Eating Flowers

We ate so much good food this week. Dining at restaurants like Lupa and The Spotted Pig it is easy to forget that you usually eat at home or that you even know how to cook. I was quickly reminded of how well I eat at home because my favorite meal this week was prepared by Chef James.
Let me start from the beginning.

Tristan the Archduke of Indianapolis came to visit this week. Enjoying lavish meals with good company is one of lifes great pleasures. Also enjoyable is touring the Union Square market with fresh eyes and nose. It is nice to know that I'm not the only one to get the shivers from the site of a tomato. Blueberry season is officially coming to a close but the peaches are as succulent as ever and the smell of sweet melons are in the air. Tomatoes of all species, shapes and sizes fill the market and my belly. Okra has made a big entrance with every other farmer selling the pointy pods piled high and wide.



Yesterday we picked up some things we don't usually buy from the market but were inspired to try because of the Archduke. Besides the usual blueberries, strawberries, peppers and tomatoes. We bought heirlooms, okra, squash blossoms, scallops, ricotta cheese, some other kind of cheese. We had an impromptu farmer's market dinner last night and it was one of the best meals I have had in a long time. James really let his creative juices flow into this meal. At the request of the Archduke, a scallop ceviche was prepared. I requested the okra, and it was unanimous that squash blossoms be included. Magnifique!

I don't really enjoy ceviche, but I know good and this was good. Particularly for someone who doesn't like fish. He also pan seared some of the scallops for me. As a treat for the Archduke and himself he wrapped the scallops in prosciutto and pan seared them as well. I don't eat pork but did that look damn good.

I had never had squash blossoms before last night and so I was excited to try them. Eaten alone the taste was unusual and sharp. They are very fragrant flowers. It was strange eating something that I would usually admire for the smell, the color, and the shape.



Something about the way these flowers were laid out and gently crushed in this plastic box was so pathetic and beautiful. When I opened the lid they would fluff out like marshmallows. What a delightful food.



James stuffed the blossoms with the ricotta from the market, pureed roasted red peppers, salt, pepper and parsley. He then fried them with a tempura batter leaving the delicate flowers hiding under a thin skin of batter. Biting through the first crunchy layer and finding the blossom still intact and infused with the tastes of the stuffing was a fantastic feeling. Bravo to James for accomplishing that in his first time preparing squash blossoms.

The okra was a quick and simple dish. He toasted ginger and garlic then added chopped tomatoes. Cooking them together he later tossed in the okra and stewed them. The ginger added a nice kick and the okra kept its prickly and sturdy texture. Okra is an interesting plant. It feels like it has roots in every culture. In Turkey it is commonly used in stew. At the market when I was selecting my okra a woman came up and commented about how expensive it was ($4.00 a pound). She said she was going home to Mexico next week and that she could buy pounds and pounds of okra for mere pocket change. She then popped a couple into her mouth, commented about the sad state of the basil, broke off a nice long stem and walked away. I later saw her eating apricots from the same stand I steal my apricots from. A woman of the same mind. Except she was crazy and I am so clearly NOT.

After all the beer drinking, and pork consumption that the Archduke and James did I am not entirely surprised that James no longer wants to eat. Which leaves me to wonder, who is going to make my dinner tonight?