American as Apple Pie

It is true what they say about Indiana. It is flat and there is a lot of corn. So much corn there is a town called Popcorn. There is also a town called Santa Clause for some reason, obviously they don't grow Santa Clause's there.
Besides naming a town Popcorn other uses of corn include but are not limited to; corn on the cob, high fructose corn syrup, candy corn, corn meal, corn flakes, porcelain corn people, and livestock feed. I even heard about a game called Cornhole (spelling anyone?), the winner is crowned Corn-holiest, congratulations to Mary. Though I wish that word didn't exist.



You'd think that they would be eating corn all the time. There was little corn consumption in my time there however. A cob with some of T's famous bbq'ed beer can chicken. The corn is so sweet and so smooth putting a drop of butter on it is criminal. I should be arrested.

The food staple this weekend at the G. homestead was cheese, specifically goat cheese. It was like a weekend in the Loire Valley. Every type of fresh goat cheese was made available to me, herb, grape leaf wrapped, something called Sophia cheese (was it plain?).

We ate well and fresh in Indiana. Upon arrival Mary whisked us off to a farm stand called My Neighbors Garden. We pulled into a long driveway and behind the house we found a small gravel parking lot and a good-sized garden. There was an extension to the house and in there was a mini climate controlled produce market. They had pretty much everything that is in season. Payment was like in Amherst, totally random and based on the belief that people are honest and good. One calculates how much they have spent and puts the money into a box. So not only have these people built a grocery store on to the back of their house, they also trust people to pay the suggested price. IOU's are also accepted if you can believe it. That to me seems naive, but again I have lived in NY for too long. The whole set up makes me nervous. From what Mary told us, everything that is sold isn't grown in the garden and other farmers bring their produce to sell. I tried to imagine how they pay each farmer their share of the profits, but it seemed impossible. James suggested that the owners buy all the produce upfront. This makes more sense then the random profit distribution I would try to implement.



Our first night there James and T made mashed potatoes and turnips. There was also beer can chicken, hanger steak, green salad, corn, and something else no doubt. Mary is mistress of the oven and for dessert she prepared a peach and nectarine cake. Served with a side of vanilla ice cream. A true heartland meal!

Saturday is farmer’s market day pretty much everywhere. It was suggested we prepare a farmers market dinner that night. So in the morning we headed to the Broad Ripple farmers market. This neighborhood is one of the more charming and historic parts of Indianapolis. There are Victorian, Craftsman, and Colonial houses hidden among trees as tall as NY apartment buildings. Signs posted on the street advertise galleries, antique stores, and coop markets. There is a lot to be said about the relationship between a farmers market and the community. If I am not mistaken the residents are more affluent and liberal then some of the other parts of Indy. The first thing that caught my attention at this market was the amount of prepared food. Among the stands of fresh produce was hickory-smoked syrup, cheese, fresh roasted coffee, dog treats, and bakeries. I tend to gravitate towards the unique produce stands. One woman's specialty was Asian produce. She had the strangest looking vegetables. Bitter melons (Karela), itty-bitty gourds, yellow cucumbers.





I bought one of these yellow cucumbers for .75, and had severe buyers remorse later that day. I wish I could remember the real name of it. It starts with a P includes a K; it is yellow but has the same shape as a green pickling cucumber. I think it is probably used for that. As a fresh cucumber it was inedible. It was like eating an old sponge.

At the market James and I bought blueberries, peaches, zucchini, onions, green bell peppers, and tomatoes. The family asked me to make dolma for dinner. Mary has an impressive vegetable garden in her backyard so with the greenmarket and the amazing garden, dinner's ingredients were remarkable. I have never cooked for more then 10 people. Dolma for 12 scared me but I was honored. Being invited to prepare dinner for this family is a right of passage, like being granted an honorary citizenship. The last time I prepared food for them was in Key West and I only made a Shepard’s salad. James made the main course of Mac'n Heart Attack. Thinking back now I am not sure why I decided Shepard’s salad was appropriate for Mac 'n Heart Attack but that’s beside the point.

Thanks to Mother for walking me through the dolma. I made zucchini, pepper, tomato, and eggplant dolma. The hardest part is the scooping and even that wasn't hard. I found that cooking for a large group is actually easier, one finds a rhythm and it is easier to make a lot. Here's how it goes.
1 handful of ground beef or lamb
1 handful of rice
1.5 glasses of water
Parsley
Tons of chopped onion
Salt and pepper
Scoop out the inside of the veggies, and throw some of that in too.



You want the consistency of the stuffing to be a little looser then dough, use more water then meat. Place face up in a pan pot; pour the excess meat on and crushed tomatoes. It can be cooked in the oven at 350 or on the stove. It is done when the dolma shells look cooked at the edges. I think everyone was a fan. I know I was. They even put some yogurt on it.

Of course James had to have his moment and baked one of his best breads ever. The bread complimented the juices from the dolma, just as James and I compliment each other. I have to admit I was a bit jealous his bread was as highly praised as my dolma. Healthy competition always pushes me to try harder.



The most important part of fresh fruits and vegetables is the quality of the local blueberries. I would place Indiana blueberries right after the ones in Massachusetts. Mary made a delightful dessert for our fresh dinner on Saturday. A pie with blended berries, rhubarb and peach with a layer of plump and juicy fresh blueberries on top. It was a weekend as American as apple pie. Aside from the Turkish dinner.

Brother was so helpful this weekend. Props to him for picking up the CSA goods. We came home to a fridge full of more fresh food, tomatoes, beets, onions, kale, lettuce, and cucumbers. I love the summer.