The Market Scene is Growing | Sequatchie Cove Farm

When I came home from the market last week I was so excited and fully intended to write a letter then and there. What happened I don’t know. I’m sure I was distracted by something. Maybe sweeping the kitchen floor.

Last week I felt like the market was really becoming what it SHOULD be — there were loads of children (human and animal) — Under Butch and Breann from Clover Wreath’s table was a small congregation of giggling children. Of course I had to investigate because anything that makes a child giggle is well worth anyone’s while. There was a baby goose in a basket down there in the midst of it all calmly eating broccoli greens and flapping it’s little baby goose wings. Every time it moved the crowd around him swelled and giggled a little louder.

Bill told me that while he was standing at the Sequatchie Cove table selling pot roast and ground sausage he felt something getting heavy on the toe of his shoe. When he looked under the table there was a little girl piling gravel on his shoe like she was at the beach building a castle. I would not be surprised if her face was smeared in bright red strawberry juice.

And there was the baby goat wandering around in the arms of a boy followed by another parade of excited children.

But that was the background setting for the strawberries, snap peas (yea!), kohlrabi, cabbages, leeks, asparagus, chard, honey, meat, eggs, radishes, kale, lettuces, dill, tomato plants, flower plants, blackberry vines, arugula, bread (heck and I know I’m forgetting a lot) ALL grown and brought to the market by the farmers (and beekeepers and bread makers) themselves. And the best part about all THIS is that they all care with every ounce of themselves for what they are doing. And want nothing more than to share it with every person who walks into that parking lot. I don’t know why but it seems so simple and the only way it should be. It is so much more than a place to buy food — and at the same time that is all it is. Why shouldn’t buying food be anything less than THAT fun and educational and exciting? Why SHOULDN’T you be able to walk up to the farmer that grows your food and ask them how the weather’s been treating the strawberries or when beets might be coming on or how in the heck do you cook kohlrabi? Why shouldn’t you meet new people and make new friend’s while you’re there — people — who all care about this one most important thing- food? That’s what I LOVE — talking to loads of people who are just as excited about eating and cooking and what is in season and on the table and in the ground as I am.

Last week I had a garlic scape fiesta. All week long. I made a boychoy, leek, and garlic scape kimchee (it is still bubbling on the counter- slowly tasting less like salty vegetables and more like wonderfulness). We had some sweet brown rice with scapes, leeks, radishes and kale. I made a lentil dal with scapes and broccoli greens.

And the snap peas from Alexzanna Farms! They are SO crunchy and sweet and wonderful raw AND stir fried. For some reason there are things that seem like luxuries and snap peas and garlic scapes are two. Scapes happen only once so I understand that but peas. Maybe it is because I just REALLY like them so they seem sinful. I feel like that about tomatoes even when I could fill up my bathtub and bathe in them and not feel wasteful (because there are THAT many). Or leeks- they are so sweet and tender with just the right amount of oniony taste. THEY feel like a luxury. Maybe it’s because I’m still not used to opening my fridge and seeing anything but dried shiitake from last year and a few California beets or three carefully collected asparagus stalks from my yard- so this abundance all makes me feel spoiled. Lettuce salad EVERY night? But of course. With radishes sliced on top? Why not? Or maybe tonight I’d rather have a raw kale and cabbage salad.

I really like arugula but I know plenty of people who don’t. Last week I went to the Williams Island and they had just chopped down a whole row of arugula with plans to plow it under — so we had lots. Ashley and I made pesto with it and suddenly you have a whole new arugula taste. It still has a little bite but the oil and nuts helped tone it down. We used pecans and walnuts from my house (and a drizzle of honey sure didn’t hurt). But then we ran out of those and used peanuts and an experiment and they were really good. They added a very sweetness and earthiness that was really nice. Add some garlic to that and you have to best topping for cheese toast in the whole entire world. Or for lunch that day we just had brown rice mixed with the pesto and a lettuce salad.

I think most things in season now are very easy to use and really don’t need any kind of spectacular recipe. (I don’t think anything ever does unless it is summer squash in it’s second month and you are so tired of it you would rather just throw it at billboards or something). But sometimes kohlrabi can be a bit confusing. Especially if you only have a couple. The greens are good like all the other greens and can be eaten raw or added to your ‘mess of greens’. The bottom part is also good sliced very thin and added to slaw. It is good chopped up and added to whatever you happen to be cooking in you skillet too. It is such a relief to my system to be eating fresh stuff every day that ‘skillet meals’ are quite common. I start with some kind of base- lentils, rice, ground beef, and then start tossing every green vegetable I feel like chopping up in with it. It is fun to leave things crunchy and let others get soft- even if it’s the same plant. I like to wilt down some of a bok choy and add the rest at the very end. This makes things VERY exciting and diverse.

I am at the market all day and I think this week I might even be hanging out around the information booth most of the time (unless I have to rush off to buy some dill plants from Irie Hilltop before they sell them or some snap peas or leeks or something that is in very high demand like that) and would LOVE to talk to everyone about their cooking ideas.

I really could go on for about ten pages about the things I have been cooking and the plans I have but I have to go start making my New Year’s dinner (I decided to start a New Year for myself because it feels like one and I need to celebrate it with hoppin johns, Jewish new year honey cake, lots of garlic scapes and leeks braised with a pork shoulder roast, and a bottle of Toad Hollow sparkling wine (I hope it’s good — I bought the bottle partially because it has a nice reusable swing top and I can put my homemade ginger ale in it) for my friends from Williams Island (and Candice from Crabtree too). So I’d better stop now and get to cookin…

See you all at market!

Filed under: Local Food Letter on May 26th, 2009 |