April 27, 2013

It has been a long winter and a late spring, but the season has finally changed.  

Dwight carpenter was at the market with a great lettuce display (shown)

Shannon Brines had arugula and other greens.  In general,  I like lettuce better than arugula, but  some arugula mixed with the milder greens makes a very nice  salad.  With a simple vinaigrette dressing it is my favorite salad.

Other vendors had spinach, kale and other greens.

Many bedding plants, both flowers and vegetables are now at the market.  (shown)


Early produce is also available. I purchased green onions and radishes.

Donahee and Sons also still had a few onions from last season.





Dave Barkman was there with his roses.  (shown)

Many other many other plant and flower vendors are now at the market.  Dennis Sparr always has a great display in season.

The Wednesday market starts next week. 

A Spring Pizza

Here is a pizza you can do entirely, except the crust, from the Market this Saturday.  It is a pizza blanco; that is, a pizza without tomato sauce.  

Make a pizza crust using your favorite recipe.  I like to pre-bake the crusts 5 to 10  minutes and then freeze them for future use.  That way I can make a batch of small diameter crusts at one time.

This pizza started with frying some slices of sausage.  The sausages were from Sparrow Market in Kerrytown, but there are meat vendors at the market.  Bacon could also be used.  Ernst Farms, a vendor at the Market, has very good bacon. 

There are now several different greens available at the Market; spinach, kale, Swiss chard and probably others.   Since it will be cooked I think one of the sturdier greens is the best choice.  I used Swiss Chard from Our Family Farm.  I washed the Swiss chard, removed the center rib and then cut it into 1 to 2 inch pieces.   I deglazed the pan I used to cook the meat with some wine and tossed the greens with the wine and the oil from the meat.

I lightly brushed the crust with olive oil and then spread a thin layer of the greens on the crust.  I also made a thicker layer in a pattern for presentation.  Next, put I a layer of cheese over the greens except where you wanted the greens to show.  The cheese was queso blanco from Sparrow Market but I think one cheese vendor was back at the Market last Saturday.  

I added the sausage as a topping over the cheese but you could use another topping of your choice.  If you want a vegetarian pizza consider sliced olives or pickled jalapenos.  Finally, bake the pizza in a hot, pre-heated, oven for about 10 minutes until the cheese melts.

I garnished with a bit of rosemary from my window sill, but oregano or basil from the Market would have been even better. Serve with some ground chile flakes from the Peoples Food Co-op for those that like a spicy pizza.

Early Spring at the MArket

Early Spring produce is now at the market. Carpenter Organic Produce has fresh lettuce. Several venders have fresh local spinach. This is so good compared to what you are likely to get at a supermarket. Asparagus will soon be there.

Farmer John has some broccoli  making a return in his hoop house.   Again I find this much better than supermarket broccoli that  has been in transit or storage for a week or more.

Dennis Sparr and several other flower vendors are now bringing their spring flowers.