At The Kingstowne Farmers Market July 11, 2008
Sorry for the delay in getting my At The Market report up this week. The summer season of fruit and produce is in full swing and I’m happy to say I had another great market haul last week. For starters, I found two vendors who were selling “seconds”. I love a bargain, and don’t mind slightly damaged produce at all. So, it thrilled me to see Allenberg Orchards selling bruised or slightly dinged peaches at $1/pound. I bought 4 for $1! Additionally, Mount Olympus Berry Farm was selling tomato seconds for $1/pound also.
Speaking of Mount Olympus, they should really be called Mount Olympus Pepper Farm. Of course their berries are fantastic, and they still had a great selection (good prices too). But it was the wide array of peppers that really blew me away. From traditional bells, to banana, to jalapenos to poblanos-the selection was beautiful. Most peppers were sold “mix and match” for $2/pound. Others, like the jalapenos and were sold for $2 a pint-basket. Tomatillos were prices the same and 2 baskets made for a large batch of green salsa. Oh, and eggplants. At least a half dozen varieties, most of which I’ve never seen before.
C&T produce and Green Lever Farm had fresh-picked white corn. I bought a half dozen from the former, and have been enjoying it for the past few days. I love to wrap a husked ear with saran wrap and throw it in the microwave for about 3 minutes. After letting it sit and steam for another few minutes, I roll it in some butter, sprinkle with kosher salt and proceed to nibble in my usual haphazard fashion, without even minding the obligatory flossing after each cob.
Finally, I picked up ground buffalo from Cibola Farms. I’m on a mission to help lower Frank’s and my cholesterol and fat intake (a HUGE challenge with a food blog!) and am starting by experimenting more with buffalo meat. From what I’ve read, buffalo has a bit less cholesterol than beef (and chicken) and A LOT less calories and fat. Now, I’m not willing to give up my occasional precious lamb chops and flank steak, we will be eating a whole lot more lean protein, whole grain pasta and bread, and brown rice.
Stay tuned and wish us luck!
Until the next At The Market, eat and buy local when you can.
Oh, in full disclosure,what I did with those banana peppers was totally yummy and indulgent. It’s a dish that I hadn’t made in years, called Italian Stuffed Peppers. It’s got heat and spice, but is cooled down by melted cheese. I stuffed the peppers with Italian-seasoned ground meat and baked them in marinara sauce prior to smothering them with mozzarella and running the pepper dish under the broiler to melt the cheese until gooey, bubbly and browned a bit.
Baby steps….baby steps.
It sounds like I need to pay a visit to Kingstowne soon!
Thanks for the stuffed banana pepper idea. I have banana peppers growing in my window wells. One pepper is enormous so I’ve been feeling the need to pluck it off and do something with it. Now I’ve got my inspriation.
I have just started working with buffalo meat and love it! I made buffalo burgers with sun dried tomato and garlic scape pesto mixed into them!
I love eating bison burgers over at Ted’s, so I’m intersted in seeing how you enjoy the ground buffalo that you picked up. I would love to start using buffalo in my cooking at home.
I will definitely post about the burgers. With Cibola Farms at so many markets, I feel the need to take advantage…and buy a stick of jerky, of course
I just have to thank you for the awesome Italian stuffed banana pepper idea- I tried it out last night with the ones from my garden. Oh man, was that delicious! We will definitely be doing that again soon.
Hi Tiffany,
I’m so glad you like it. They are such a treat for me. I know I’m going to have to make them again some time soon.
I just love their heat, plus the melted cheese. It’s like a good pain!