ThIs Week's Farmers Market

Another beautiful Saturday for the Farmers Market. We picked up two unusual vegetables this week.

A Philadlphia White Box radish. An heirloom radish, introduce in 1880's with a mild and creamy. These radishes were forced in cold frames in the late 1800's.

Cue or Eight Ball Zucchini. This squash reminds me more of a patty pan with it's hard skin. My initial thoughts were to slice the cue ball and fry or grill it. In searching for recipes, I find the way it is served most often is stuffed.

What unusual vegetables are available at your local farmer's market?

Cardinal Basil

I needed one more plant for my small herb and vegetable garden. There is a vendor at the Farmer's Market with lots of varieties of beautiful basil. On Saturday, I saw a variety I wasn't familiar with, Cardinal Basil. It flowers and looks much like celosia when flowering. After getting the plant in the ground, I googled to see what information I could find. There's not much information out there. I am looking forward to watching the plant grow and coming up with ways to use it.

Strawberry, Rhubarb Crisp

My sister in law Terry was here last weekend and brought me several pounds of rhubarb. I've never been a big rhubarb fan. My early memories of rhubarb are my mother stewing rhubarb with sugar for my dad. He loves it that way, all I can say is YUCK. Instead of making my husbands favorite rhubarb dessert using a yellow cake mix, I decided to try a new receipe. If rhubarb is mixed with strawberries, I find it a bit more palatable. I did some searching and found this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp recipe and changed it just a bit.



Strawberry, Rhubarb Crisp
Adapted from Food & Wine

FILLING
2 pounds rhubarb stalks, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
TOPPING
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt


Preheat the oven to 375°.
Filling:
In a bowl, toss the rhubarb with 3/4 cup of the sugar and let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. In another bowl, toss the strawberries with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and let stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the rhubarb to the strawberries; discard any rhubarb juice. Add the cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla to the fruit and stir well. Transfer the mixture to a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish.
Topping:Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix the ingredients together until large crumbs form.
Sprinkle the topping evenly over the filling.
Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325° and continue baking for about 30 minutes longer, until the fruit filling is bubbling and the topping is nicely browned. Let the crisp rest for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Chive Blossoms

My chives are growing beautifully. Even with our terrible winter, they came up with no problems. At the local Farmers Market, there were vendors selling bouquets of chive blossoms. I picked a bunch, they're so pretty. What else do you do with chive blossoms? I see recipes for using them in salads, making vinegar with them and an asparagus recipe that I would love to try. I can't wait to hear my husbands comments about eating chive blossoms.

Sunday Morning Frittata

My favorite Spring vegetable is asparagus. The asapargus at the Farmers Market this season is beautiful. I wish I could find a way to freeze asparagus without the thawed product being a bit mushy. Anyone know of a way?

I recently purchased a cast iron skillet. I have a glass top stove and have read they shouldn't be used on the stove. I did some additional research and decided if I kept the pan stationary, it should be okay. One of the dishes I had been looking forward to trying in the new skillet was a Frittata.




Asparagus and Jack Cheese Frittata
Adapted from Food Network

8 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded jack sheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound aspargus, trimmed, cut into 1/4 pieces (about 3 cups)

Heat broiler to high and arrange rack to upper third of the oven.
Whisk together eggs, cheese, salt and pepper until combined. In an ovenproof frying pan, heat the oil and butter over medium high heat. When it foams, add asparagus, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, pour in egg mixtire and cook until a 1 inch borded of egg mixture is firm, about 5 minutes.(The center will not be set.) Place the pan under the broiler. Broil until browned and eggs are set, about 3 - 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and enjoy.

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! Please take the time today to hang your flag and remember those who have served and are our serving our country. A special tribute goes out to my father who served our country in Pearl Harbor!!!

The Farmers Market

I have been counting down the weekends until the Farmers Market began in Omaha. I missed the first weekend because I had to work. Last Saturday, a cool front came through and our 78 degree Friday turned to a 46 degree morning. Lots of bedding plants, radishes, onions, tomatoes and rhubarb were prevalent at the stands. There is one particular organic vendor who sells the nicest salad mix. On Saturday, the baskets featured a vegetable I'd never seen before, Hakurei Turnips. When I inquired about these turnips as compared to regular turnips he described them as much sweeter and a very good addition to a salad. I was sold, my husband, on the other hand, wasn't so convinced. Turnips?, he said.





I sliced them and tossed them in a salad. The texture reminds me of a radish, while the flavor is much milder and sweeter.