sweet miscellany

I saw a commercial on television the other day that made me pretty angry.  It’s a commercial for Wal-Mart in which they visit a farm stand and replace all of the produce with Wal-Mart produce to see if people notice the difference.  Have you seen it?  The first time I saw it I think I yelled at my television for about 5 solid minutes.  I can’t believe they have the nerve to steer people away from farm stands and into the aisles of Wal-Mart for fresh produce.  Don’t believe it my friends.  Don’t buy into the hype.  You should still support your local farmers and not let companies like Wal-Mart facilitate their extinction.  If you are financially able, support your local farmers.  For more on the importance of local farmers and farmers markets, you can read my article in the latest issue of Chickpea Magazine.

Since I’m sitting here espousing the importance of your local farmers, here’s your weekly market finds and how I enjoyed them during the week.  I’ve included some basic recipes below in case you are interested in making something I’ve mentioned.  There are also links to recipes when applicable.  And, if you need help finding a farmers market near you, this site is quite helpful.

–Purple Kale — About half of the kale went into some yummy breakfast smoothies.  The other half was combined with some leftover collards and braised in coconut milk spiced with garam masala and coriander.  I ate this over some red quinoa.
–Baby Eggplant — I roasted all of the eggplant and made a batch of baba ghanoush.  The majority of it went onto a pizza along with a mix of tomatoes and basil.  The rest was saved for snacks.
–Grape Tomatoes — At the beginning of the week I enjoyed these in some open faced sandwiches along with some fresh herbs and vegenaise.  I used a good portion of them to top a pizza with, and ended up snacking on them later in the week with some of the leftover baba ghanoush.
–Peaches — Aside from making jam for the market, I enjoyed these as snacks and dessert throughout the week.  I’ve got a peachy recipe coming at you at the beginning of next week so stay tuned!
–Blackberries — A large portion of the blackberries went into jam for the market.  The remainder went into these blackberry breakfast crumbles and onto my granola in the mornings.
–Zucchini — I haven’t used these yet, but I have plans to bake them into some hearty muffins (sort of like these), or making some savory zucchini pancakes.

Recipes

–Kale and Blackberry Smoothie — Combine 3 to 4 large kale leaves, a handful of blackberries, a cup of coconut water, a handful of fresh mint, and a handful of frozen blueberries or bananas in a blender.  Blend then enjoy!

–Coconut Milk Braised Greens — Sautee one yellow or purple onion in some coconut oil until golden.  Using a microplane, grate in 2 to 3 garlic gloves and a one-inch piece of ginger.  Stir to combine and cook for about 1 minute.  Turn the heat to medium and add one can of full fat coconut milk.  When the milk just starts to bubble, add half of a large bunch (or 1 small bunch) of collard greens or kale, thinly sliced and ribs removed.  Add the juice of half a lemon, a good pinch of salt, a pinch of red pepper flakes, 1 tsp coriander, and 1 1/2 tsp garam masala.  Gently stir the greens as they begin to cook and wilt.  The greens are ready when tender and the coconut milk has reduced.  Serve over quinoa or any other grain of your choice.

–Baba Ghanoush — I used this recipe, except I used some lemon thyme in place of the parsley.

–Herb & Tomato Pizza with Baba Ghanoush — I used this crust recipe, halved it so it would only make 1 pizza, and incorporated a mix of teff flour, millet flour, brown rice flour, and arrowroot.  I topped the baked crust with baba ghanoush, sliced grape tomatoes, and a mix of fresh basil and lemon thyme.  If you eat cheese, this pizza would be particularly tasty with a bit of goat’s feta.

Enjoy your weekend!