Bloomingdale Farmers Market: "If loving squash is wrong, I don't wanna be riiight"

See this message from Robin Shuster:
 

Hi BFM fans,

I never thought boiling summer squash could lead to a good end....

but I was wrong...

Forget soup.   I am talking about boiling squash instead of sauteeing it as a cooking technique for a finished dish that makes you sigh, that makes your dinner guests exclaim, that makes everyone at the table fight (politely) for the last spoonful in the bowl  -- in other words, a dish as addictive as guacamole.  In fact, I have started to call it Provencal Guacamole. It is my discovery of summer 2013.

So cut up some small, very fresh summer squash into 1/2 inch rounds, throw them into boiling salted water until tender. Drain and mash them roughly with minced garlic and salt, freshly crushed pepper, shredded mint, lemon and olive oil.  That's it.  Very simple.  But the choice of ingredients is crucial - I find ordinary zucchini too watery for this dish.  You need the pale green kousa or the Romanesco Costata ones at Truck Patch when they arrive in  a week or so or another  concentrated variety like that.  I have never tried the yellow ones, but they may work and that yellow would be pretty.  Use a good garlic from the market and a very flavorful mint of your choice and a good olive oil.   I have added parmesan and that was fun.  Once I successfully substituted basil when I was out of mint.  And chile heads can spice it up....but I like the original.

One of the nice things about the summer fruit season is that new varieties appear every week at the stands.  It SEEMS like we have peaches and plums and nectarines for weeks and weeks, but in fact, each variety only appears for a week or so before a new one takes its place. So you have to sample them every week to see which ones you will like best.  And buy them up when you find ones you love, because they probably will not be there two weeks later.   But that is the pleasure of the market rather than the grocery store. Make fruit pies, fruit lassi, fruit cobbler, fruit  popsicles, fruit jam, fruit chutney.

Cooking Ideas 

Make a dinner party straight from the fields of our farmers.  David Tanis  (one of my favorite chefs and cookbook authors) has the recipes right here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/14/dining/take-advantage-of-augusts-abundance-with-a-greenmarket-dinner-party.html?ref=dining&_r=0  

Sweet corn blini, smoky eggplant soup, a huge platter of sliced heirloom tomatoes dressed with an olive-y Nicoise vinaigrette and those showy cherry toms, small peppers stuffed with feta and baked with seasoned breadcrumbs, pannacotta with berries and nectarines.  All made in advance, all easy to serve.

COOKING DEMO:  Kidpower returns (last time it was RAINY and Ted constructed that great canopy ) at 11.  Shaden Dowlat and the kids will be there cooking up a storm -- a heatless storm so your kitchens stay cool when you make the recipe at home.

BIKE CLINIC 11-1 as always with the help of our friends from The Bike House.  Are you taking your stead for a ride tomorrow?  Make sure your bike is in the best shape.

This week:

Reid's: yellow peaches (a mix of varieties-- freestone), white peaches (White Lady), yellow and white donut peaches, plums (satsuma and Shiro), white and yellow nectarines, apples (Zesta, Earligold, Ginger Gold, Pristine, Paula Red, Gravenstein, Rambo, Mollie's Delicious), blueberries, blackberries.

TIP:  Frozen  Blackberry Margarita.  http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1014959/Frozen-Blackberry-Margarita.html

WHISKED!:  A cri de coeur from Jenna:  "Sometimes summer makes me a little sad, because we have so much beautiful fruit to work with but everyone leaves town. If nectarines aren’t a good enough reason to stay put in DC’s summer heat, I don’t know what is. This week we’re bringing back our nectarine blackberry pie - because it’s so good I couldn’t wait to put it on the menu again (you can order it as a vegan pie too). We’ll also have our raspberry almond frangipane pie - a creamy almond cake studded with fresh raspberries and baked in our flaky pie crust. For the quiches, we have our Ratatouille quiche (another one I couldn’t wait to put back on the menu), and our roasted tomato and goat cheese quiche. All in all, this is a delicious week for pie."

NUMBER 1 SONS:  Feeling Picklish?  You should because we have the best fermented NY style deli pickles in the region and those are fighting words.  But since i am a 3rd gen New Yorker, I stand by them.  But please try the superb kimchi and kraut as well. Did you see Joe Yonan's Guaca Chi recipe:

Tip:  http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2013/08/07/guaca-chi/

MOUNTAIN VIEW ORGANIC: Tomatoes, of course.  But also Asian varieties of eggplant, Attila's Hungarian influenced peppers, hot and sweet.  French Fingerling, Carola and Red Maria potatoes. Beets, golden or red. Carroty carrots. Garlic, Onions, okra, .

TRUCK PATCH FARMS:  Take a look at our fb page for pix of their pretty baby squash -- yelllow, striped kousa, zucchini, patty pan, magda. Squash blossoms.  Huge selection of  toms include Big Beef, Black Krim, Valencia, Early Girl, Brandywine, German Stripey, Aunt Ruby, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, German Pink, Great White, Prudence Purple.  Armenian cukes, egplant, rainbow chard, Dino kale, Curly kale, salad greens, arugula, baby spinach, purple and green basil....okra, purple and green beans.

In the eggs and Meat Department: Eggs. Chicken. Cut up and ground Turkey. Pork:  a dozen different sausages ,  bacons,  pork chops, salt pork,  chops,  pork sirloins, pork steaks, , country ribs, spare ribs, butt roast, boneless shoulder roast, boneless and bone-in loin roasts, scrapple,

Tip: I salt pork and chicken 24 hours in advance, an easy dry brine.  It does not make the meat salty just deeply flavorful.  Add other herbs or a dry rub of spices as well.  Grill. 

GARNER: Cantaloupes. Fascination Melon. Sun Melons.  Watermelon in yellow and seedless reds. Sweet Yellow  corn.  10 varieties of eggplants, 7 different summer squash, ,peppers, okra, basil, potatoes,  primo red tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, beans,  chard, garlic, candy onions. Blackberrries. Lima beans that taste like Edamame!

Keswick:  Their grassfed cows are out on pasture all the time and eat no grain and the milk tells the story.  Try any of the 15 aged raw milk cheeses or the fresh pasturized ones  (quark, fetas celebrating in their glory now with tomatoes and cukes).  The mixed milk camembert is the real deal.  And as you know, I swear by their yogurt...

PANORAMA : French breakfast pastries like palmiers, almond croissants plus the plain and chocolate crosisants, baguettes, the olive oil buns that grace the 25 dollar hamburgers at Central and the Rustiques they serve you at Citronelle and Cityzen.  Sandwich breads, too.  If they are out of a bread you crave, ask them to save one for you for next week.  Late risers:  they have lots of whole wheat, multigrain and sourdough boules and loaves that sell out early.  So reserve what you want!  Email if you do not see something you want, please.

Painted Hand: Sandy had her open Farm Day today.  Sunday you can get her delicious eggs, naturally browsed goat, rose veal and those dog treats.

North Mt Pastures: Cured meats, eggs, sausages, bacon and chicken.

Please bring your shopping bags so we can eventually get rid of plastic bags at the market.

See you Sunday, rain or shine.

Ted, Ted, Charlotte and Robin from afar

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