Farm market report

The Mrs. went to the market this week and picked up some heirloom tomatoes along with peaches and baked goods.

She gets focaccia for me. The price isn't bad, but I can make this myself, better and cheaper when the weather breaks. This is one of my favorite things. It's like a thick pizza, usually without cheese. I like it with onions, in addition to the tomatoes. The tomatoes dry out a little bit and the flavor concentrates, making them even sweeter.

And talk about bargains. My sister went to her local farm stand, and caught a deal on organic Roma tomatoes. She bought a 50 lbs box for $15. Looks like she will be stocking the freezer with spaghetti sauce, and the cupboard with home made salsa. By the way, her grapes were exceptional this year. She has the vines growing on the chain link fence that surrounds her pool. So, she gets extra privacy, a nice bit of greenery, and some very tasty fruit. She harvested enough grapes to make a few gallons of her own organic grape juice, too.

This is the time of year to catch deals on tomatoes. It has been a pretty good year for them, and many farmers would rather pass along a bargain than dump them. Stock up and enjoy.

I love my tomatoes

It's well known to anyone who has read this blog that I love tomatoes.

Lately, at the farm market, the Mrs. has started buying heirloom tomatoes when she can find them. Last night, we had one.

It may have been the best tomato I have ever eaten. It was the perfect blend of sweetness, with just enough of the acidic bite that makes a fresh tomato such a treat. It tasted like it just came off the vine, at the peak of ripeness. It was meaty, not loaded with seeds.
Last week, she bought some that also had characteristics not found in the average tomato at the grocery store.
I like heirlooms. I'm not enough of a tomato snob to search out the exact heirloom I want, so I lump them all together. I don't even know one from the next by name. I just lump them all together under the banner "heirloom." But I have found that it doesn't matter to me.

I appreciate each one as I eat it. Last week's were very low in acidity. So, I didn't like them as much as this week's, but they still had so much more flavor than what often passes for tomatoes.

I rarely eat fresh tomatoes in the winter. Those hot house and imported from "Parts unknown" just do not have the flavor I want. I wind up using canned tomatoes and cook them. So, now is the time to stock up, so to speak.

And again, try one on a slice of bread with peanut butter.

More tales from the farmer's market

My town started a farmer's market on Sunday mornings. It's not quite as good as the one 5 minutes away in the next town on Saturday mornings, but I'm glad it gives farmers a chance to sell their products in a better environment.
The new market was such a big deal the local TV station had a crew on hand. And, yes, if you looked quickly, the Mrs. was on film waiting to buy pickles.
After seeing her on TV it made me feel like I'm living with a movie star.

The new market is on Main Street in Edison, and the only complaint is different vendors show up, which is good in a way, but bad in another. They have a pickle guy, and we love our pickles. This week we had pickled mushrooms, some new pickles, and gardinara.(sp)
But the new market doesn't have a bread guy like the market in Metuchen has. And the bread guy has focaccia, so none for me this week.
But we did get some wonderful peaches. This year seems to be the best for peaches in a long time. And the Mrs also picked up some wonderful plums and heirloom tomatoes.
We really enjoy the heirloom tomatoes. We slice them up, and use the slightest sprinkle of sea salt. The ones we had were slightly less acidic than the usual tomatoes we get, but bursting with flavor.

The market is in full swing

The Mrs came back with multi colored peppers today, along with zuchini, mushrooms, and a load of tomatoes. And, of course, more of the best peaches we've had in years.

Tomorrow, she will make spaghetti and serve sauted zuchini and onions over it.

One thing I've found is that really fresh local ingredients can stand on their own. A little extra virgin oil, a sprinkle of hot pepper flakes, and they are good to go. I don't even use sea salt most of the time. And just the smallest amount of shredded Romano cheese, and it's ready.

I'm looking forward to some thick sliced tomatoes on my sandwiches this week.

Whether it will be with mayo, or peanut butter (I'm telling you, this will catch on one day) New Jersey tomatoes are fine eating.

Low in calories, almost no fat, and one of the most versatile ingredients around. Delicious fresh, cooked, or dried, what other fruit has so many uses?

Fresh, local produce hitting markets

Oh yeah. Here in New Jersey, the farm markets are starting to open with great local produce.

Yesterday, the Mrs. bought some local peaches that were absolutely perfect.

So sweet, with juice that just ran down my chin when I bit into it.

MMM. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is as good as eating fresh local foods.

And peaches are a great fruit.

A small peach (about 3 oz) has around 30 calories, with a tiny amount of protein, and lots of energy producing carbs. It is a complex carb, so it's not like eating sugar, although they taste as sweet.

I also has my first peanut butter and tomato sandwich of the season, on whole grain toast. And, it was wonderful.

Foods of our forefathers

I know plenty of us have an image of grandma spending hours in the kitchen preparing complicated 5 course meals richly laden with sauces and home made breads.

Maybe some did, but I don't think most had the time or energy to do that. But what they did do is cook inexpensively. Most of the great dishes we love as ethnic cuisine, for the most part, came about because they were cheap.

A lot of Italians ate greens and pasta because they were dirt cheap. The greens were often found growing wild. I remember the old ladies used to go in the fields across the street from my home (and I lived in a small city) and pick greens throughout the growing season.

Early spring was dandelion. Before the flowers bloomed, the little weeds were excellent eating. And if it was a bumper crop, well, grandpa made some dandelion wine.

As the season progressed, they picked other greens, and incorporated these freebies into their diets.

Broccoli rhab should be out soon. This is a gourmet dish on some restaurant menus, costing 10 bucks or so a plate. It can be made at home for under a buck. Bitter greens like this can be very beneficial, health-wise.

Still others that I knew had gardens. Again, this was in a city, and I am talking about realtively small pieces of land. The entire property, including the house, couldn't have been more than 40' x 100'. And one neighbor, in particular, grew nearly all his family's tomatoes, peppers, onions, corn, grapes, zucchini, and beans. They canned a lot of it, too. He saved scraps for fertizer, and saved his seeds from year to year, so his cost was minimal.

Today, we would put up an awning, he had a grape arbor. It provided shade, fresh fruit, and some wine. This was a serious urban farmer.

And he wasn't the only one. It was common to see such things in very small spaces. We have gotten away from that, I think.

It may be too late to do much planting right now, but there may be some later crops that can be put in. At the very least, make plans for next year. Nothing is better (or cheaper) than fresh produce right from your own garden. And no need to worry about getting diseases from produce you grow yourself, organically, like tomatoes with salmonella.

Farmer's markets are getting ready to open. Pay them a visit for the best produce at the best prices. Eat seasonally and save the most.