Grilled Saltwort, Asparagus and Fiddlehead Pizza

Sauteed fiddleheads, grilled asparagus and grilled saltwort, with a little spinach-basil pesto.  Spring has sprung!

Salt what?

Saltwort!  It's a coastal plains/saltmarsh-loving plant (so, tolerant of salty soils and climes) known for its versatility in the kitchen (raw, grilled, sauteed, steamed...), as well as its medicinal benefit as a mineral-rich diuretic.

Wiggin Farm is selling this delicious plant (likely the komarovii species...now known, thanks to fellow blogger 'Diary of a Tomato', as the soda species from the genus Salsola, family amaranthaceae); remember King Phillip Came Over Fearing Green Snakes?).

We tried it raw--yummy, crunchy, watery like a succulent--and grilled this first go-round.  Grilling it is fun and exciting, particularly if you're a fire bug.  I'm a fire bug.

Lather up the stems in olive oil.  I drizzled the oil over a plate of the saltwort and asparagus stems, then used the stems of the wort to pick up the last bit of oil--paintbrush style--before laying them down on the grill.  Flames will shoot out and spark up, so just be careful.  You can even use these as natural basting brushes for oiling up the grill plate before grilling!

A couple flips and maybe 2-1/2 to 3 minutes later and off they came (asparagus, too).  Scissors made quick work of removing the root end, with nary a leaf left behind.

Fiddleheads were sauteeing in the meantime, just in olive oil, fresh garlic, finished with lemon zest.  All three veg were arranged on the dough that got its headstart and finish on the grill. Grated gruyere and scamorza played along in their magnificant glue role, and a little spinach-basil pesto made for the final curtain.  Er, topping.

Three clumps of Shagbark spinach on their last legs met up with a big ol' clump of basil, several final cloves of winter garlic, toasted pine nuts, olive oil and salt for this ridiculously simple but ridiculously tasty pesto.  Nope, no cheese.

A good drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt and freshly ground pepper was all it took for this 30-minute meal to go down in less time.

So much for relishing the deliciousness that this spring meal had to offer....

Green food!  It's what's for dinner!

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.

There's a New Farm in Town!

At the Exeter market this afternoon I met friendly farmer Jean from the Winnicut River Farm in Stratham, and was immediately delighted in her offering of tulips. A quick perusal of her blog shows that she grows all kinds of interesting varieties of bulbs and perennials. Today she also had sweet bundled posies of flowering herbs for sale, and rhubarb, bok choi, and beautiful mustard greens. Be sure to visit their booth next week! Situated at the former Mill Valley property up on Winnicut Road, she, too, promotes healthy, safe farming practices. I can't wait to see what comes out of her fields this summer and fall!

Earth Day Local Food Celebration...Grecian Style!



Parsley, thyme sprigs, peppercorn, bay leaf, a few cloves and a garlic clove or two nicely round out almost any stock. This lamb stock became the base for one of the bechamel sauces (I made 3 versions of moussaka for this occasion, detailed a little more in a caption below).

Spring Risotto, albeit with "winter" squash

On November 6th of last year, we picked up a beautiful speciman from the pumpkin family from a farmer attending the last "summer" farmers' market in Portsmouth.  Intended to be eaten at some point, it was just too beautiful to hack into with my 8" chef's knife.  Needless to say, up until 15 hours ago it had been sitting on the counter as a reminder of all things fall and winter.  And, yes, you read that right: November 6, 2010.