I went to the farmers market with Father in DC and hopefully inspired my parents to make more of their purchases from the greenmarket this season instead of the Whole Foods. There were a good variety of vegetables, fruits and herbs, even though it's only a one farm set up. Maybe it is my economist blood but it seems that if there were competing stands then prices might be cheaper and the variety would be bigger. It wasn’t as expensive as our greenmarkets in NYC, blueberries were .50 cents cheaper and they were organic and delicious. So it was all good. My hope is that my parents venture out to the larger markets on the weekends and pick up dairy and meat products as well. Nothing wrong with comparison shopping. It was crowded with customers for a Wednesday afternoon. Everything looked ready to be in my belly. Piles of chard dripping with water, tomatoes piled sweet and fat, I could smell them from yards away. A giant bin of slender green beans looked so good I wanted to jump in, like kids do in those vats of balls.
What is so fun about swimming in a room of plastic balls? I remember it being painful and enormously entertaining.
We bought tomatoes, blueberries, apricots, white cherries, golden beets, and cucumbers. I had never had white cherries before and even though they are smaller, they pack a sweet punch. I like them more then red cherries. For dinner last night I made a golden beet salad and I have to say I think I like the golden beet real good. It’s beet-light, and the color is still fantastic.
Last Sunday's dinner was the easiest and quickest we have had since the season started. I will have to ask James if this is true though. He made the dinner I made the dessert. We started with a delicious salad of lettuce, arugula, mint, lamb’s quarter, white radish capriccio and sprouts. He dressed this with his signature dressing that I’ll call the urban herb mix. The dressing is a blend of basil, mint, parsley, thyme, garlic scapes oregano, honey, olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar. blended until the texture is fine and delicate. Light but not runny, it mingled nicely into the greens.
Lamb’s quarter sparked my interest because of the name. I judge books by their covers and vegetables by their names. Had it been called Wild NYC Weed I would not have bought it. Lamb's Quarter instantly brought a sweet taste and warm thoughts into my mid, as if cute little lamb stand around and eat this kind of grass all day. Piled in a wood crate limp but fresh, the rich evergreen color is royal but they looked neglected next to the succulent mixed greens, and juicy chards. I was touched by their solitary pride. I inquired about them to the farmers, they said it is like spinach but actually has more vitamins and minerals. They also mentioned that they grow in NYC parks. Not thinking that maybe these guys just picked this from the park I hurriedly laid out my (James’) money for a bunch. It wasn’t expensive, around $1.75 and enough for three salads. Since lamb chops were the center of the meal I thought it would be cute to have a green named lamb’s quarter. It is cute isn’t it?
As I’ve said before I’m always on the lookout for something to spice up a salad, here was my newest discovery. L.Q are velvety for a green, like a soft fabric, with a rich taste and texture, bitter but not so it is inedible. It is tastier then spinach, or at least different. I feel like such an explorer when I find these new plants, like I am the Cortez of the vegetable world. The sense of accomplishment I feel after I find these new vegetables is ridiculous.
I searched Wiki for lamb’s quarter but there was nothing! Doing a Google search led me to some strange pages devoted to l.q in NYC parks. Seeing my special ingredient growing in Prospect Park grossed me out but it also made me proud to be eating something that actually grows so local. By the way, I would never eat anything I picked from any park anywhere near this city, ever. Dinner that night also included mashed turnips and potatoes which I take credit for inspiring but not actually making. Turnips really added a nice sweetness to the bland potato and it smoothed the texture out to cream. The lamb was another purchase from the farmers market and while the portions were small, the meat was still juicy and the red pepper marinade was yum. Baby animals are delicious.
I suppose I think dinner was so easy to prepare because I only made the dessert. It took all of one hour to prep and bake. Sunday’s dessert special was Blueberry Pudding Cake. Besides being simple, it was fun to look at. Like edible tie-dye, kind of like cake, kind of like pudding, a lot like delicious. The blueberries were my favorite part. The cake part was good too. The pudding part was also really good. I also enjoyed the ice cream I served with it.
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