marketfan

Truck Patch has been bringing young zucchini with female flowers attached to Mount Pleasant, 14 & U and Bloomingdale. But the zucchini were not very tiny so I think you could make Lucy's recipe with them. Sunnyside has had male flowers in flat plastic bags. I have made them twice in the last thre days in a preheated 350-400 degree oven (once at 350, once at 400), drizzled with olive oi and baked for 20 minutes on a cast iron skillet. Stuffing: 1. ricotta, egg yolk, salt, pepper, basil shred 2. sauteed grated zucchini with onion and thyme and I have often made them stuffed with mozzarella and anchovy, but fried.

Sunnyside has male flowers at Mount Pleasant, 14&U and Bloomingdale. Truck Patch has female flowers with the squash attached at all three markets. . I've only found female squash blossoms at Mt. Pleasant. Last year there were a couple of stands at Arlington that also had them but I haven't been there to check it out this year.

Mount Pleasant Farmers' Market Returns Saturday May 5th 9-1 Lamont Plaza. There will be purple and green asparagus and a variety of spring lettuces and greens including baby chard and spinach, watercress, arugula. Lots of herbs. Kathy Reid has created a container garden of of plants for afternoon Teas. First Strawberries next week.

Foodite.

I agree that TK has pointed out that the rising young chefs are creating wonderful food. And that is why I was very disappointed that St Ex was left out.

I went to HEOTB today at noon. I am just back from a week in Vancouver where I had Dim Sum twice so I had a fresh memory. HEOTB was very disappointing. I sampled a variety of steamed dumplings and they were uniformly thick and a bit gummy, not at all like their delicate cousins on the West Coast. Nothing special at all.

A taste of a lamb tagine (Paula Wolfert recipe) that I am cooking very slowly.

Kathy Reid has been baking them at Reid's Orchards at the Mount Pleasant Farmers' market on Saturdays. They had them last week and they were very good looking although I have not tasted them

Who are your favorite farmers -- and why? I am curious. I will start. I go to many different farmers' markets because I like different farmers for different things. Lately, Truckpatch at Mt Pleasant has been growing terrific arugula and I have always liked the Asian Pears at Reid's (various markets) but this year I fell in love with their Elstar Apples. and Wheatland's cucumbers.

Truckpatch at Mount Pleasant had Orange Cauliflower today that stays orange after cooking -- it is sweeter than the white variety, according to Brian. They also have beautiful purple broccoli and newly dug red potatoes. Quaker Valley has very good walnuts in shells there as well. Lots of greens in the market -- collards, kales, chards of different colors, and lots of salad greens. Tree and Leaf has pink and yellow carrots, Scarlett and Purple Top Turnips, beets.

No, Mount Pleasant's last day is November 18th, 2006.

Cibola in Purcellville welcomes visitors and has a gorgeous 300 acre grazing farm for their grass fed buffalo, goats, pigs, poultry and rabbits. They sell from the farm as well. Very pretty area to drive to and around this time of year.

Nina Planck had a very good editorial in the Times on Thursday pointing out that this particularly acid- resistant e-coli strand was prevalent in cows fed on grain rather than grass/hay and that the problem may have come from groundwater contaminated by leakage from factory farming manure lagoons. http://ninaplanck.com/index.php?article=e_coli

Anyone interested in Saturn peaches? Reid has them at the Mount Pleasant Farmers' market on Saturday, 9-1, Mount Pleasant Street between Lamont and Park And here is what Russ Parson said in the LA Times: "Saturn peaches: Whether you call them Saturn, Donut, bagel, saucer or peento, demand for these flat peaches is going over the moon. A rarity not so long ago (only about 50 tons were sold in 1996), sales more than doubled between 2000 and 2005 to a whopping 4,000 tons. Why? Partly because they look so cute, of course. Beyond that, they are very sweet, nearly candy-like with low acidity and white melting flesh. Saturn peaches are descended from an old Chinese variety called peento or pan-tao (it translates rather prosaically as "flat peach")"

I live in Provence part of the year. Most of the markets in Provence are notr organic nor are many of the producers selling their own products. You have to look for BIO markets/producers if you want organic and for Marche Paysan for markets that are producer- only. Many are revendeurs -- resellers of produce they buy at the wholesale market. Digne has a good local and non touristy market on Saturdays with many local producers. You may be surprized to find yourself preferring the vegetable producers in DC to those of Provence but the fruit and cheese sellers are MUCH better in Provence. (The tomatoes are usually better here in DC markets, I was depressed to discover after ten years in Provence).

Hannah, I agree that it is also about keeping healthy cows. But that is good animal husbandry. And good husbandry can mean that we don't have to fear food and that we can enjoy its real taste. Several examples: I am often in France. Farmers and supermarkets there do not refrigerate eggs because refrigeration changes the flavor as it does for tomatoes. I was a bit sceptical of this but I tried not refrigerating the eggs I bought at markets and yes, there was a huge difference in the flavor. I lived in Denmark for 2 years in 1972 when I was shocked when I was served very pink, indeed rare pork. My Danish friends were shocked that we served pork gray. They had not had trichinosis in decades. So, yes, you do have to know how your food is raised.

The issue is sanitation. Raw Milk is perfectly safe if the dairy is scrupulous about hygiene. Pasturized dairies are often much dirtier because they know that the milk will be pasturized.

If you missed the WAMU show, you can get another chance to hear Nina Wednesday night 7pm at Politics and Prose. Michael Pollan blurbed her book, Real Food. I bought both of them recently and I think they complement each other.

Nina Planck is going to be at Politics and Prose signing her new book, Real Food: What to EAt and Why Nina is a farm girl, "a noted food writer and expert on farmers’ markets. Planck rethinks the current advice that says to avoid the fat and cholesterol of beef and butter—“real foods” we’ve been eating for centuries. Instead, Planck blames more recently developed “industrial foods” for the growing epidemic of “industrial diseases,” such as diabetes, obesity, and heart trouble." She created the 14 London Farmers Markets, the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market, ran the Greenmarkets in New York, and the new Real Food Markets in Manhattan.. She is a good speaker. Controversial and interesting. Wednesday, the 19th 7 pm

There are some good farmers there including Reid Orchards. It is worth checking out. They also have a fabulous flower producer... Nina will also be talking about her book and signing at the Mount Pleasant Farmers' Market (Mount Pleasant Street between Park and Lamont) on SATURDAY between 9-11. Mt Pleasant will have first sweet corn and cantaloups of the season, tomatoes, beans, lots of cucumbers and 6 varieties of summer squash, white and yellow peaches, blue and yellow plums, 3 kinds of raspberries, gooseberries (LAST week for gooseberries), Wheatland's incredible blueberries, cherries, strawberries....pastured pork, buffalo, goat, rabbit, chicken that tastes like chicken because it is grass fed...and Breadline breads and sweets

Mount Pleasant will have Amish Transparent Apples (( so called because they make a very clear applesauce!) and a new crop of strawberries, gooseberries, 3 colors of raspberries, Japanese blue plums, early yellow plums, a variety of peaches, both white and yellow, field tomatoes, cukes, 6 varieties of summer squash, leeks, onions, brocoli and all kinds of Breadline cookies, muffins, breads.

Mount Pleasant will have sour cherries tomorrow at Reid and Quaker Valley and perhaps at Wheatland.

Lydia, Mount PLeasant is on Saturdays from 9-1. Lamont Plaza on Mount Pleasant Streets between Lamont and Park.

Smith Meadows is was not invited to bring meat to Dupont which is why their stand is different at Del Ray and Dupont. Perhaps they will be able to in the future?

Mt Pleasant had 4 types of cherries: the red Montmorency pie cherries which have a 10 day season, black Tartarians, Raniers and Bing. White and Black currants at Audia. Raspberries, strawberries, fuji apples from Storage. Also saw many types of cabbage: Napa and two Italian varieties, Kales, collards, French carrots, Japanese turnips, scarlett Queen turnips, salad mixes, stir fry mixes, baby leeks, spring onions, bunching onions, herbs, Caribe purple potatoes, French fingerlings and Red Bliss. radishes, lots of basil, high tunnel tomatoes, strawberries that looked like Fraise du bois, English peas, snow peas, sugar snap peas, arugula, red and green chard, asparagus, lettuces, Italian Largo squash, pipian (Mid East Squash) and zucchini, epizote. Rue plants.