May 26, 2007

Here are a few unusual things I scored at the market last week: pea shoots from Gardener’s Gourmet, squash blossoms from Laurel Grove Farm, sugar snap peas from Westmoreland Berry Farm, cream puffs from Sylvan Farm, variegated radishes from Red Rake Farm, and some pet treats too. Smith Meadows was selling dog chews made of dried slices of beef hearts, because this producer wastes nothing if possible.

(Of course, you know dogs are not allowed at the market, and it’s too hot now to stash them in the car, so leave them at home. I find taking my homebound dogs a natural treat alleviates my guilt. They seem happy with this arrangement.)

Are you having folks over for Memorial Day? Do they expect a picnic? Of course they do. Don’t forget to search the market for picnic fixings this week. Twin Springs and several others have tomatoes now - you’ll need those as burger toppers - and you can pick up some cucumbers, too. These make the easiest side salad ever. My dad would trot out to the garden, snap one off, wash it and rub off any bristles, then slice it (skin on!), plop some yogurt over the slices, and garnish with some thinly sliced red onion. If he was feeling really fancy, he’d leave off the onion and top it with fresh dill instead.

Of course greens make a good side, too, and Potomac Vegetable Farms now has enough varieties to swathe that boring salad in mystery and intrigue. Choose from redleaf, greenleaf, and Romaine lettuces; rainbow chard; dandelion greens; and herbs - parsley, cilantro, dill, sorrel, thyme, sage, oregano, and mint.

Other things you might want to pick up - grill fare? Try EcoFriendly Foods or Smith Meadows, which has both ground beef and less-work hamburger patties. (Did you know May is National Hamburger Month? Only four days left to celebrate that suitably!) Want cheese for those burgers? Fields of Grace usually has about five kinds of cheddar and a bunch of other hard cheeses. Ask what would taste best. Sweets to nibble? Betty Wilkins raises herbs, fruits, and vegetables on Sylvan Farm in Pennsylvania’s Cumberland Valley, and she can really cook with those fruits, too. She sells dried fruit that makes a healthy snack, whole fruit pies, and fruit-dotted cookies as well as several kinds of oatmeal, peanut butter, and chocolate chip cookies (my favorite is 'Betty’s Famous', a crisp take on the ones that Amos guy sold).

Seeing pink

Granny’s Gardens tells me that the new dwarf crape myrtle it first tested last year is a vigorous grower. This 'Razzle Dazzle' variety reaches 3 to 4 feet tall and can be kept at 2 feet with pruning - perfect for townhouse yards and other small spaces. These perennials start blooming after most of the other perennials have stopped, filling in your landscape nicely. Their foliage also has a great texture and reddish tinge, so it looks good no matter what.

According to the American Horticultural Society, crape myrtles can tolerate the dry conditions of summer once their root systems are well established. They grow well in full sun and ordinary soil. Ask at Granny’s Gardens how best to care for the dwarf variety.

Too pink? Try blue

Blue Ridge Botanicals grows plants - like perennials, flowering vines, ornamental grasses, and shrubs - on its farm in the foothills of the eponymous mountains. It sells over 200 varieties of herbs alone. So put some locally grown plants in your yard for later.

I’m guessing your Memorial Day feast will feature hamburgers and/or hotdogs on the grill for the crowd. I’m sure you can grill a burger and throw together some potato salad or slaw without any help. But here are some other sides you can make with local ingredients, as well as the best dessert of my childhood.


Ricotta-Spinach Dip

from Molly Katzen’s Still Life with Menu Cookbook

Mollie says ricotta is lower in fat and higher in protein than cream cheese or sour cream - but I think that depends on the producer. In any event, this just tastes good. She suggests serving it with steamed and/or raw vegetables - and adding leftovers to omelets, which I’d love to try but "left over" is an unachieved concept.

• 1 bunch fresh spinach
• 1 pound ricotta cheese
• 4 scallions, minced (or a handful of minced fresh chives)
• 6 radishes, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons dill, minced, optional)
• 1/2 cup water chestnuts (optional)

Stem the spinach and wash thoroughly. Dry completely and mince fine (you can use a food processor). Put the ricotta in a medium bowl and beat with a whisk until smooth. Stir in the spinach and other ingredients (I never have water chestnuts around and they’re not necessary, but the dill is nice). Cover and chill until very cold.


Green Goddess Salad and Dressing

One of the members of the association where I work has a wife who has a salad recipe that bears repeating.

Dressing

• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 1 green onion (or scallion)
• 1/4 cup chopped chives

Salad

• 6 cups torn romaine
• 3 cups torn curly endive
• 1/2 cup sliced olives
• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced in wedges
• 9 ounces frozen artichoke hearts (a can of marinated ones works well, too)

In a blender or small food processor, puree the mayonnaise, vinegar, parsley, tarragon, anchovy, green onion, and chives until smooth. Chill.

Wash and dry the lettuces, then toss with olives, tomatoes, and thawed/drained artichoke hearts. Plate and top with a generous amount of dressing.

6-8 servings


Strawberry Shortcake

Shortcake

• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup shortening (or lard)
• 2/3 cup milk

Topping

• 1-2 pints fresh, hulled strawberries, cut in half
• Sugar to taste
• 1 pint whipping cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles wet sand. Stir in half the milk, then as much more as needed to form a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead about ten times. Pat the dough into an inch-thick circle, and cut out biscuits using the rim of a lowball glass dipped in flour. Place an inch apart on a cookie sheet and bake about 12 minutes until golden brown.

Reserve 6 berries for garnish. In a large bowl, mash the remainder into rough chunks with a potato masher. Sweeten to taste and let sit for 1/2 hour to extract juices. Whip the cream, adding 2 tablespoons sugar if strawberries are very tart.

Halve a biscuit, spoon strawberries over the bottom, then return top. Ladle whipped cream over it and garnish with more strawberries and that decorative whole one. Repeat.

Serves 6

(recipe makes about 10 biscuits, thus allowing for seconds)