Love Fall and My Local Farmers

I love the change of seasons!   I especially love Fall with the leaves turning vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow.  I love it that the weather requires a sweater at the very least and local farmers markets are full of pumpkins, lots of root vegetables and hearty greens like Swiss chard and kale.  Perfect soup and stew weather.

Finally - A Trip to the Farmers Market

Finally - I made it to the Seaport Farmers Market. It's been so long that my friends called me "stranger"! Honestly, I was so excited, I didn't know where to begin. Somehow, after a cup of Steve 'O Reno's coffee to wake me up and get me to focus, I managed to bring home a wonderful stash of goodies. Aren't you pea green with envy?
The last time I was there was late September (it feels like an eternity ago) and I saw the first Fall pumpkins, no bigger than a kolrabi...
... today, I was greeted by these beauties at 6:45 AM! You can see that it was pitch black out when I arrived. No wonder I needed coffee. And now... let me take you on a tour.

The first two stops Sweet William's Sausages, and Getaway Farm always look better when cooked, so stay tuned to find out what I do with them... the sausages - lamb pesto & turkey fennel; the meat - Chris is out of hangar steak, so I'll have to preorder for next time. No problem - flank steak will be perfect.

On to The Fish Shop, where Peter Boudreau educated me on sustainable fishing, and knew the provenance of everything on ice. I ended up with halibut fillet so fresh it almost flapped! Well, okay, fins are gone, but it was caught yesterday by line fishing and Peter filleted it last night.
I made this awesome Lemon Pepper Crusted Halibut from The Ocean Wise Cookbook: Seafood Recipes That Are Good For The Planet, where you can learn all about sustainable fishing and simple ways to enjoy the rewards. You can read my review here.
Brussels sprouts will go beautifully roasted with pancetta
Russet apples - I love them so much, I might not even share!
Eggs from Ran-Cher Acres and Bread from Julien's is always a given and I couldn't wait to get home for some breakfast... fried eggs - check out that gorgeous colored yolks and crusty toasted sourdough to sop it up.
...dessert... for breakfast, you say? Yes when it's fresh honeycomb spread on more toast!
Which still leaves a visit to Waldegrave Organic Farm for some gorgeous winter mix salad greens and...
Check out these watermelon radishes. So stunning to look at and quite mild in flavor. They'll be perfect as a crudites with some thick wonderful dip.

Well, time for a snack.. some Ran-Cher goat cheese and bread? or a Grilled Rosemary Ham & Cheese on more of Julien's crusty bread.

What's your favorite Fall delicacy?

Beat the Heat With Local Ingredients

It's Tuesday and last week I somehow didn't get it together to enter a post to a great little carnival. You can read all about Two for Tuesdays! Carnival here, but the bottom line...eat real food rather than instant and packaged. And, certainly when I can, I shop at farmers' markets and eat as locally as possible. It really does make a difference in taste. If you've ever been to a tropical country and tasted fresh mangos, papayas, pineapple, etc...you know exactly what I mean. The taste pales by the time it gets to your table. That said, I'm never going to be a 100 mile girl...local garlic won't be around for months and it's like air...I can't live without it. But I digress.

What I mean is, I choose locally grown and raised ingredients first and then branch out. It's so easy to do...especially this time of year when produce is so plentiful. And when the weather is brutally hot as it is here, frankly, I want to spend as little time in the kitchen as is humanly possible. My secret weapon for the heat...a bag of mixed greens from Ted Hutten Family Farm. Every bite is wonderful - interesting mix of salad greens, Asian greens (their speciality) and mustard greens. It really doesn't take much work to make it the perfect focal point of any meal. Just drizzle a little olive oil, spritz some lemon juice or your favorite vinegar and really - you're done and everyone will be in Heaven.
Another favorite of mine...Mixed Greens with Roasted Beets & Carrots with Cumin, Feta & Mint (you do the beet & carrot roasting early in the morning when it's still cool in the kitchen) . Either of these are perfect light meals on their own or great sides to go with some grilled meat...
...like this awesome Spiced Rub Skirt Steak (served here with an easy Lemon, Garlic Pasta that could be prepared in the morning and served as a salad. The skirt steak is from my very favorite meat purveyor at the market... Getaway Farm... grass fed beef at its best.
And if we weren't about to move I'd be preserving some of these gorgeous strawberries that are finally in season here. Oh well...we will be in our new home by blueberry season.

Add your REAL FOOD link at the bottom of Girlichef's post and then leave a comment so she'll know you've joined in this week! And remember, your link will show up at all 4 host sites for Two for Tuesdays!

What Are We Doing? More Fat in Fast Food?

Although I rarely use this blog as a platform for ranting...I can't help myself. My Honey sent me this link from The Globe And Mail entitled Forget Healthy. Apparently, KFC - is now serving up Double Downs. If you can't open the video you can follow this link to see it on YouTube.

No bread...which normally means salad or something healthy, but look again ...it's two breaded and fried pieces of chicken, with bacon and cheese in between them. I'm afraid to even think of the calories and fat involved.

Now don't get me wrong. I am far from being a purist. I occasionally crave an egg McMuffin or their quarter pounder. And once a year, I do love a couple of pieces of KFC myself. But most of the time, I eat healthy meals that really do taste wonderful.

I find it frightening to think about where we've come and where we're going. According to Stats Canada, 17.2% of Canadian adults were obese in 2008. Check out their article. I remember when if a woman was overweight, the only option, clothes-wise was a Muu Muu - that tent-like Hawaiian dress. Today there are chains of shops that cater to the Plus Sized and every other store has departments just for them as well.

Perhaps it's because I frequent the Farmers Market here almost every Saturday morning, where I get to know my farmers and artisan cheese and bread makers. Perhaps it's because so many of the books that cross my desk (make that dining room table) are focused on eating fresh, locally produced and healthfully (is that a word?). Perhaps it's because I've been following Jamie's Food Revolution. In one of his presentations he quoted US statistics that said that the next generation will live TWENTY YEARS LESS than this one due to obesity related diseases.

Enough ranting....I'm off to eat a healthy breakfast. Herb & Goat Cheese Scrambled Eggs with some multigrain toast.

Another Great Saturday at the Market

Normally I like to take photos either at the market or at least my stash once I get home. Today, neither .... it's still too early for many produce vendors, although I did get some lovely greenhouse greens from a farm near Tatamagouche. I was too sleepy at 7 AM to get the name. The bok choy, mustard greens, gorgeous cilantro and mixed salad greens will definitely be appreciated this week. In fact the mustard greens made it into the frittata above.

I did get some lovely free range eggs and some Ran-Cher goat cheese - this time with Italian herbs. In fact, I can't imagine my fridge NOT having Ran-Cher cheeses on hand for those last minute meals - fantastic in pasta, on pizza, and grilled cheese sandwiches for sure.

I was on the lookout for a leg of lamb to make Katie of Thyme for Cooking's Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic & Rosemary, which sounds fantastic...and went early to my favorite place for lamb Wood 'n Hart without thinking that it being Easter Weekend, there would be a huge demand. So, I placed my order for one for next Saturday and bought some free range eggs. One of the things I love best about the market - the relationships I've built with the vendors.

Naturally I had to stop by Mike's Fish Shop and thank Peter for the wonderful side of Salmon I got last week for my birthday party - Roasted Salmon with Teriyaki Hoisin Sauce. It was perfect. This week I picked up some fresh Blue Fish fillets - a first and I did find a wonderful sounding recipe to try tonight. I'll keep you posted.

Next stop...more greens from Riverview Herbs (another hot house farm) baby beet greens, baby arugula, fresh mint ...all to definitely brighten up this week's dishes.

Last stop, to Chris and the gang at Getaway Farm for some aged skirt steak (I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was always on the lookout - they're so rarely available- and he got some for me and now also sells hangar steak -another favorite of mine) and some fresh ground beef (for those awesome looking Garlic Meatballs that once again, Katie of Thyme for Cooking made for this week's Presto Pasta Night).

And home to make a very tasty frittata with my score. You can check out some of the frittata recipes here and them make them your own with whatever local lovely produce you can find.

BlackBerry Farm - Tennessee at Its Best

Last week, I was flipping through the guide on TV and stumbled across Adventures With Ruth and taped it for some future down time, not knowing what I'd be watching, but being a fan of Ruth Reichl from her days as Food Editor of the now defunct Gourmet Magazine and her delicious biographies...I just knew it would be wonderful.

But let's back up a bit....back in November I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of The Blackberry Farm Cookbook: Four Seasons of Great Food and the Good Life, which I wrote about and which still sits on my coffee table for all to browse through. It's gorgeous.

So what a wonderful surprise, when I saw Ruth and her good friend (and one of my favorite actresses), Frances McDormand visiting the farm, harvesting their dinner (including catching trout in the stream) and cooking it up with Sam Beall and his inspired and inspiring staff. Even a big city girl like me was jealous of the lifestyle and ready to pack my bags and head out to live off the land.

Obviously, from the ingredients, the show was filmed in early summer - and I can't wait until I can at least go to our local farmers markets for ingredients to make Surgar Sanap Pea & Cheese Curd Salad and Strawberry Elderflower Jam Tarts .

Just curious, and so you all can make me even more jealous....what is your favorite foodie country retreat? I was lucky enough to spend a morning and lunch at The Shipwright Cafe in Prince Edward Island back in September....that was pretty awesome.