Farmer's market haul

[telophase]

• 3 bags coffee. I don't drink it myself, but myrialux, who is in Austin this weekend, entrusted me with the responsibility. It's a local company that roasts the beans. I got the two varieties that myrialux wanted, then saw a seasonal roast and the guy selling it said that if he liked the El Salvador, he'll like that, so I bought him another bag. :D


• Green beans


• Red Candy Apple spring onions Got some a couple of weeks ago and liked them. Not as mild as all the writeups claim, though. :D


• Peaches. I was dithering over the plums and the peaches, because the bags of each were so large that I'd not eat anywhere near all of them, when someone walked up and said "Your peaches were so good last week we're back for TWO bags this week!" so I bought the peaches. They're cute, small ones.


• Leeks.


• Potatoes. I shall maybe make leek and potato soup today.


• The very last loaf of whole-wheat bread that the Artisan Baking Company had out there.


• Pattypan squash


• Baby yellow squash. If you've read me for a while, you may already know that I hate squash. Haven't eaten it for years. But there's SO MUCH of it and SO MANY recipes for it that I finally did what I'd been threatening to for a while, which is buy a couple of different varieties to cook and see if I can find one I like. I got the pattypan squash because I'm not sure I've ever eaten it before, and it looks like UFOs, and the baby yellow on the theory that baby squash might be milder in flavor. We'll see. Now to poke through my cookbooks for recipes.

Comments

[mundeemo.livejournal.com]

Which farmers market did you go to?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Cowtown Farmer's Market. (http://www.cowtownfarmersmarket.com/)

[sleary.livejournal.com]

Let me know how the squash goes! I've always hated it, too. Also eggplant -- so naturally I can't recall the tip I overheard on a cooking show recently that went something like, "Just do ____ before you cook an eggplant, and that will take all the bitterness out!" Argh.

I have a recipe for peach ice cream (possibly more than one) if you're interested.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

A quick google suggests that salting eggplant slices and letting them sit for 30 min or so will draw bitterness out, as will peeling it, as apparently the bitterness is concentrated near the skin. I've never really liked eggplant, though, so I don't know for sure. :)

I found a recipe for sausage-stuffed pattypan squash that I think I'll try, as I won't feel like I wasted the *whole* recipe if I don't like the squash, because I can eat the sausage stuffing. I may just bite the bullet and go for it on the baby squash, though - there's a pan-seared basalmic recipe I found that doesn't use many ingredients besides the squash.

I have a recipe for peach ice cream (possibly more than one) if you're interested.

Sure, send 'em on, thanks! :D

[sleary.livejournal.com]

Cinnamon peach, from Rachael Ray's magazine (http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-index/dessert-recipes/Cinnamon-Peach-Ice-Cream) -- needs at least a teaspoon of vanilla added to the cream mix, and ours came out very tart. Fewer peaches, maybe? (The Swirlberry (http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-index/dessert-recipes/Swirlberry-Ice-Cream) from the same article was better, but also needs vanilla.)

... and, from my awesome new ice cream cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Scoop-Sorbets-Granitas-Accompaniments/dp/1580088082/):

4 large peaches (1 1/3 lb.)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
a few drops of lemon juice

Peel, pit, and slice peaches into chunks. Cook them with the water over medium heat, covered, stirring once or twice, until soft (about 10 min). Remove from heat, stir in sugar, and cool to room temp.

Puree the cooked peaches and any remaining liquid in blender or food processor with sour cream, heavy cream, vanilla, and lemon juice until almost smooth but slightly chunky.

Chill mix thoroughly in fridge, then freeze in your ice cream maker.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

[assume-a-virtue.livejournal.com]

Peel, slice, salt one side of the slices. Wait fifteen minutes, turn over onto paper towels to allow them to absorb the liquid, salt the other side, wait another fifteen minutes, then wash again.

I actually do cubed eggplant, sauteed onions and sauteed mushrooms on fresh bread as a spread and it's pretty good.

[assume-a-virtue.livejournal.com]

My favorite squash recipe is washing the baby ones, slice them in half, drizzle olive oil, crushed black pepper, and coarse salt, then grill until squishy. You can add chili pepper if you want more kick, but it gives it a nice smokey flavor.

The other thing you can do to get used to it, maybe, is add slices to your stir-fry.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks!

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

I've had ribbon-sliced squash a lot lately, in salads. It takes up flavor more readily than the usual disc-sliced squash, and if you use small ones the center is full of seeds and liable to become mushy. Just ribbon-slice the smaller ones, meaning real small not pithy or thick-skinned, and dress them, no cooking needed. (However here's (http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/summer-squash-ribbons-10000001072047/index.html) a recipe that does cook the squash, it sounds good!)

I do find that squash tastes a lot better the sooner after picking it is eaten.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Nifty. I might try that. :)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Have you had spaghetti squash? I don't like squash either, except for this one kind.

You cut it in half, bake in oven, then rake the insides with a fork, which produces naturally spaghetti-like strands, top with spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese, eat. Excellent!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

My mother attempted to get me to eat squash by using spaghetti squash. It was an unqualified failure, because it still tasted like squash. :)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Hahaha.

There goes that idea, then!

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

I have a couple suggestions on the squash issue, from a mad!gardener's perspective. In my experience, the squash that grows the fastest (ie, hand watered and well raised) and is young, tender and small, is least squash-y tasting. I think largish yellow squash is squashier than its green zuke cousins, and I find that pattypans and tiny round squash tend to be pretty unsquashy.

One of my favorite ways to eat squash is to grate it and freeze it and then toss it into unsuspecting vegetable soups or pasta sauces. It melts, essentially. I use it to increase nutrition rather than flavor since it is hard to detect in there. YMMV.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D (Did you see my review of the 501 Bentos book? Looks like something up your alley.)