Greens, Greens, Greens!

Roasted baby red potatoes, red and golden beets, and chunks of poached Tamworth chicken made this plate of greens a substantial meal.  A little leftover apple gremolata and crumbles of Sandwich Creamery's 'caerphilly' cheese topped it off.  Beach Pea Bakery baguette slices on the side, crostini style.

Greens, greens, greens.  Man, am I suddenly wanting for a growing rack.

Our mission at the farmers' market yesterday was to find as many greens as we could.  We did.  And then some.  Different kinds of spinach; mizuna; kale; sweet Asian mixed greens, spicy Asian mixed greens; tatsoi; arugula; microgreens; baby bibb and green leaf lettuces; Swiss chard...phew, we got it all.  And, one large kohlrabi to top it off. (Peel it, then slice or shave the flesh into ribbons for your salad...or do like we did and eat planks straight off the knife.  Or not.)

Cherished farms this week: Coppal House Farm; Herb Farmacy; Heron Pond Farm; Hollister Family Farm; and, Riverside Farm

Herb Farmacy's pouches of micro greens may look slight and small, but let me tell you, they are packed tight and full of fresh, deep flavor.  I love these tiny little shoots for their crunch and flavor, but also for the way a handful stays put in a sandwich.  No leaves slipping out the sides with this stuff.  See one of my favorite sandwiches here.

Included in Herb Farmacy's micro green mix this week: kale, broccoli, kohlrabi, arugula, a little mizuna, and cabbage.  Mizuna is milder version of arugula.  It has a very light herbaceous, peppery flavor.  As a whole, this mix had a succulent butteriness that makes you realize how deprived you've been since last summer. Get some soon.

As for tatsoi, my idea of salad has been changed forever.  We were eating fingerful after fingerful of this stuff.  Sooo good.

The same can be said for the spinach we picked up from Hollister Family Farm.  My exact words, er, sounds, upon my first bite:  "Mmmmpf!"

 You're crazy if you don't seek some of this stuff out.  In the words of Michael Pollan: "Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants."

I'm not quite keen about the 2nd part, but I'll accept it.

Radish, Carrot and Apple Salad ...in a bite

You're looking at a slice of watermelon radish (Heron Pond Farm) topped with herbed fromage frais (Brookford farm), carrot ribbons (HPF), diced apple (Cider Works), slivers of red onion (Meadow's Mirth), and sprigs of baby greens (HPF), garnished with chopped hickory-smoked almonds and a very light touch of cracked peppercorn.  I finished the whole bite with a drizzle of honey-dijon vinaigrette.

These make for very user-friendly appetizers, as the radish slice folds nicely when picked up.  Not only are they easy to eat, they're easy to make.  They're also naturally gluten-free, loaded with local goodness, low in calories, crunchy, creamy, tangy and tasty!  And, well, quite easy to look at, I'd say.  Sring IS in the air.   :).

Either a mandoline or a sharp knife will make easy work of thin slices....

Grilled Grass-fed Bone-in Rib Eye, Roasted Fingerlings with Garlic, Greens with Roasted Golden Beets and Fromage Frais

The "before's"...

Riverside Farm's 'Golden Beets' ... Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with sea salt & cracked pepper, wrap in foil and bake for an hour at 400...

Heron Pond Farm fingerlings and Maine Herb Farm garlic ... Cast iron is my choice: dress in olive oil, s&p and fresh berbs and roast right alongside the beets (these were hefty fingerlings; smaller ones would need 35-40 min)

New Roots Farm's grass-fed bone-in rib eyes ... while the beets and potatoes are roasting, rub these with oil and sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper and set aside to warm to room temp before grilling for ~7 or 8 minutes each side (these were thick cut steaks) for medium rare.  Be sure to let them rest to reabsorb their juices.

A glimpse of the very last bag of greens from Heron Pond on Saturday.  I'm already in withdrawal....

The "after's"...

Ultimate Summer Salad and Grilled Pizza

I. Am. Not. A. Purist.  Not with this salad, anyway.  While I might be incurring some form of slight guilt, I say to hell with purity and exploit the living daylights out of your farmers' market for this super simple Greek salad.  It took less than ten minutes to prepare this bowl of crunchy, sweet and briny goodness.