Local Seasonal Eats

Asparagus and Beet Panzanella Photo:Chad

As we continue to develop this blog, we’re trying to figure out the best way to communicate our story and our project while also being able to balance the amount of time needed to make all of the updates and posts.  As such, I’m going to try to limit the number of individual meal and recipe posts in favor of more unified ‘what we made this week’ type posts.  Additionally, I’ll be directing you to the blog or site where we got a recipe, unless it’s a family recipe, or something not available elsewhere online.

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Now onto this weeks post.  I finished off the end of a travel week for Lindsay with a modification of a recipe for panzanella I had seen on In Jennie’s Kitchen the same day I read about the rhubarb and strawberry jam.

Her recommendation for making a “bread salad” intrigued me.  The skeptic in me said, this is just a salad with homemade croutons, and warm asparagus.  This is both somewhat true and completely false.

Yes, if you were to make this same salad in a somewhat different order the croutons would stay mostly crisp, and the addition of the warm asparagus would just be a pleasant, if somewhat different, take.  However, tossing the crisp bread cubes with the dressing and other ingredients, and then letting the bread soak up some of the flavor makes this dish both comfortable and unique.

I added roasted beets and raw beet greens to mine and served it with a baked piece of salmon from the local fishmonger that I had marinated in a garlic and dill paste.

The meal was perfect in its complexity of both texture and taste, with the sweet salmon balanced with the fragrant dill and garlic.  While maybe better suited to a meal of it’s own, the salad was tasty and unique.  The beets and greens adding that unique flavor that I can only assume people who really love them understand.  I can’t say that I disliked my addition of the beets, but next time will try it as Jennie intended.

Cayenne and Garlic Linguini with Spicy Cilantro Pesto Photo:Lindsay

On Friday we wanted to see what a “processed” meal from the Farmer’s market might look like.  The convenience items you can get at the farmer’s market have very little in common with those mass-produced, artificial ingredient filled items that the modern grocery store is full of.  Obviously, simplicity is something we need in our lives, and having a few ingredients in your kitchen that can be thrown together to make a full meal is both satisfying and comforting.  Knowing that these ingredients are made locally and from local ingredients, and also contributing to the local economy all make the meal even more enjoyable.

We used a package of RP’s Cayenne and Garlic linguini and after preparing it as directed (4 min.), tossed it with some thawed Spicy Cilantro pesto from Renaissance Farm, a handful of halved cherry tomatoes from Don’s Produce and a small handful each of Butler Farm’s Feta and shredded parmesan.  While boiling the pasta I threw a couple slices of the garlic bread in the toasted oven and whipped up a quick farmer’s market salad.  In less than 15 minutes we had a deliciously spicy pasta dinner made from local ingredients and products.  This is what eating local is all about.

Asparagus Ravioli with Buttermilk and Leek Alfredo Photo:Lindsay

On a recent trip to the farmer’s market, we got a chance to talk to the folks at RP’s Pasta and after discussing their use of local ingredients in their pasta, picked up a package of asparagus ravioli.  We stored it in the freezer, and this week we decided to get it out and give it a try.

Because we had extra buttermilk laying around, we wanted to somehow use that to make a sauce to go on the ravioli.  Our friend Google lead us to visualrecipe.com’s Buttermilk-Leek Alfredo Sauce.  Not only did this let us use up the buttermilk but also finished off the leeks from Happy Valley Farm.

In addition to the Asparagus Ravioli with Buttermilk and Leek Alfredo, we also made some garlic bread with a French baguette from Stella’s Bakery, which was finished off in just one meal.

To make sure we’d have plenty of garlic bread on hand in the future we decided to make some toaster-oven ready frozen slices using a day-old loaf of Stella’s Basil bread.  To do this, we made a butter and garlic mixture, brushed it on the bread and stuck it in the freezer for later using wax paper to separate each slice.

Before Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food came into our lives, we thrived on packages of pre-made freezer garlic bread, so this is our local “real food” alternative! We haven’t used any of it yet, but we’ll let you know if it turns out okay or if you should steer clear of this homemade alternative .

French Onion Soup Photo:Lindsay

French Onion soup is for some reason indelibly linked with hotels for me.  As far back as I can remember, any time I stay at a hotel and have to order room service, I always see French Onion soup on the menu and I visualize a bubbly crock of tender caramelized onions topped by a baguette sopped in broth and covered with bubbly cheese.  The reality is never quite that good, with salt usually being the primary taste, followed by a realization that room service can never quite deliver fast enough to keep the soup hot.

When I made beef stock from the soup bone I picked up from Jordandal Farms, I knew I wanted to take a stab at something a little different and French Onion Soup definitely fit the bill.  For those of you out there like myself who had never made this before, the recipe seems a bit strange, cooking down four pounds of onions to a small browned layer at the bottom of a Dutch oven.  To further deepen the flavor, Cook’s Illustrated recommended deglazing this layer three times instead of the usual once.  Once the soup portion was complete, we ladled it into two large coffee cups (the only oven safe small bowls we have) and topped it with toasted baguette slices from Stella’s and the Gruyere we picked up from Forgotten Valley.

We made a light dinner featuring the soup and a farmer’s market salad.   The soup was perfect with almost no saltiness to speak of, and a flavor so rich and deep, I can only say that the Cook’s research got it 100% right on this one.

If the onions we planted decide to cooperate at harvest, I will be remaking this soup, but hopefully doubling the batch.

Strawberries Photo:Lindsay

We returned to the Saturday Dane County Farmer’s Market on the square after what had seemed like a very long time.  Of course, the weather was pleasant, and our continuing attempt to arrive early enough to avoid some of the crowds failed miserably.

Right away, something on one of the tables caught my eye.  There were strawberries, ripe strawberries!  We picked up two quarts, and went on our way, buzzing about dessert ideas and plans of sweet summer salads.  Although not generally available till the first or second week of June, these early berries are great.

With a roast still waiting to be cooked, and a few other meats in the freezer, we focused primarily on veggies. The exception being the last two ingredients we needed to make a batch of French onion soup: Gruyere cheese and a French baguette.  In a world of a thousand cheese curd vendors, finding a local cheese vendor with Gruyere, was harder than expected.  But in the end we succeeded.  Here’s this week’s bounty:

Lindsay told me about a Thursday market she heard about in Fitchburg, so I think I’ll be checking that out this week. Have any experience at the Fitchburg market?  Tell us about it.

Chicken with Leek and Mushroom Stuffing Photo:Lindsay

Recipe: Leek and Mushroom Stuffing (Modified from Cooks Illustrated, Mar. 2005)

Bok Choi Photo:Lindsay

After visiting the Saturday Hilldale Farmer’s Market 2 weeks ago, I got a great recommendation from Nichole over at Madison A to Z.  After reading about my disappointment regarding the lack of coffee the week prior, she suggested the nearby Westside Community Market, where there was FREE coffee.

With the new knowledge of another biking distance market, and this one with free coffee, I was sold.

While we had planned on trying to get over there early, Lindsay’s flight didn’t come in until very late Friday night.  Letting her sleep in, we didn’t get to the market ’til almost noon, missing the free coffee by almost an hour (it’s available until 11, or whenever it runs out).

The farmers and vendors still had plenty of goods available, and much like the Hilldale market, the reduced crowd made for a very pleasant experience and plenty of time to talk to each seller.  We saw some familiar names from both the downtown and Hilldale markets, as well as some new ones.  Here’s what we ended up with:

• Red Onions – Ka Vang Garden
• Pork shoulder and Beef Soup Bone – Jordandal Farms
• Bok Choi – Primrose Community Farm
• Country Sourdough – Madison Sourdough
• Tomatoes – Flyte Family Farm
• Yogurt  - Sugar River Dairy

In addition to picking up our week’s goods, I also got to talk with one of the market’s board members about the history of the market.

As Lindsay and I found out, the Westside Community Market, sometimes mistakenly called the Hill Farms Market, was started back in 2005 when a group of longtime Hilldale Vendors decided they wanted to move locations in response to the new location set out for them at Hilldale.  The vendors established a board made up of member-vendors, and set guidelines mimicking the rules of the Dane County Farmers Market.  This limits the vendors to selling only goods they produce or grow.

The market is car, biker, and pedestrian friendly, with plenty of free parking available.

Overall, we really enjoyed the market and all the great vendors we got to talk to. We’ll definitely go back to the WCM again – but this time I’d make sure to go early enough to score some of that free coffee!

Morels from San Kor Tea Photo:Lindsay

Today at the farmer’s market, there was an abundance of fresh asparagus, green onions, and field greens like arugula, spinach, and early lettuces. The root vegetables we saw two weeks ago were gone save a few turnips and sunchokes at one stand.  Another exciting addition to this week’s lineup were morel mushrooms. “Hunters” from south-western Wisconsin are starting to gather the rare fungi from dead or dying elm trees in what has become an annual tradition for many outdoor enthusiast.

• Morels from San Kor Tea
• Arugula and Red Butterhead lettuce from Snug Haven
• A variety of beef cuts from Fountain Prairie
• Tomatillo salsa from Tomato Mountain
• Adriondack red potato from Butter Mountain Potatoes
• Asparagus from Lost Lake Acres
• Green onions from a Fitchburg family farm
• Chicken and Pork Chops from Pecatonica Valley Farm
• Pickles from Land of Oos
• Chinese broccoli from May Vang Xiong’s Garden
• German butterball potatoes from Driftless Organics
• Spinach from Nattalie’s Garden Organics
• Onions from JenEhr Farms
• Ground Bison from Cherokee Bison Farms
• Feta from Butler Farms
• Red  spanish onion vinegar from Nord Haus
• Rustic Sourdough from Stellas

We were inspired to cook a “drunken” chicken when we found the whole chickens from Pecatonica Valley Farm.  That’s on the menu for Sunday night.  Look for an upcoming post detailing our adventures with the chicken!

We were also inspired by all of the fresh greens to make one of our now famous homemade pizzas.  As you might learn non-traditional pizzas are one of our specialties and we often use them as an excuse to clean out leftovers in the fridge. Today, however, we’re using chinese broccoli, sheep’s milk feta, spinach, shallots, garlic, and fresh mozz. Check out the recipes section to find a recipe for our latest creation.

While walking around the market, we talked to a number of the local farmers this week about localseasonaleats. They were excited about the new venture and wanted us to come see their operations.  Look for some upcoming spotlights about the local farmers in future entries.

Land of Oos Pickles Photo:Lindsay