198 replies to this topic

[heidih]

Gorgeous farmer’s market. I live in the south, but my town just doesn’t have a really great market. And I love the sound of those cucumbers. We have a bowl of them going in the fridge all summer long, but I’ve never thought to add OJ – that is a great idea!

Kim! -you got me started on the perpetual cucumber bowl with this topic. I just did not do onions this time. The citrus is a function of my trying to use what is right in front of my nose for free- a ton of citrus.

[heidih]

The soup is done and ready to cool. I started with turkey stock from the Easter turkey (we are not ham peeps) and added the stem of the green garlic, some green onion, fresh ginger, coconut milk, turkey, beet greens, a packet of shirataki noodles (clear ones), the last habanero from the garden (via freezer), and a few peas and roasted corn kernels (TJ). Fish sauce was the "salt". It needs some citrus as an acid when serving and some fresh herbs (thinkin mint from the garden). I like it despite the pink color.


The beets have been nuked - just need to peel and get some sauce going tomorrow


I went to a small local Japanese chain for the shirataki noodles- Nijya. There was a guy doing samples of one of my favorite comfort foods- Japanese curry- this was House Brand spicy with tofu


Here are some more market shots

[heidih]

I talked about pineapple cores here. I ended up tossing them in the freezer. As I was trying to cool down the soup discussed earlier I thought "why not toss one in"- it cooled the soup and I will see if it makes sense to chop and eat along with the soup. I really do not want to waste things so this made me happy.

[toolprincess]

I am trying to break the diet coke cycle and have been drinking more tea. I grew up in the south so tea is my roots. Except now I drink it unsweetened with Splenda rather than the true "sweet" tea. I know tea has caffeine naturally but it does not keep me awake like DC and it is also better as I don't get as much acid reflux (something that seems to be plaguing me now that I am older).

I should totally start keeping a perpetual cucumber bowl - that is part of my southern roots also - we always had cukes with vinegar and onions all summer long (from the garden).

[heidih]

I ended up checking in at the neighbors to see if I could get a shot of their smoked turkey and cake. It was all gone but I picked some tasty bits off the carcasses, tasted some macaroni salad that was more eggy than sweet, and sampled the neopolitan cake (she did a light cream cheese frosting between the layers which worked surprisingly well and whipped cream on the outside). By the time I got home I was not hungry but I put the fish in the oven. I cut it in large chunks and rested it on the fennel fronds and green garlic with sliced meyer lemon. One of the neighbors has kids in Hawaii and is familiar with the fish. She cautioned me that it could go mushy quickly - and it did. Very mild flavor. I will use it in a fish cake or salad prep during the week. I had planned potato with lemon slices roasted with garlic and olive oil but my potatoes were more bin than oven worthy. I am finishing up the day with some popcorn (microwave- but I am keen on starting to use the "real" stuff)

[Darienne]

Am lovin' this, Heidi.

Using all those garden goodies: I will cook and freeze anything which seems to be likely to go beyond its best use time. Colored peppers were on special last week at an unbelievable low price here and so we bought a passel. I roasted them all and into the freezer they went. A dozen uses spring to mind.

Also I envy your having neighbors who are also interested in food, preparation and eating. The best part of living in Moab two years ago for 6 months was sharing with my next-door neighbor/landlady/friend our interests in just this. First and only time in my life to have a next door friend. (I really don't even have next door neighbors now.) Actually, I suppose that's why eG is so important to me.

[heidih]

Good morning. I posted about my pears last fall here. The trees are just starting to show blossoms this week. I want to be more creative this year and also more proactive. By the time I started experimenting with them, the critters had helped themselves to most of the harvest

[heidih]

I zipped over to the 99 cent store for some wild bird food and took a couple photos.

Long wall of canned goods - 90% vegetables


Several views of the produce bins

[heidih]

By late afternoon the produce bins will be mostly empty. I find it really heartening to see families and seniors excited about inexpensive produce. Standing in the check out line I notice that the majority of customers are purchasing vegetables or fruit if they are buying food.

I grabbed a 5 pound bag of Idaho potatoes (99 cents) and a small container of Breakstone reduced fat sour cream for 59 cents. I generally go for full fat but this is what they had. Their expiration dates tend to be in the near future. This one was May 15 and was labeled Kosher for Passover.


A mid morning snack seemed in order so I mixed the sour cream with a healthy squirt of wasabi paste and a dash of dry mustard to top the beets I cooked yesterday. I enjoyed it along with taboulie from the farmer's market, and the salad I made yesterday topped with some of the unsuccessful fish from last night. It was a perfect snack on this warm day.

[PopsicleToze]

Produce at a $0.99 store -- whatta deal! I love your mid-morning snack, too. Such great produce and healthy eating.

[heidih]

I just got back from the Ishibashi Farm Stand which grows its produce along the runway of the Torrance Airport. The family is a farming institution on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Here is a piece on their origins and return after internment. The stand is manned by family members and is a treasure. I get all choked up every time I think about their history.

In the summer their corn is the only corn I will buy. It is yellow, very corny, but still sweet. That and my dad's tomatoes form the basis of my summer eating.

Here are some shots of the stand and the fields. The corn is about 3 feet high as of today.

[heidih]

I did stop in at Starbucks for some Passion iced tea while driving around


I had hopes for this new market. I saw produce on tables outside the other day and a guy sitting in a chair. Today it was locked and peeking inside I noticed no shelving. Perhaps they were just starting to sell product when they were around. I will keep an eye on it

[heidih]

I did pick up a few things from the farm stand. A basket of strawberries because I could not resist the smell- they are on the counter and if it looks like they are headed south I will slice and freeze (ghetto sorbet). The little plump squash will go into my veggie cornbread when I pick up vegetarian Indian this week. The green beans will be tossed as they are - no prep - into salted water until just tender to the bite (al dente?) and dipped into that sour cream/wasabi/mustard I made earlier for the beets. The white package is the way they lovingly package the berries. The other produce is handed over in brown paper bags.

[Shelby]

The first teaser shot showed iced tea in a vintage pitcher so I thought I would address my iced tea. It is my all day beverage. Several years ago I picked up a brewing method from a friend that is simple and works for me. I nuke a cup of water in a pyrex measuring cup and then add 4 to 6 tea bags, depending on the type. Today I used 3 bags of the Safeway brand black tea and 2 of Bigelow Perfect Peach. I let it steep for a few minutes, again depending on the tea, pour into the pitcher and fill with water from the tap. As summer approaches I will have different flavors going in pitchers. Anyone an iced tea fiend?

I used to be until I had a huge panic attack after ingesting iced tea all day long. I really think it was due to all of the caffeine.

I used to have sun tea going all day every day here in Kansas. Makes me want to try it again.....

Loved the market!

[heidih]

Shelby - my tea is half "real" and half herbal. We had some families that did the sun tea thing in the 70's but cold water in the fridge works as well and no risk of yuck in the hot weather. I am planning on going even more herbal with the tea for the next batch - stay tuned

[Shelby]

I zipped over to the 99 cent store for some wild bird food and took a couple photos.

Long wall of canned goods - 90% vegetables


Several views of the produce bins

WOW! We have Dollar Stores around here, but I've never ever seen one with FRESH produce. Does 99 cents mean EVERYTHING in the store is that price?

[heidih]

They had a big controversy when they tried to up their prices so they huddled and came up with a solution. Smaller sizes on some things, rounding up to $1 always, and some things (like the 8oz sour cream I bought) are less. Nothing is over $1

[heidih]

I am off to the taco truck. My son told me to wait until at least 2 as the lunch lines are long. I usually just go there when I am passing by at odd hours.

To tide me over I have had some of the berries and the pita chips with that incredible feta/pesto/sun dried tomato dip I got from Baba Foods at the farmer's market yesterday.

[heidih]

I have to forever give eGullet props for what happened on my taco run. I went to the local taco truck that has been in the same spot for many years. It is not the stuff of your dreams, but it is delicious and close by. I ordered a carne asada and a carnitas taco- total bill of $2.40. As in the photo it same with lots of finely diced onion and both an excellent green and red salsa. Normally it also comes with radish slices and minced cilantro but I think they got a bit distracted when I started taking pics and I did not check the bag. As I used to some off the freeway (Harbor 110) this was just on the right and it just made everything ok.

[heidih]

When I asked to take their picture they got SO excited. As I left they began to sing over their loudspeaker about my beautiful eyes in Spanish - some of the customers clued me in (what 50 something chick would not cry at that one)

Here they are


And the food

[chezcherie]

oooh, heidih--you and those photos just took me back 40 years! i used to ride my bike from redondo beach up to annie's stand as a moony-eyed teenager, to buy those fragrant sweet peas and (nonfragrant but glorious) poppies. i'd get some peas in the pod as a snack, and a basket of berries, of course. i remember "annie" burning the ends of the poppies so they would last longer. i'd ride back along the beautiful coastline, with my bike basket full of blossoms, feeling like a maiden in some romantic film.
completely coincidentally, my now-husband of 31 years grew up on the peninsula, and when clearing out his parents house after their recent deaths, we learned to our great surprise that his mother's mother left her teaching job in pasadena when many of her students were interned during the war, and lived in poston internment camp for several years! we found calendars, newpapers and other ephemera from her days at poston, which none of his siblings had ever known about. she was a middle-aged white woman, but she felt so strongly that her students were being treated so harshly, that she went to teach in th

[heidih]

chezcherie - thanks for sharing the memories - I am dripping tears all over the keyboard. Farming is such a commitment of energy and I bow to those that endure. The whole internment thing is a story for another forum... I also remember my mom's friends driving around to the ocean side to get berries and flowers from Annie's. I happily pay a bit more for their produce.

[heidih]

I am planning ahead for the cauliflower prep to go with my Indian food so I posted in the Indian Cooking forum here.

I need to play with the fava beans so I think I will peel them and pre cook- possibly do a small appetizer dish with some linguine, butter, cream, asiago cheese, and fresh basil. Thoughts?

[kayb]

The only open area that I could vegetable garden in has horrible soil with big chunks of concrete mixed in. I adopted a solution I saw on line to use kiddie pools as instant raised bed gardens. I find them on the curb all the time because people throw them out when they spring a leak. I have four of these going now.

Sheer brilliance! About six or eight inches of soil? Or more? I live on a rocky hillside and this sounds like it has definite possibilities!

Traveling and reading only sporadically, but I'll sit down with your blog soon as I get back.

[heidih]

I just went out with the tape measure (former contractor here ) They hold 6 inches to the correct level leaving enough room for water to pool a bit. I poke holes in the bottoms. These are on their second season. I like to use the eb stone potting soil.

[Genkinaonna]

Hmmm....I wonder if the girls would let me "repurpose" their swimming pool for plants...the wheels are turning...
I ate off of a taco truck for lunch today too, we must be on the same wavelength. But no one sang to me! (sniff sniff) Next time I'll take pictures, maybe that will help!

I also snack on green beans like that, but my dip is half sour cream and half black olive tapenade. It's one of the few really healthy snacks I enjoy (well maybe not with the sour cream, but at least there is green involved) and it goes over great at parties.

[heidih]

I was getting hungry and wanted to use the favas. They were much more mature than I would like for that springtime vegetal taste but you have to love the color. I boiled them in the vintage Pyrex coffee pot and then popped them out of their skins. They got tossed with a bit of linguine, a scattering of roasted corn and some peas, asiago cheese, the fresh basil that is still safe from snails in the bird bath (!) and some half and half. It was a nice mix of spring and indulgence. The kale salad from yesterday was a nice accompaniment. I think it will age well for a few days.

[heidih]

Well any further plans fell by the wayside when the police cars rolled - a young boy from the street was missing. The entire neighborhood gathered for hours- he was found miles away trying to walk to his mom's house.... I am going to settle in with a bowl of popcorn (sensing a pattern here?) and some cheese.

[haresfur]

Oh, I so miss the lunchera trucks! Do yours sell tortas, too?

[andiesenji]

I just went out with the tape measure (former contractor here ) They hold 6 inches to the correct level leaving enough room for water to pool a bit. I poke holes in the bottoms. These are on their second season. I like to use the eb stone potting soil.

I do a lot of container gardening but anything with holes in the bottom has to be on blocks.
I also have some fruitless mulberry trees and they have extremely invasive roots that will grow up into any pot setting on the ground.
Years ago, before I realized this, I had failure after failure of what should have been hardy plants that usually grow well in pots.
I attempted to move one pot and it was anchored to the ground with a root that was almost an inch in diameter and the pot itself was filled with fine, cord-like roots after six months.