Saturday at The Green City Market

Thanks to everyone who sat through the hot, humid morning to watch our demonstration at the Green City Market yesterday. We found some great ingredients and I hope people were encouraged to visit the farmers and cook our recipes at home or visit a Big Bowl and let our chefs cook for you. 

Fresh pickles are the simplest and most versatile of the recipes.  We collected chiogga beets, young daikon radish, and baby fennel from Beth Eccles of Green Acres and mixed them with a few sour cherries from Mick Klug of Klug Farms.  The vegetables are salted for 20 minutes, excess water squeezed out, and tossed with a simple rice vinegar brine.  Who would have thought you could have great pickles in less than an hour?

We made an easy version of Chinese scrambled eggs with Chinese chives and oyster sauce.   Using a very hot wok, we added a handful of Chinese chives from Smits Family Farm to hot oil. Next we added eggs that were seasoned with a pinch of salt, sugar, black pepper, and sesame oil.  Cooking very quickly, the eggs are removed from the pan while still soft and a drizzle of oyster sauce is sprinkled over the top.  I hope those who sampled the eggs were able to taste the difference in Kinnikinnick Farms delicious organic eggs.  

Our final dish can be found on the current Big Bowl special card.  Farmers Market Chicken, a basic Chinese recipe, showcases vegetables at their peak during the growing season.  At the market, we found Italian broccoli greens, known as Spigarello, and garlic scapes from Nichols Farms.  Italian and Chinese – could this be a new fusion cuisine?  I doubt it, but Spigarello is a personal favorite and made a tasty stir fry when combined with the last of the season’s garlic scapes.

I look forward to hearing from you and your favorite vegetable combinations and success with our recipes.  Look for us at the Green City Market BBQ on July 15.  BBQ Pork, Lotus Buns, Hoisin Sauce, and more Homemade Pickles!