Recipes

Photo from Go Frolic

Debs from Go Frolic sends a recipe for a super-delicious looking Summertime Tomato Salad.  Her tomato pictures will most certainly make your mouth water, and erase any patience you had waiting for your own tomatoes to be ready (ahem :) …)

Damaris from Within the Corners of My Kitchen sends a post about making the perfect pot of beans.  When done well, beans are incredibly delicious and healthful, though when done poorly are about as appetizing as a pile of dirt…  The moral — everyone should learn to make beans!  She adds garlic, onions, herbs, and… bacon!  I thought this was *my* secret to delicious beans!! :)

From My EpiKorean comes Bebop for Kimbap, a healthful, organic version Korean fast-food sushi.  If it has to do with sushi, count me in.  I’m particularly intrigued by the ‘Kickin Chicken’ roll….

Photo from Cincinnati Locavore

The Cincinnati Locavore sends a recipe for Garlic Mustard Dill Pickle Relish.  Perhaps it’s just that I am discovering pickling and preserving for the first time, but more and more people seem to be taking the plunge and preserving their own (often home-grown) food.  Delicious recipes like this are invaluable to the home pickler.  Thanks Valereee!

Lane from Vegan Bits shares her Love Affair with Quinoa, which I too share.  A lovely alternative to brown rice, quinoa can be prepared in an incredible number of ways.  In fact, I had mexican-style quinoa for lunch today (read: leftover taco meat + quinoa… oddly delicious!)

Ellen from Health Freedom Coaching sent a collection of recipes for Wild Dandelion, a powerhouse wild green.  I love dandelion greens, though it’s possible I negate any healthful properties by adding thick sliced bacon whenever I make it!  The combination is my guilty pleasure… :)  Ellen writes, “Dandelions are still in season if you know where to find them. In this article I so enjoyed writing, some personal dandelion lore, unique recipes for dandelion greens and hints on where you can still find succulent leaves. As well, storage suggestions and ‘dandelion detox’ procedure to rinse away environmental toxins.”

Kalva from Curry in Kadai sends a recipe that is close to my ‘Modern Beet’ heart — Spicy Beets and Pea Curry! — it’s rare that I come across a beet preparation that I’ve never heard of before, but spicy beet curry is most certainly new to me!  I’ll definitely be trying it!

Suzanne from Adventures in Daily Living sends a recipe for Awesome Fruit Crisp that looks absolutely delicious!  Plums are coming into season around where I live, and I imagine this would be a delicious manifestation of the recipe.

Gardening

Ametrine from Ways to Simplify submits Gardening for a Sustainable Planet, a lovely discussion of gardening, the role of technology, feelings of separation from the earth, and locavorism — as a software engineer, I can identify with the sentiment that though technology enables us to do many things, it also has the potential to alienate people from the earth which for millennia has sustained us.

Musings

Photo from Green Me

Alison from Green Me sends a timely post discussing her adventures making organic strawberry jam, entitled ‘Living la Vida Local’.  A farm just down the road from me started their U-pick about two weeks ago, and I envision myself picking fresh berries to make homemade strawberry jam very soon…  For anyone near Longmont, CO, she writes ‘Monroe Farms also sells at the Longmont, CO farmer’s market, but they allow CSA members to pick their own strawberries, and we could not miss such a sweet opportunity! ‘

Walter from Highlight Health sends an article entitled ‘The Upside of High Food Prices’.  With the price of ‘regular’ food going up, the disparity between it and organic/local becomes less pronounced, perhaps leading more people to give SOLE ( S.ustainable O.rganic L.ocal E.thical) food a try.

Shaheen from Brain Blogger sends an article discussing the possible link between food additives and hyperactivity.  So many health problems have arisen due to our overly-processed, additive-filled food supply that I wouldn’t be surprised at all if food additives were linked to hyperactivity… sheesh!  what is it going to take for people to get back to eating ‘real food’?

Thank you very much to everyone who participated this month!  I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the submissions!  The deadline for the next ‘Fresh From the Farmer’s Market’ carnival will be at 11:59PM on Friday August 1st.  You can submit entries here

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Blog Carnival #4

- First Ever ‘Fresh From the Farmer’s Market’ Blog Carnival

- Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Carnival #2

My goodness! Another month gone by — busy as ever, and we’re just starting summer (always the busiest time of year for me…)! This past month I received more submissions than ever before, and these were the favorites of what I received. I hope that you’re able to spend some time exploring the thoughtful and informative posts that everyone has shared. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

At the Market, in the Moment:

Maybelle’s Mom sent an article inspiring artistic confidence — Photographing the Farmer’s Market. If you ever need a confidence boost about your photography skills, she suggests you simply visit your local farmer’s market :)!

Elra of Elra’s Cooking sent a write-up on the Los Altos Farmer’s Market. It is one of the four or five markets that dot the peninsula south of San Francisco, along with Palo Alto (x 2), Mountain View, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, and others. I frequent it regularly for its wonderful artisan produce. If you do happen to visit the Los Altos market, Hidden Villa sells super delicious pasture raised pork (they’re also my neighbor!)

Valereee, the Cincinnati Locavore, offers advice on How to shop at a farmers’ market — it’s certainly a different experience than shopping at a typical grocery store for myriad reasons. There is also a very active comment discussion going on with a multitude of useful tips. Also, she sent a write-up about the Linwood Sausage Company, an artisan sausage maker in the Cincinnati area — Yum!!

Hannah from The Purloined Letter sent a lovely, minimally titled article, Warmth. Warmth speaks of the warmth of Spring, and its unique food offerings — asparagus, morels, ramps, pea shoots, mache/lamb’s quarters, and more.

In the Garden, on the Farm:

Carole from Fowl Visions offers an article about The Basics Needed for Raising Baby Chicks. Before I started this blog carnival, I hadn’t ever considered raising chickens, but her informative articles and website have lit a little fire in me, and once I have my ‘own’ space, I actually might give it a try! Thanks Carole!!

Melanie recounts a day in the garden on her blog Bean Sprouts in an article titled Gardening Leave. A 12 hour day spent in the garden certainly feels different than a 12 hour day spent in the office.

In the Kitchen:

Lavender Farms sent a recipe for Lavender Lemonade, an intriguing beverage I’ve never seen before. My main use of culinary lavender is ground with sea salt then rubbed on pork or chicken — I’m excited to try this new take on a familiar flower.

Katy from Sugarlaws sent a recipe for a dish that sings of spring — Sauteed Ramps and Shallots. I totally missed ramp season around here, but am going to tuck this away until next spring and give it a try.

Jen from Fresh Cracked Pepper offers Hey Diddle Diddle, a discussion and recipe for fiddle head ferns, a delicacy that until recently had to be foraged.

Chef Erik contributed a recipe for Roasted Parsnip Fries, one of those vegetables that is comfortable appearing anytime from fall to early summer. Parsnips I feel have a bad reputation, but are actually seriously delicious — I encourage you to give them a try!

Lalaine from The Cook Mobile offers a recipe for Angel Hair Pomodoro with Garlic Shrimp. With salmon season being closed here in northern California, I bet I’ll be cooking more shellfish; this recipe looks delicious and absolutely fresh.

Kathy, the Geeky Poet, sent a recipe for Vegan Heirloom Carrot Salad with Seared Oyster Mushrooms. I love both carrots and mushrooms, but hadn’t thought to feature them together — her recipe looks delicious!

EcoSalon sent a lovely seasonal recipe from noted foodie/recipe creator Vanessa Barrington for Baby Artichokes with Potatoes Fresh Herbs and Lemon. I live about 15 minutes from one of the major artichoke growing regions of California (Half Moon Bay), so all sizes of artichokes are widely available at the Farmer’s Market during the spring and summer — I’ll definitely be giving this a try.

Mother Hen, the captain of Ship Full O’ Pirates, sent a sweet story and recipe about her 8 year old swash buckler and how he loves yellow squash… but only in the form of muffins. Yaaarr! Hands off me’ muffins!

Eric Koshinsky, advisor on all things related to Meat Smoking, offers a recipe for a Dry Rub for Ribs. With barbecue season fast approaching (or already arrived), this site will certainly come in handy!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in this month’s carnival! I am continually impressed by the quality and breadth of the submissions!!

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- First Ever ‘Fresh From the Farmer’s Market’ Blog Carnival

- Reminder: Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Blog Carnival

- Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Carnival #3

Previous editions:
Fresh From the Farmer’s Market #1
Fresh From the Farmer’s Market #2

Photo From Feeding Maybelle

Welcome Spring!
When spring arrives, sometimes you just want to sing its praises! Maybelle’s Mom from Feeding Maybelle sent a lovely article about her first market trip of the season, and some of the things she found there. I especially enjoyed her discussion about how the market is about building community in our often urban-yet-isolated lifestyles.

Springtime Farmer’s Market Recipes
Katy over at Sugarlaws shares a recipe for Smoked Pheasant Salad using smoked pheasant from her farmer’s market that looks absolutely delicious. I’ve never tried smoked pheasant, but love all sorts of smoked fish (different, I know :) ). I particularly like smoked meats when served at room temperature or slightly chilled — another favorite around here is new potato salad with smoked trout, dill, and a little creme fraiche.

Valereee, the Cincinatti Locavore, sent a recipe for Sorrel Soup that looks gastronomically stupendous. Sorrel, with its lemony bite, is one of my all time favorite spring greens both for cooking and eating raw. It can be a little hard to find, but is definitely worth searching out (or growing yourself)! She mentions a local source for sorrel if you’re in the Cincinnati area.

Photo From Fresh Cracked Pepper

Up near Lake Ontario when the weather was still cold and wintery, Jen at Fresh Cracked Pepper would warm herself with a hearty, comforting meal of farmer’s market Poulet en Cocotte (Chicken in a Pot), boiled beets, steamed broccoli, and a wild rice pilaf with cranberries and almonds. With a scrumptious dinner like that you almost wish winter would stick around!

I let out a similar squeal of delight to that described over at Ecosalon when I saw the first asparagus of the season at my local farmer’s market. Ecosalon offers an article entitled Seasonal Eating: The First Asparagus, complete with a delicious sounding recipe for Tuna Nicoise Salad with New Potatoes, Asparagus, and Wasabi Vinaigrette. Yum!

Manjula from Manjula’s Kitchens sent a wonderful video on how to make Aloo Gobi (Spicy Cauliflower with Potatoes). Endearing and informative, her videos teach us how to make real, home-style indian cuisine from daal to puri to gulab jamun. Absolutely lovely!

Choosing Ethically Sourced Meat… or Raising it Yourself!
Ellen recounts a visit to family-owned Wheel-View Farm that raises Belted Galloways and Scottish Highland cattle, as well as pastured chickens. (And for any of you in the northeast, she mentions that this idyllic farm ships frozen pastured beef over a large portion of the eastern sea board). As a follow up, she offers Close to the Source, recounting a later trip to the farm spent learning about and getting to know the cattle — they’re so friendly one tried to eat her hair!

Photo From Fowl Visions

Carole offers a fascinating pair of articles discussing raising chickens and roosters. It seems like more and more people are taking the plunge and keeping a few chickens in their backyards in order to have a constant supply of fresh eggs. The first article, Little Known Facts About Raising Chickens in Your Backyard lists some really interesting facts, like ‘there are more chickens on earth than people’, as well as ‘to encourage laying of eggs, place a golf ball or plastic egg in the nest’. The second article, What to do with Rooster Spurs, provides helpful information about just that.

… Or Choosing No Meat At All.
Lane from Vegan Bits sent an interesting article about how environmentally speaking, vegan eating trumps local eating (and of course these need not necessarily be mutually exclusive!). One thing you might notice about shopping at the farmer’s market is that vegetables become more of a centerpiece on the plate, and introducing vegan dishes happens quite naturally — for example, one of my favorite summer is dishes is tomato and avocado salad which is vegan through and through.

Skyler offers an interesting discussion on choosing a vegetarian lifestyle over an omnivorous one. He sites factors such as environmental impact, health, and animal rights as a few of his reasons. Choosing whether to eat meat or not is a very personal decision, and not all diets work for everyone. But, if you do choose to eat meat, I hope you will source it ethically.

Travel and Food
Sarah from The Eclectic Female sent an article about how to eat well on your vacation in other ways than eating out. Some of her suggestions include searching out open air farmers markets, finding roadside stands, and finding local grocery stores. I must say, I agree with her suggestions of finding roadside stands while travelling, as some of the best food I’ve ever eaten has been from places just like these — Mom and Pop shops on the side of a lonely road.
Thanks again to everyone who submitted articles for this month’s Fresh from the Farmer’s Market Blog Carnival! I truly enjoyed reading everyone’s contributions!

The next Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Carnival will be published in the beginning of June. The deadline for submission is Thursday May 29th, and articles can be submitted here. Thanks again!

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- First Ever ‘Fresh From the Farmer’s Market’ Blog Carnival

- Reminder: Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Blog Carnival

- Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Carnival #2

Foraging and Wild Food

Photo from Cincinatti Locavore Blog

Valereee, the Cincinnati Locavore, sent a post all about foraging wild garlic. Similar to dandelion greens, purslane, and nettle, wild garlic and wild onions’ beauty lies in the eye of the beholder: to most, these are weeds, but to others (including myself), these are culinary delicacies and the bounty of nature.

San Diego Farmer’s Market
Todd and Diane, the White on Rice Couple, sent a fantastic video of their local farmer’s market in San Diego. Their video features two fantastic looking recipes that I can’t wait to try, Zucchini Blossom Fritters stuffed with Pork, and Purple Kohlrabi Chips.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Zj2CnCz0ccg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]


Farmer’s Market Dinner
Katy over at Sugarlaws sent a recipe highlighting ingredients from the envy-inducing Union Square Green Market in New York City, Steamed Mussels with Tomato and Fennel. I have access to pretty fantastic farmer’s markets in northern california, but I have never seen fresh mussels at my local market! If you’re in NYC and haven’t been to the Green Market, it is absolutely worth the trip.

Herb Garden Musings

Photo from Exuberant Lady blog

Deborah from the blog trio, Exuberant Lady / Exuberant Chef / Exuberant Reader, sent a post from her gardening focused blog about growing parsley and its small joys. Her posts are always thoughtful and insightful, and besides that, she’s introduced me to the idea of growing Borage as a companion plant for my tomatoes. Thanks!

CSAs and Food Sourcing
Maybelle’s Mom from Feeding Maybelle sent a post discussing the process she went through deciding whether or not to do a CSA. Whereas the CSA’s around where I live are all well-established and there’s no guess-work involved, near her, things are more in flux, and small farmer’s are facing the very real problem of feeling like the government would rather see them ‘get big or get out’. Geez, the farm bill in action… boo…

Alternatives to Cow Milk

Photo from GoFrolic.org

Debs at GoFrolic.org wrote an incredibly informative post on alternatives to typical cow milk — raw milk, goat milk, and sheep milk in particular. These other types of milk weren’t even on my radar until a few months ago when the California legislature stealthily passed a bill effectively outlawing raw milk. After reading her post, I decided to pick up a quart of goat milk at my local natural foods store during my weekly shopping trip. Thanks Debs!

Health Benefits of Dandelion Greens
Ellen sent a post discussing the health benefits of Dandelion Greens, which are always a favorite here on Modern Beet. Not only are the greens delicious, but they fortify the blood, strengthen the liver, and aid in digestion. She also has lots of resources relating to natural foods and healing on her site.

Traditional Indian Cooking Video
Manjula from Manjula’s Kitchen sent a great video walking one through how to make traditional Indian Potato Curry with Yogurt Gravy. She has all sorts of other fantastic videos on her site, including my personal favorite from the time I lived in India, Bhindi Masala (spicy okra).

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/BOLKaQeB6j0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

No more mushy vegetables!
Theo from the Organic Test Kitchen sent a post with tips on how to cook your vegetables to prevent them from getting mushy. Really though, aren’t memories of mushy vegetables from childhood the reason that many adults avoid all things in the vegetable kingdom? Hopefully we all will not repeat this travesty with our own children (if you have them!)

Less salt, more flavor
Mike sent a post suggesting some alternatives to salt for seasoning your food. One of my favorite no-salt seasonings is a mixture of sesame seeds, nori, red pepper, and bonito flakes.

Baking Basics
The Tip Diva sent a post with 10 tips for enjoyable and successful baking, including things like knowing your altitude, following the recipe closely when necessary, experimenting when practical, and many more.

Personalized Aromatherapy
Eric discusses the properties of various herbs and essential oils, and helps you find the perfect aroma combination for your body, personality, etc.

Documentary
Finally, Food Matters sent a post discussing an upcoming documentary encouraging us to rethink the modern medical system, and how food and food production affects our health. In the words of Hippocrates, “Let thy Food be thy Medicine and thy Medicine be thy Food”.

Sounds…..
And on a different note, I’ll leave you all with my personal contribution to this month’s ‘Fresh From the Farmer’s Market’ blog event, a sonic sketch I created a few years back using field recordings I made while living in the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Market Song, sonic sketch

Every Saturday I would wake up and ride my bicycle to the open-air market in downtown Rotterdam. I never really needed to buy anything, maybe some vegetables for dinner or a plant to spruce up my kitchen, but I loved walking up and down the bustling aisles, listening to the sing-song voices of the butcher, the vegetable seller, the baker, floating above the crowd as they (very vocally) made the shoppers aware of their weekly specials.

Thanks again to everyone who submitted posts! This event wouldn’t be possible without all of you!

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- First Ever ‘Fresh From the Farmer’s Market’ Blog Carnival

- Reminder: Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Blog Carnival

- Reminder: Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Blog Event #2

Follow this link to make a submission or simply email me a link to your page at jen (at) modernbeet (dot) com

Check out the first carnival edition here

About the Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Blog Carnival:
Farmer’s Markets are a fantastic source for fresh, seasonal, locally produced foods, and what’s better is they’re cropping up in more places than ever. Chances are there’s a market within 20 miles of your house.

Submit your recipes (original or from a cookbook/website/etc), writings, photography, etc. that feature a particularly delicious, unusual, or beautiful food that you found at the farmer’s market — the perfect heirloom tomato, a white wonder melon, wild sorrel, cardoon, a gooey Hachiya Persimmon, grass-fed beef, farm-fresh eggs, locally caught trout, raw milk, pomegranate jelly, apricot chipotle marinade — you get the idea!

At (or near the top) of the post you should list the location of the farmer’s market and the featured food(s) (and the farm/purveyor if you know). Submissions should be recent (i.e. within the last month, or at least from the current season–spring, fall, etc) so that the emphasis remains on fresh seasonal foods.

After I receive everyone’s submissions, I will post a ‘digest’ of the posts, including a permalink to your site. This is a great way to gain some exposure for your blog, as well as find other bloggers passionate about similar topics.

Carnival 2: Submission Deadline is 11:59PM on Thursday March 27th
You can submit entries here or email me at jen(at)modernbeet(dot)com.

When:
The Fresh From the Farmer’s Blog Carnival will take place monthly; submissions should be made on or before the last thursday of the month. The Carnival will be typically be published the following Tuesday.

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Reminder: Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Blog Carnival

- First Ever ‘Fresh From the Farmer’s Market’ Blog Carnival

- Fresh From the Farmer’s Market #1

Welcome to the first (of hopefully many) ‘Fresh From the Farmer’s Market’ digests!

Last month I asked people to submit their recipes, thoughts, photographs, sounds, etc that they found representative of the idea ‘Fresh From the Farmer’s Market’.  I didn’t know what to expect, nor if anyone would heed the call for works — but many people answered the call, and I got a fabulous mixture of articles representing FFTFM.  Thanks!

As we near the end of winter, I present this picture (above) from former Wellesley classmate Caitlin Winner of multi-colored potatoes at her New England Farmer’s Market.  So lovely and reminds me of my years spent there!  All photos in this article are hers!

Recipes

Katy over at Sugarlaws sent a recipe for a perfectly in-season Apple, Honey, and Goat Cheese Tart.  She has got a great blog, and appears to be a mean ice cream maker!  I’ve gotta learn how to do that...

Suzanne at Chickens in the Road sends  a recipe for ‘Perfect Asparagus‘.  I saw asparagus for the first time this year at the farmer’s market about a week ago!  I expect the season will be in full swing in about two to three weeks here in northern California.  I’ll definitely be trying this (4 types of salt and all)!

On a different note, I cannot wait until summer.  A farm near my home advertises ‘Corn Picked Hourly’ that is seriously delicious.  I’ve tried grilling corn in the past to mixed results, but I think this article on ‘Amazing Maize‘ from Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You? will lead me down the right path come summer.

Chef Andrew at Recipe Bank sent a recipe for French Bean Casserole.  It is a (far more delicious) take on the all-too-familiar green bean / cream of mushroom / crispy onion casserole that appears on many dinner tables during Thanksgiving dinner.  This one uses fresh, whole ingredients which I’m sure leads to a much more healthful and tasty result.

The Screaming Saucepan sent a recipe for Gorgonzola Salad which I think would be a delicious and bold side dish that would work very well with some simple BBQ’d tofu, pork, or chicken.  Many farmer’s markets (at least around here) offer seasonal salad mixes — during the early spring they tend to include a lot of arugula (since it grows so quickly), which would contrast nicely with the rich gorgonzola.

Woman Tribune sent a recipe for a delicious pick-me-up, Natural Mango Banana Soup.  Thinking about a Jamba Juice Smoothie?  try this instead and save yourself $5 and probably a bunch of unexpected chemical additives.  Her addition of cardamom (always a favorite here) gives it another flavorful dimension. 

CSA / Food Sourcing

David from Sniggle sent his cost analysis of purchasing a CSA share versus buying conventional produce at a supermarket or corner market.  ‘Apples-to-apples’ he finds that the CSA is more expensive than the super or corner market, but he raises many points how an ‘apples-to-apples’ comparison fails to address many important concerns.

Tiffany at Nature Mom’s Blog reminds us that CSA season is starting up, and now is the time to find and perhaps choose one near you.  A lot of people think this is limited to produce-heavy states like California, Washington, Virginia, etc, but she talks of her old CSA in Arizona.  She also suggests resources for finding a CSA near you.

Jason Voiovich from State of the Brand sent an article discussing grocer Trader Joe’s’ relationship and actions regarding Chinese imports.  It seems that people these days have lost their trust in the authenticity of  ‘Organic’ foodstuffs originating in China.

Gardening

Jaime McIntosh submits an article about why one should follow organic gardening practices (and eating practices) while pregnant.  When I read it, I had one of those ‘Of course, that makes so much sense‘ moments…

BTW, how is YOUR garden doing?  I finally received my seeds in the mail today…  a couple weeks later than expected, but c’est la vie.

Health 

Kavit from Wellness Junction sent an article on 5 Reasons one might consider going Raw.  Raw food diets have been gaining popularity and recognition in the past few years — I have always thought it too extreme for my lifestyle, but incorporating some of its practices is definitely within reach for most people.

Travel

James from Costa Rica HQ describes the foods you might find if you’re traveling in Costa Rica.  Processed foods most people are used to are available, but why do that when there are amazing locally grown tropical fruits and vegetables readily available?  

Thanks again to everyone who submitted an article!  Please look for the Fresh From the Farmer’s Market #2 digest coming next month!  The deadline for submission will be Thursday March 27th. 

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- First Ever ‘Fresh From the Farmer’s Market’ Blog Carnival

- Reminder: Fresh From the Farmer’s Market Blog Carnival