Farmers Market Recipes

You're home from the market, looking at all you bought and are wondering - what do I do with all this? Or maybe you didn't go to the market, you got up late or the weather is crappy, or you just didn't feel like it. Go to the grocery store instead.

Yesterday, I suggested picking up tomatoes and beans in the pod. Here are some recipes and serving ideas:

Fresh Tomato Soup - 4 cups
helpful gadget: immersion blender

1 med onion, chopped
3 lbs ripe tomatoes, peeled & seeded, chopped with juices
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
sprig of fresh basil, tarragon, chervil or chives, chopped
1/4 c heavy cream (to make it a cream soup)

Med-low heat
Sweat onions in a small amount of olive oil
Add tomatoes and cook about 25 mins
Puree to desired consistency
Return to pot and add seasonings
(at this point, add cream if you wish)
Heat through and serve

Garnish - croutons, basil and a drizzle of olive oil (best on non-cream version)
add a dollop of sour cream/creme fraiche and herbs

Make it easier: Use canned toms instead. Heck, you can even buy a good low sodium or organic pre-packaged soup and add some fresh finely chopped tomatoes and fresh herbs.


Peeling and Seeding Tomatoes:

So - you've never peeled and seeded a tomato before. Here's how:

Start a pot of water boiling
Fill a bowl with ice water and set it near the stove
With a sharp knife, make a small "x" in the skin on the bottom of the tomato
Put tomatoes into boiling water for 30 secs and remove when skin begins to peel
Dunk tomatoes into ice water for a few mins
Peel with hands

Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze over a sieve, catching the juice
Chop as normal

Grown-up Grilled Cheese
Helpful gadget: the George Foreman Grill - come on you've got one...

One of my guilty pleasures is the lunch counter/kid version of grilled cheese - processed cheese on white bread. But, if you've gone to the effort of making your own soup, why not make more sophisticated version of the classic? Some ideas:

Multi-grain bread - cheddar, v. thinly sliced apples or pears, honey mustard
Pita - feta, tomatoes and olive tapenade
Foccacia - fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, basil
Sliced crusty bread - thinly sliced pears or apples, bleu cheese - add some greens tossed in vinaigrette after cooking


Fresh Beans from the pod
Alright, you've been convinced to buy them - now what do you do with them?

Turn on the stereo and sit down at the table and start shelling the beans. After shelling, rinse lightly.

There are several ways to cook fresh beans. Cooking times vary according to the size and type of bean. You can microwave them with a tiny bit of water 4 mins, or longer for favas. Steam the beans for 5-10 mins in a veg steamer or in a colander placed over a pot of boiling water. You can also boil them, but I recommend against it - much of the flavor is boiled away.

My favorite way to have them is the undercook them a little and then saute them in a bit of butter or olive oil and fresh garlic or herbs. Add some sauteed wild mushrooms - the flavors meld nicely.


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Bought something at the market and at a loss for how to use it? Just post here and I'll give you some suggestions.