Fulton Street Farmers Market in Winter

Last month I was excited to learn that Michigan ranks in the top ten states for its number of winter farmers markets. Even though the Holland Farmers Market, my most local one, isn’t open in the dead of winter, the Fulton Street Farmers Market in Grand Rapids is. Generally, it’s a bit of a drive for me on a Saturday morning, but Bill was planning to be in town today so he paid a visit, picked up some produce from Visser Farms as well as some bratwursts from Crane Dance Farm, and took these photos. For now, the market is temporarily located in the Salvation Army parking lot while construction is underway to expand and upgrade the current site, including the addition of permanent roof structures to provide shelter for this open-air market.

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Thanks to these hardy folks for enduring the elements each week to provide us their local goods!

Lavash Pizza with Bratwurst and Kale

I’m always looking for ways to whip up something quick and easy for dinner. My lavash pizza obsession is one way to solve the dilemma because the frozen Millet & Flax Lavash that Bill and I buy from Sami’s Bakery thaws quickly. So it’s just a matter of figuring out what to put on it.

We had a package of bratwursts from Creswick Farms that we recently got at the West Michigan Co-op. And I still had some curly kale in the garden. So here’s what I did….

First I braised the brats in a skillet to cook them through.

I let the water burn off in the skillet and added a little olive oil to brown them.

Meanwhile, I chopped the kale from my garden and steamed it, covered, in the microwave for one minute.

Then I sliced the brats and browned them again in the same olive oil and skillet.

Once they were done, I put them aside and sautéed half a large yellow onion, sliced, in the same pan.

When all the ingredients were ready, I browned the bottom side of two lavash pieces on a griddle.

Then it’s just a matter of assembly: First the onions, then the kale, then the brats, followed by some grated manchego sheep’s cheese.

The pizzas were browned under the broiler (set on low) on a cookie sheet for about 2-3 minutes. The idea is to brown the cheese and heat the pizza through.

Once it’s ready, just place the pizza on a cutting board and immediately cut into quarters.

One pizza makes a nice meal for one person.

Aeroponics at the Aeropuerto

Urban gardening has hit O’Hare….as in O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, according to ABC7chicago.com. Using the aeroponics process to grow 44 different types of organic herbs and vegetables, this collaborative effort between the Chicago Department of Aviation and HMS Host (the company that manages most of the airport’s concessions) supplies produce to restaurants in the airport.

Anyone going through O’Hare in the near future? If so, send me some photos! I’d love to see the garden.

Love Leeks?

I do! And now’s the time to start thinking about freezing some for the winter if you want to have locally grown leeks on hand for savory meals.

Leeks are a vegetable that freeze well and are a tasty, nutritional addition to soups, risotto, frittatas, and other main dishes. I bought some today from the Boeve Farm at the Holland Farmers Market.

I prefer freezing over canning since there’s less equipment and time involved. That doesn’t leave me as many options for preserving the harvest, but at least I can keep a good portion of produce for the winter in my freezer.

For leeks, all you need to do is remove the roots, dark green stems, and outer layer.

A trick I learned during a cooking class at the Culinary Institute of America is to slice the stems lengthwise and rinse under water to remove any dirt.

Then chop the stems and slice the pale green section.

Put in bags and freeze. It’s really that easy. When you’re ready to thaw them for use, you’ll notice they don’t have the same consistency as fresh ones, but for cooked dishes such as the ones I mentioned above, they work great!

Mediterranean Lavash Pizza with Lamb

I keep experimenting with millet and flax lavash pizza and I really think I’m onto something. Easy and gluten-free, lavash pizza has become a quick and creative dinner option for Bill and me.

This weekend I was inspired by the recipe for Lamb Souvlaki I’ve made before. Instead of putting the lamb and halloumi cheese on a tortilla with salad on top, I put the lamb and manchego cheese on the lavash, broiled it, and added a tomato/onion/olive topping. It was delicious!

First, I browned a half pound of lamb (for two pizzas) and added some cumin, dried oregano, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. (Vegetarians: Skip the lamb and you’ll still have an awesome pizza!)

Then I chopped up a small red onion from Boeve Farm and sautéed it.

In a separate bowl, I combined one chopped tomato, about half a tablespoon of olive oil, a dash of salt, a squeeze of fresh lemon, a little black pepper, a sprig, each, of fresh mint and oregano, two chopped green onions and about five kalamata olives, sliced.

After browning the bottom side of the lavash, I placed then on a baking sheet, added the ground lamb, onions, and some grated manchego cheese, then broiled the pizzas for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.

After cutting them into quarters, I topped the pizzas with the tomato salad and served.

Seek Out the Smaller Farmers Markets

Holland, Michigan, which I call home, is a beautiful place to live. There’s one drawback, however, to its geography. The township is split by Lake Macatawa, which runs about two miles to the east from its entry at Lake Michigan. What that means is, if you live on the north side of “Lake Mac” as we call it, or on the south side, getting around it can take between 20 and 30 minutes. (I heard there used to be a ferry across and I’m still waiting for the day it returns to facilitate traveling from the south side to the north side!)

Normally, I do my produce shopping at the Holland Farmers Market on Wednesdays or Saturdays, May through December. But sometimes commitments keep me from getting there. That’s when it’s nice to have the availability of a smaller market on, say, Friday. Such as the Park Township Farmers Market, which just started up this year.

Because I live on the south side of Lake Mac, the Saugatuck Green Market is actually closer but I wanted to see what the Park Township market had to offer so I paid a visit there this week.

It’s larger than I expected, and it seemed pretty busy for a late Friday morning. Because it’s on the main drag to the beach (Holland State Park), I imagine tourists who are in town for the week might stop there, too.

Sometimes you have to dig to find these smaller markets, which may not have everything you normally get at a larger one, but they’ll see you through for a few days until you can stock up. I was happy to get some berries from Diemter’s and Russian red kale, green onions, and garlic from CJ Veggies.

And, my friend Kay from Westview Farms was there, too. They sell perennials and herbs.

It’s like the farmers market version of the convenience store: they may not have everything you need, but enough to get by while continuing to eat healthy. It’s also a great opportunity to connect with a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), such as 8th Day Farm.

The Perennial Plate: Episode 61

The Perennial Plate Episode 61: Brothers from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.

In this episode, Daniel Klein heads into a Utah canyon to meet Bill and Bob Stone–70 year old twins who live off the grid, grow organic vegetables and give tours of the Anasazi ruins in the area.

Pittsburgh’s Public Market: In the Heart of The Strip District

Whenever I travel, I’m on a mission for local food. This past weekend Bill and I made Pittsburgh’s Public Market in The Strip District our destination. Going to The Strip is a fun experience in itself–the old architecture, the hustle-and-bustle of a Saturday morning, the variety of ethnic foods (and I suppose the shopping if you’re into that sort of thing).

In the early 20th century, The Strip was the hub of the wholesale produce business in Pittsburgh. After the Depression, the flood of 1936, and World War II, food supplies decreased. Then trucks began to replace railroads as the preferred method of transportation, and grocery store chains continued to grow, putting small independent stores out of business and cutting out wholesalers by purchasing directly from growers.

By the 1970s there were about two dozen dealers left in the produce terminal. Remaining dealers began to expand their businesses by opening retail stores on Penn Avenue and Smallman Street. Today the Strip District is best known for its retail produce and ethnic food stores, restaurants, and coffee shops.

I love a neighborhood that focuses on food!

After wandering The Strip, we headed to the Public Market, an indoor farmers market with many vendors selling local and organic produce–farmed and foraged–as well as meat and dairy products from humanely treated animals.

Always lured by goat cheese, we stopped by Abbe Turner’s booth on our way out. She’s the cheesemaker at Lucky Penny Farm, which raises Nubian, La Mancha, and Alpine dairy goats in Northeast Ohio, less than 100 miles from Pittsburgh.

We got to sample both the Chevre and the aged Goat Rock. Delicious!

We only wish we had brought our cooler since it was 90 degrees that day and we were a long way from a fridge!

Freeze Now, Feast Later

Last year I discovered the art of freezing produce. My friend Lois told me how to freeze berries and I spent the summer squirreling away strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries to last throughout the winter months. I enjoyed them for breakfast in yoghurt, oatmeal, and pancakes right up until about March, when I ran out.

After attending a freezing and canning workshop last fall, I thought I would start canning this year. It looked so much easier than I remembered from the first time I did it and failed. But, I have simply fallen back on what’s easiest for me: freezing. It takes less effort, equipment, and time.

And, when I learned you could freeze some vegetables–such as green onions and leeks–without blanching first, that opened the door beyond berries.

What I learned last year is freezer bags are a necessity. And, instead of packing my produce into gallon baggies, this year I bought quart-sized bags (which I will recycle, btw) so that it takes less time to finish off a bag and I’ll avoid trapping air inside every time I grab a handful of berries or onions or leeks.

Yesterday I bought green onions from CJ Veggies at the Holland Farmers Market. To freeze them, I simply washed and trimmed them, let them dry, and chopped them up. Then I put them in bags marked with the date they went into the freezer.

I’m telling you, looking at produce in the grocery store in Michigan in the wintertime is getting more and more repulsive and depressing. But freezing your stock takes planning and time. While my friends are out in boats on Lake Michigan or sauntering around West Michigan beach resort towns this Independence Day, I am “putting up” (is that the term for freezing?) my produce for next winter. And I know I will appreciate it then.

Who couldn’t resist opening a bag of frozen Michigan berries for breakfast in the middle of February? I’m so excited at the thought of it. That’s what motivates me to buy extra local produce to freeze now. I will certainly feast later.

Eating Local Over a Fire

Last week I went camping with my friend Sandy in Northern Lower Michigan. One of our favorite things to do on these annual meccas to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is cook over a fire. And I don’t mean hot dogs. Even while camping, we aim to follow the locavore philosophy as much as possible.

Here’s an easy meal we made with vegetables in season: Grilled Steak with Chimichurri Sauce, Asparagus, Garlic Scapes and Potatoes. The produce came from our local farmers market or the garden, and the meat came from my mixed quarter of beef in the freezer. We even found the prosciutto at the Cedar City Market, known for natural foods.

Lots of people who camp know that one of the best ways to cook potatoes is to wrap them up in foil and let them roast over coals. That’s exactly what Sandy and I did. You just have to get them going first because they need at least half an hour to be tender (for 1-2-inch pieces).

Meanwhile, we made the Chimichurri sauce, which also needs to sit for about 30 minutes, and marinated the grassfed t-bone steak from Lubbers Farm in olive oil, salt and pepper. I brought fresh parsley and oregano from my garden for the Chimichurri!

Then we roasted asparagus and garlic scapes–fresh from the Holland Farmers Market–over the coals. This is easiest to do with a vegetable grate. (The National Park Service provides fire pits with standard grill grates at their campgrounds. Our tax dollars at work, and worth every penny!)

After wrapping the asparagus and garlic in prosciutto, we put it back on the grill to get crispy.

Then we grilled the steak about three minutes per side (it was only 3/4 of a pound and–yes–Sandy and I shared one steak) and let it rest a couple minutes under foil after cooking. As with other grassfed meat grilling recipes, it’s important not to overcook the meat because it is so lean.

This is how the potatoes turned out after roasting.

The whole meal from preparation to serving took about an hour. One of our favorite things to do during the process? Drink local wine. Just like at home.