The Houndstooth Gourmet

On Wednesday, I swung by the Upper King Street Fresh Farmers Market* for the first time. Situated across the street from the King Street Metro, in King Street Gardens Park ( that odd tangle of metal and ivy that was envisioned as a tri-corner hat), the market holds only 4 vendors thus far. What the market lack in numbers, it more than makes up for in produce, flowers, gourmet food products and canned goods. The market is a producers-only market.

Bigg Riggs in Loom, WV, is among the best vendors in the region. Tiffany, of The Garden Apartment, wrote a wonderful piece about the farm on her visit. From ramps in spring, to peaches and tomatoes in August, Bigg Riggs has a  wonderful selection at good prices. They also carry a nice line of gourmet products, including a killer Bloody Mary mix, assorted jams and dips. You can also treat yourself to Bigg Riggs products at the Old Town Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Say “hello” to Calvin while you’re there!

Greenstone Fields ,from Purceville, VA, had a picturesque stand filled with colorful flowers and produce, including tomatoes and (still!) raspberries. The tomato selection was seductive for a tomato lover like me. You may recall my waxing poetic about the deliciously fresh and oh-so-earthy-tomato taste of J&W Valley View Farm’s heirlooms which I bought at the West End Alexandria Farmers Market last week. Well, I found an heirloom tomato to fall in love with, and it was labeled as a yellow striped heirloom. Yellow-orange skin, punctuated by crismson red surrounds these ever-so-sweet and meaty tomatoes, some the size of softballs. They were a bit on the pricey side, with 2 tomatoes (almost 2 1/2 lbs.) coming to $8.25, but worth every penny. I will be returning for more, knowing that all too soon, these glorious field tomatoes will be gone. Be sure to treat yourself to one of Greenstone Fields many heirloom varieties. They are growing plants that very few vendors grow.

D&S Farm, from Charlotte Hall, MD has 109 acres that they have been farming since the 1990′s. Owners Dan and Sue Gragan grow berries, currants, peaches, plums, tomatoes, squash, peppers, onions, apples, and more. D&S also has a wide variety of homemade jams, syrups and vinegars, all made with products from their land. You can also buy these incredible products at the Del Ray Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, in season.

Shlagel Farms was a new vendor to me. Their stand was rife with vegetables and melons of many sizes. From large “yellow doll” watermelons to baseball size fruit that looked like mini-honeydew. Shlagel Farms is located in Waldorf, MD. Be sure to put them in your tickler file for next strawberry season–they have a “pick your own” strawberry field!  The farm, owned and operated by Russ and Eileen Shlagel is open to the public during spring for strawberries, greenhouse flowers and plants, and in the fall for mums and seasonal vegetables.

Until the next At The Market, eat and buy local when you can.

*The Upper King Street Fresh Farm Market is located at 1806 King St., Alexandria, VA. The market is open each Wednesday from August 13th through October 29th, from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m., rain or shine.

Tags: Alexandria, farmers markets by Ramona
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“I believe that if I ever had to practice cannibalism, I might manage if there were enough tarragon around”

-James Beard

Tarragon, that anise-like herb that came to America with the Colonists is subtle, yet defining. Called dracunculus (little dragon) for its serpentine, dragon-like roots, tarragon is used to flavor vinegar, mustard and relish. Of course, it is integral to a classic Bearnaise sauce. Tarragon pairs well with fish, shellfish, chicken, eggs and grilled meats.

Fresh tarragon is preferred over the dried form of the herb because the essential oil which gives tarragon its distinctive licorice flavor is mostly lost in the drying process. French tarragon is the most flavorful type of tarragon, especially in comparison to Russian tarragon, whose flavor pales in comparison.

Tarragon is delicate (although too much can overpower a dish), and does not pair well with more assertive aromatics such as rosemary, sage and thyme. Tarragon combines nicely with other mild herbs such as parsley, chervil and chives to make the classic fines herbs (which may have marjoram also). Fine herbs (as opposed to a bouquet garni) should be added towards the end of cooking because the flavors and aromas are delicate, and dissipated with heat.

For the uninitiated, try making a compound butter with minced tarragon leaves and melt over cooked asparagus, potatoes, corn or peas. You wont be disappointed!

Pork Tenderloin with a Blackberry and Tarragon Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 shallot, diced
• 2 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup water
• 6 stems fresh tarragon, roughly chopped to release flavor, plus 1 tablespoons minced fresh leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• pork loin- I buy vacuum sealed loins with 2 loins per package
• 1/2 cup Port wine
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

To begin the sauce, heat butter over medium heat and sautee shallots until soft and translucent, approximately 4-5 minutes. Add berries and water and continue cooking over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the berries are macerated, or broken down. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.

Simmer sauce over medium-low heat until it is reduced by half. Check seasoning and adjust. Strain sauce through a fine sieve or chinoise and reserve until pork is done.

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

For the pork, begin by patting the pork loins dry and generously salt and pepper each piece. Heat skillet over high and add olive oil. Add pork loins to the pan and sear the meat on all sides. Transfer skillet to preheated oven and cook until internal temperatures reaches 150 degrees for medium.*

Remove pork from skillet and allow to rest, lightly tented with aluminum foil. Heat the skillet over medium high heat and deglaze with Port wine. Add reserved sauce and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Adjust seasoning to taste.

To serve, spoon sauce over sliced pork and garnish with fresh tarragon and blackberries.

*For a complete guide to internal meat temperature doneness, check out this chart.

 Pork Tenderloin with a Blackberry and Tarragon Sauce is being submitted to Weekend Herb Blogging, founded by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week, WHB is being hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons.

Tags: blackberries, pork, Recipe by Ramona
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I’ve had no luck attracting hummingbirds this summer. Placing the feeder in the wrong places and not getting the feed right has left me without these tiny, amazing creatures. Last weekend, I stumbled upon a large shepard’s hook (double hook, actually) that Frank planted right in front of the large window in my kitchen. I cleaned up the hummingbird feeder and put fresh feed in and…

Viola! Hummingbirds.

They like me….they really like me…..

Tags: just because by Ramona
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Did I sort- of- kind- of -complain that the price of tomatoes at J&W Valley View Farm had increased to $3 a pound? Really? Silly me. OK–here goes the hyperbole and superlatives. The heirloom tomatoes I bought last Sunday at the West End Alexandria Farmers Market were perhaps the best tomatoes I’ve ever tasted. That includes the big, beefy “Jersey” tomatoes I grew up eating in Philadelphia. This– this tomato is what I will miss long after summer has relinquished it’s nurturing heat and daylight to the cool, crisp twilights of fall. The taste was simply sublime. The tomatoes were meaty, with minimal pulp. A little sprinkle of kosher salt, and these puppies were summery heaven on a plate. I can’t wait  to buy more-and wish every tomato I purchased from J&W was an heirloom. It’s going to be a hard act to follow.

Speaking of tough acts to follow, I stuck with J&W’s white corn upon my last visit to the West End Alexandria market because the prior batch that I bought was sweet, fresh and bursting with milky juice. This week’s corn did not disappoint. Per usual, I stripped the husk and silk off of one ear as soon as I got home, gave the ear a quick wash and took a bite to taste how fresh and sweet it was. It’s hard to wait until I get home sometimes, but I think it would be oh, somewhat off-putting if I did this at the market! Not to waste, I prepare my “test ear “to eat right away-nuked, grilled, sauteed or poached in water with a bit of milk.

Of course, this dish could not be complete without a good goat cheese-chevre. For this, I go to Tom the cheese guy who sells Apple Tree Goat Dairy cheese. The tangy flavor and creamy texture of this cheese is wonderful, and perfect for combining with summer vegetables and herbs.

~

For this dish, I began by sauteing the kernels from one ear of corn in a non-stick pan with a pat of butter. Once the kernels were cooked through and slightly caramelized, I set them aside in a bowl.

While the corn was sauteing, I prepared each plate by slicing the tomatoes rather thick, about 3/4 inch. I topped each tomato slice with a pinch of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, then drizzled with my best olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Next, I heated the same non-stick skillet over medium high heat. I added about 1/3 inch of olive oil. While the oil came up to temperature (the oil is hot enough when it starts to shimmer), I prepared the goat cheese disks by rolling pieces like a hamburger and flattening (your cheese log may be round already and if it is, then skip this step) into a disk 1/2 inch thick. Each disk was lightly coated with flour. Then ,I dipped each piece into a beaten egg, and coated each one thoroughly with bread crumbs seasoned with salt and pepper.

The easiest way to do this traditional breading is to set out three shallow bowls (pie pans work really well) with the flour, beaten egg, and seasoned bread crumbs. Arrange the bowls so that the nearest one to the skillet is the last one used for dipping, which is the bread crumbs.

I transfered the bread crumb-coated chevre to the hot oil and cooked on each side until nicely browned. The chevre disks were then transfered to a paper towel to drain the excess oil.

One piece of fried chevre was placed atop each tomato. I plated the corn on an Asian spoon aside the tomato for presentation and garnished the dish with the chiffonade of basil.

The corn is tossed over the tomato and cheese prior to eating (kind of fun to do!) so you can get a taste of everything in one bite. Like this;

Tags: corn, Recipe, tomatoes by Ramona
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(Red onion on the scale at J&W Valley View Farm)

For a beautiful and unusually temperate August day, the West End Alexandria Farmers Market had a small crowd shortly after 9am this morning. The products offered by the vendors were as wonderful as ever, however, and I do hope that the action picked up after I left. Especially, because the market will be closed next Sunday, for the Cambodian Festival, according to signs at each vendor’s table and market manager, Julie Bryant. Bryant, enthusiastic and socializing among the vendors and crowd, explained to Frank and I that “the festival takes over (Ben Brenman Park), with crowds of people, costumes, dancing and food.”

At J&W Valley View Farm in Westmoreland County VA, I bought more super sweet white corn, peppers, tomatoes (heirloom and vine ripened) along with onions. The (sort of) bad news is that their produce was a bit more expensive this week. Both tomatoes ($3 a pound–as was everyone else) and corn were up in cost, perhaps due to the fact that there is no market next week. The good news is that J&W expects that their corn will be available until the end of the market’s season. Yay!

(Fruits, berries and blossoms at Westmoreland Berry Farm)

Westmoreland Berry Farm was still rife with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. I bought 2 containers of blackberries for $10, and a quart (a dozen) squash blossoms for $5. It’s time to master the blossoms, once and for all! I will probably fall back on a dish that I’m comfortable with–a frittata perhaps. I can’t screw that up…I think.

Fresh Joseph’s was pumping fresh squeezed orange juice, which I have enjoyed time and time again at the Old Town Alexandria Farmers Market on Saturdays. It’s been only recently that I have looked beyond the crates of oranges and to the other products that they offer, namely fresh mozzarella and baked goods, such as breads that come from a Mediterranean bakery (not sure if it is the Mediterranean Bakery). I purchased 2 large balls of mozzarella for $7 and a crusty ciabatta for $6. If ciabatta means ‘slipper’ in Italian, then whoever this ciabatta was made for has feet the size of Shaquil O’Neil. It’s huge!

 (Ciabatta bread at Fresh Joseph’s)

Finally, I bought a log of fresh goat cheese from Tom the Cheese Guy. I wonder if everyone else calls him that? Anyway, he’s very nice and carries a variety of wonderful products from Amish Country in PA. Cheeses, baked  and canned goods have a faithful following. I remember the first time I bought Tom’s fresh goat cheese, which is made by Apple Tree Goat Dairy in Richland, PA. I bought the goat cheese with herbs and paired it simply with sliced tomato and crostini. I was thrilled with the tangy taste, and have been a fan ever since. It’s good to know that you can buy from Tom both on Saturday at the Del Ray Farmers Market, and on Sunday at the West End Alexandria Farmers Market.

 (Goat Chevre from Tom the Cheese Guy)

Once again, there will be no market next Sunday, August 24, at West End Alexandria due to the Cambodian Festival. Until the next At The Market, eat and buy local when you can.

Tags: Alexandria, farmers markets by Ramona
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