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.

First Michigan Flowers

Pussy Willows, the earliest native outdoor Michigan flower are at the Market.  These are from Wasem Orchards.  Platt Road Greenhouses also brought daffodils from their greenhouse last Saturday.

There is also an increase in the fresh greens.  The asparagus will soon be there.

Happy Ground Hog's Day

I think Ground Hog's day is an under rated holiday.   This is really the beginning of Spring.  The days are noticeably longer.  The nights may still be cold but there is almost always melting during the day.  In Michigan I would question the meteorological credentials of any ground hog that did not predict six more weeks of winter, but that is still an end to winter.

A slow steady spring is best for maple syrup.  While we are waiting for the flowers visit Snow's Sugar Bush at the Market for Maple syrup and maple sugar.

Coleman Jewett

On a sad note, a long time market vendor Coleman Jewett died last week. He was best known for his Adirondack style chairs which he sold from a booth near the entrance to the Kerrytown shops.

January 19, 2013

You know it has been a mild winter when Dennis Sparr is at the Market with flowers in mid-January.   This is my usual post to announce Spring has arrived.

In this mild winter the hoop houses have performed very well.  Multiple vendors had cold hardy leafy green vegetables, like the kale of the previous post for sale.  Tantre farms had a very nice display of root veggies and squash.  Garden Works was there with many sprouts.

Kale, Carrot, and Mushroom Soup

It is winter again.  I was feeling like some hot soup for lunch or dinner.  The vegetables that caught my attention at the Market were kale and carrots.  I decided to do a simple vegetable soup.

First let's consider a basic clear broth soup.  It just requires a liquid base and some solids.  Here is a ratio that I like for vegetable soups; 1 quart liquid, 2 to 4 cups assorted veggies. The liquid can be chicken broth, vegetable broth, or other base. Noodles or tofu can be substituted for some or all of the vegetables. 

In this particular soup I chose the kale and carrots because both are available at the Market, I like both, and the color contrast makes for a very nice presentation.  The approximate recipe for this particular batch was:

1 qt liquid stock
1 cup carrots cut into 1/4 inch slices (available at the market)
1 cup mushrooms, sliced (seasonally available at the Market)
1 cup kale, chopped and with the center stem removed (from Our Family Farm)

It is basically equal liquids and solids allowing for some boil off of the liquid.  The preparation is to heat the liquid to boiling, reduce to simmering and add the vegetables. Add the ones with the longest cooking times first and then the others.  Carrots take about 5 minutes, so I added them first, I added the mushrooms after about 3 minutes and then added the kale last and just left it long enough to turn a bright green.

For the soup in the picture, I used green tea, ginger and miso for the liquid.  I added the miso and a pinch of crushed dried chilies just before serving.   Those familiar with Japanese cooking will recognize the miso as a common Japanese soup base somewhat similar to bouillon cubes in western cooking.   For those that are not familiar with miso I will do a post on it soon.