaning I have plenty left for Moroccan spice butternut squash and butternut squash soup.
Yeah, it's cheating and it's not local and it's probably kind of expensive (I think I see BNS for $3 at the farmer's market, but arguably, this is two squashes worth and so $6 is pretty reasonable.) But I just made risotto in 5 minutes. It probably won't taste like transcendance in a bowl, but it probably will taste pretty darn good. I'll let you know.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
What to do with a pumpkin?
This morning we hit up the Waverly Farmer's Market, which was not nearly as large and crazy as advertised.
We picked up a cheese pumpkin, because Mr. Barefoot is making pumpkin beer today, and I get to use the other half to do as I would like.
I was thinking pumpkin lasagna, so I went off in search of a recipe.
I found this and this, but both require canned pumpkin.
Omg. Also requires canned pumpkin. But omg.
This looks interesting, but I only have a half a pumpkin. You can bet I'll be trying it sometime soon though. How long are pumpkins in season for?
Ooooooh....want! I'm going to need to try this as well.
I think the answer for today is to cook the pumpkin, scrape out the meat, and then mash up the meat and refrigerate/freeze it.
We picked up a cheese pumpkin, because Mr. Barefoot is making pumpkin beer today, and I get to use the other half to do as I would like.
I was thinking pumpkin lasagna, so I went off in search of a recipe.
I found this and this, but both require canned pumpkin.
Omg. Also requires canned pumpkin. But omg.
This looks interesting, but I only have a half a pumpkin. You can bet I'll be trying it sometime soon though. How long are pumpkins in season for?
Ooooooh....want! I'm going to need to try this as well.
I think the answer for today is to cook the pumpkin, scrape out the meat, and then mash up the meat and refrigerate/freeze it.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Roasted garlic
Last night I roasted garlic for the first time. It was amazing. And easy. And took a long time. I'm going to give instructions without breaking them up, because they are easy and I'm feeling lazy.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take a small baking dish that is about an inch or two deep. I used a dish that is about 5 inches square and an inch and a half deep. Pour in 3/4 cup water and some vinegar (receipe recommended using white wine, I used white) - maybe a teaspoon. Take a clove of garlic, chop the top off with a really heavy knife in one fell swoop so the tips are exposed. Removed the losest layer of paper. Drizzle the top with olive oil and then cap with aluminum foil.
Bake for an hour.
There are a lot of purposes for roasted garlic. I used it for gourmet sandwiches and then I just ate it. I think I'll probably make a batch before big dinner parties and before thanksgiving, and just use it in everything.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
T-4 Days
This morning I hit up the farmer's market for all my Thanksgiving supplies. The list was long but I was able to get pretty much everything on it, even eggplant. I got home and chopped celery, onions, and garlic for stuffing, and stored that. It should keep for a couple days. If it doesn't, I have plenty more because man, you get a lot of celery. I got green beans and already trimmed those to store (apparently you are not supposed to trim them until right before you use them because they will lose nutrients.
I got potatoes, both sweet and redskin, and fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme for dishes and turkey stuffing. (I don't make stuffing in the turkey, but I do put sage and an onion and an apple in the cavity for flavor.) Plus the spices get used to make the stock.
I got a stalk of brussels sprouts, but now I have NO idea what to do with them. Mark's dad likes them, and I think I'll either steam them or saute them with bacon, but I'm not quite sure how to store them. I'll check the Joy of Cooking.
I will be going to the grocery store to get my turkey today. Since it is Sunday, and it needs to thaw for a couple days, it will go straight in the fridge. I think Safeway said they had turkeys for $0.39 per pound. Giant is $0.49. I've been seeing them for $0.99 a pound elsewheres. Three years ago when I did one, it was $0.29 per pound and that was standard. Oh well. I hear the economy is bad.
I also have broccoli, which I think I will steam up.
How are you getting ready for Thursday?
I got potatoes, both sweet and redskin, and fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme for dishes and turkey stuffing. (I don't make stuffing in the turkey, but I do put sage and an onion and an apple in the cavity for flavor.) Plus the spices get used to make the stock.
I got a stalk of brussels sprouts, but now I have NO idea what to do with them. Mark's dad likes them, and I think I'll either steam them or saute them with bacon, but I'm not quite sure how to store them. I'll check the Joy of Cooking.
I will be going to the grocery store to get my turkey today. Since it is Sunday, and it needs to thaw for a couple days, it will go straight in the fridge. I think Safeway said they had turkeys for $0.39 per pound. Giant is $0.49. I've been seeing them for $0.99 a pound elsewheres. Three years ago when I did one, it was $0.29 per pound and that was standard. Oh well. I hear the economy is bad.
I also have broccoli, which I think I will steam up.
How are you getting ready for Thursday?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Minestrone
This is my favorite soup. Well, one of two. We used to make it a lot, back when we were in college. Sam really liked it too, and I think even Tom would eat it. It's especially good with some focaccia bread to dunk. It's perfect for today's chilly fall weather.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 large potato, diced
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can kidney beans
- 4 cups vegetable broth (I use bullion. It's cheaper and takes up less space in the cabinet.)
- 1 cup water.
- 1/2 cup pasta
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 large pot
- Cutting board
- Vidalia Chop Wizard (its one of those as-seen-on-TV things, but it totally works and I swear by it).
- Saute onion and garlic until transparent
- Add carrots and celery and saute for a few minutes
- Add potato, continue to saute
- Add tomatoes, beans, and broth
- Bring to a boil for 10 minutes
- Add pasta
- Bring to a second boil for 15 minutes
- Add rosemary
- Let continue to simmer for another 10 minutes, or until carrots are soft.
Farmer's Market
Mark and I have been frequenting the local farmers markets where we live for a little while. Last year, the one by the Food Lion in Columbia was our preferred location, now it is the one under the 83 viaduct. (Saratoga St. between Holliday and Gay) It's from 8am to 12pm, running until December 21st.
The bigger question is probably why do we go to the farmer's market? Honestly, the main reason is not because we want to support locally grown produce or organic farming. The main reason is because our local grocery store's produce section sucks.
The relative difference is obvious - the farmer's market in Columbia was small - usually three or four produce stands, a bread stand, and one or two flower stands. There were usually about 10 customers at a time, more in the spring. The Baltimore farmer's market is huge - probably at least 10-15 produce stands, plus that many or more food vendors, local artisans, handmade dog biscuit sellers...it takes up an entire parking lot and is filled with people. The Baltimore Farmer's Market is like the Riverdale Farmer's Market on crack. There is a donut vendor here too, but the line was way too long - there is an advantage to a smaller farmer's market, sometimes.
I highly recommend checking out the Baltimore farmer's market, and if you don't live in the city, check out this - http://www.mda.state.md.us/md_products/farmers_market_dir.php - to find your nearest one.
The bigger question is probably why do we go to the farmer's market? Honestly, the main reason is not because we want to support locally grown produce or organic farming. The main reason is because our local grocery store's produce section sucks.
The relative difference is obvious - the farmer's market in Columbia was small - usually three or four produce stands, a bread stand, and one or two flower stands. There were usually about 10 customers at a time, more in the spring. The Baltimore farmer's market is huge - probably at least 10-15 produce stands, plus that many or more food vendors, local artisans, handmade dog biscuit sellers...it takes up an entire parking lot and is filled with people. The Baltimore Farmer's Market is like the Riverdale Farmer's Market on crack. There is a donut vendor here too, but the line was way too long - there is an advantage to a smaller farmer's market, sometimes.
I highly recommend checking out the Baltimore farmer's market, and if you don't live in the city, check out this - http://www.mda.state.md.us/md_products/farmers_market_dir.php - to find your nearest one.
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