6th Avenue: Round Four - Squash Blossom Quesadillas

Super simple, tasty, quick, great for kids, kids could even make them themselves... All common ways to describe a quesadilla, right? Well, we stepped it up a notch at the Tacoma Farmers Market demo this week.  I think this goes to show that quesadillas can be elevated to the adult level.

Last night I used an awesome semi-soft goat cheese from Blue Rose Dairy called Grande Rosa.  It has the texture and properties of mozzarella with a distinct goaty tone and it just melts beautifully.  This is the second cheese I've sampled from this dairy, and overall I'm very happy with their products.  I paired this cheese with some early corn, spring onions, and squash blossoms.

To start, I thinly sliced and then sauteed the onion in olive oil.  Once it was translucent, I added in the corn kernels, then the squash blossoms, coarsely chopped, right at the end.  I seasoned this mix with a little salt, and realized that I should have brought some ground cumin as well...

In another pan, I heated a bit of oil and started some corn tortillas toasting.  Once the tortillas were warmed through, I covered each one with slices of the goat cheese then perhaps a quarter cup of the corn mixture, and then a second tortilla.  As the bottom tortilla became crisp and lightly browned, I turned it just to finish cooking the second tortilla.

Sorry to say, I don't have a photo since the samples were devoured faster than I could imagine.

6th Avenue: Round 3 - Crostini with Fava Beans, Chevre, Mint, and Lemon

After I finished the farmers market demo today, I did a mock up of the entire process for all of you that couldn't make it tonight.  The audience was very interested in many of the little steps so I thought I'd share them with you.

For this recipe you will need:

Fava beans
Fresh goat cheese
One lemon
A few leaves of mint
A baguette
One clove of garlic
Olive oil
salt and pepper
a pot of boiling water and an ice bath

Step 1:
Remove the beans from their pods:

Blanch the beans in rapidly boiling salted water for two or three minutes, until they are tender and their jackets split.  Immediately drain and shock in ice water.  They should look like this:

Step 2:
Make some crostini by slicing the baguette on a slight bias, then fry them in olive oil over a medium flame until they look like this:

Sprinkle with some salt, and rub with the garlic clove, then set aside to cool.

Step 3:
Take the beans out of their jackets and place on the cutting board.  Add a little bit of salt and pepper, a bit of lemon zest, and some thinly sliced mint.

Now, mince it up:

Step 4:
Assemble the crostini by spreading a bit of the chevre on each crostini (add a little bit of milk or cream to the cheese if it is too dry to spread easily), then spoon on some fava mixture.  Press lightly to help the topping stick to the crostini.

And you're done!  Serve with a crisp white wine, such as sauvignon blanc or sancerre, or a dry sparkling wine.

6th Avenue : Round Two - English Pea Risotto

So here I am, in the middle of June, dodging rain drops to teach Tacoma Farmers Market-goers how to make yummy risotto.  Fortunately the sun came out for my demonstration this week so we had about fifty people watch at least part of the demonstration!  A few people stayed for the entire show - that always makes ya feel good!

I chose to make a traditional risotto garnished with english (shelling) peas; partially because peas are one of the first things to hit the market and partially because english peas rock my world.  We had gorgeous peas and spring Walla Walla onions donated by Bautista Farms out of Mabton, WA.  The guys at the booth were super sweet and besides, their produce kicked some serious behind when it came to quality and flavor.  Please support people like them- using their produce makes all the difference in the world.

English Pea Risotto

1 small leek

½ small onion, finely diced

3 T butter

1 c arborio rice

½ c white wine (optional)

4-5 c chicken or vegetable stock, held at a low simmer

1 c shelled English peas

1 c freshly grated parmesan

salt to taste

In a pot of boiling lightly salted water, blanch the peas until tender. Drain and shock in an ice bath.

Halve the leek, finely slice into ½ moons, then immerse completely in cool water, agitating to separate the pieces and allowing the grit to fall away. Gently lift the leeks out of the water and onto a towel to dry. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-low heat and melt the butter. Add the onion and leek, then sweat until very tender but not browning. Add the rice and stir for about one minute to coat each grain with the fat (this is called “parching”). Add the white wine at this point (optional), and stirring frequently, allow the wine to be absorbed. Then, add just enough stock to cover the rice grains, and stir frequently until most of the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding stock in this manner until the rice is tender to the bite (think like al dente pasta) but certainly not mushy! Fold in the the peas and parmesan, and adjust the consistency with the remaining stock if necessary- the mixture should be very loose and should not hold it's shape when spooned out. Season as desired.

yield: four servings

June 1st - Opening Night at the 6th Ave Market

Last Tuesday was the first night of the 6th Avenue Farmers Market in Tacoma...

We selected a dish highlighting the produce that this season has to offer: greens.  I prepared a salad of local baby greens from Terry's Berries; a wonderful mixture of colors, textures and flavors including everything from lettuces to baby kale and chard.  To that, I added the first of the season strawberries (also from Terry's),  Willapa Hills Big Boy Blue (a cow's milk cheese, aged at least 90 days with the influence of Roquefort cultures), and then dressed the whole lot with a honey-balsamic vinaigrette.  The honey, by the way, came from Sweet As Can Bee Honey Farm.

Next week, I will be demonstrating risotto but in the meantime, make yourself some salad.

Salad of Baby Greens, Strawberries, Blue Cheese, Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

6 oz baby greens (arugula, mixed greens, baby lettuces)

1 pint strawberries

½ c blue cheese, crumbled

2 T balsamic vinegar

¼ c extra virgin olive oil

1 T honey

salt and pepper to taste

Wash and gently dry your greens and berries. Remove the stems, then slice or quarter your berries. Divide the greens, then the berries and blue cheese onto six salad plates. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey and balsamic vinegar with a pinch of salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly to form an emulsion. Dress each salad lightly and serve immediately.

Great additions to this salad would be toasted pine nuts or candied citron.

The Tacoma Farmer's Market

This year, during the busiest season of the catering business, I am taking on an extra project.  Crazy, I know!  I am going to be the demonstration chef for the 6th Ave Market this year- on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, beginning June 1st and running through Sept 28th.  The demos are going to start at 5:30p and run for a maximum of half an hour, with tastings at the end of each little show.  It's going to be loads of fun!  Also, I am going to do my best to post the recipe and information about the seasonal ingredient after each session.

There are many reasons that I am excited about taking on this volunteer position, the main ones are that I get the opportunity to work with absolutely the best and freshest ingredients, and I get to share my knowledge with the attendees of the market!  One of our goals is to educate people on how to utilize some of the less popular produce, and bring new ideas for the commons items.  Another thing that excites me greatly is the involvement of the farmer's market in the lower-income sector of the population.  This is the first market I've come across that takes food stamps, has a proactive approach towards gleaning for the food bank, and has a nutrition program.  

Here is the link to the TFM website:
http://www.tacomafarmersmarket.com/Default.aspx