Saturday Brunch

Yesterday morning I went to the winter farmer’s market at Old Trail School.  Let me tell you, it was hopping!  I got there  just as it opened at 9am and it was already packed.

I’ve been so impressed with the quality and selection at this market all through the winter, and this was no exception.  Everything looked so good!

I picked up some mixed salad greens, baby swiss chard, onions, garlic, a butternut squash, some pappardelle from Ohio City Pasta, swiss cheese, a jar of Strawberry Balsamic Black Pepper Jam (more on that in a moment), and…

a big ol’ bag of beets!  I had to restrain myself – there were apples that looked fantastic, local honey, and fresh eggs from Brunty Farms… I could just go on and on.

Anyway, all the good stuff at the farmer’s market made me hungry, and to paraphrase my best friend Kara, “I was craving a Blue Door croissant like it was my job!”  So I stopped by the Blue Door Cafe on my way home for a couple big fluffy croissants and whatever else looked good, which turned of course was everything.  It was a tough decision, but I settled on some mixed berry Danish.

There were originally two Danishes (is that the right plural?), but I ate one before it made it into the picture.  If you haven’t been to the Blue Door, and you’re anywhere near the Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio area, you should go.  The place is amazing.  Awesome baked goods, beautiful local and organic foods…I can’t say enough good things about it.  I would go every day if I could!

Alright, so back to brunch!  I wanted eggs and bacon to go with the croissant, but the mixed greens are Brian’s favorite, so that’s where breakfast became brunch.  I really wanted to use the Strawberry Balsamic Black Pepper Jam (seriously, how good does that sound?) but I wasn’t sure what to do with it.  As I was eating the Danish, I had an inspiration:  make a vinaigrette for the salad!

I got this from the same folks at the farmer’s market where I got the Tuscan Glaze, so I had every confidence it would be good.  I chopped up a garlic clove very finely, added a big spoonful of this strawberry goodness, and whisked it with olive oil until it looked like a vinaigrette.  I tasted it and it was super yummy.  I tossed some of the mixed greens with the dressing and put them in the fridge to stay cold.

From there, it was simple – scrambled eggs, some amazing thick cut bacon (after having thick cut bacon, I will never buy another kind), and a couple kinds of jam for the croissants.  I went with blueberry preserves (my new favorite, I think) and strawberry/blackberry jam, mainly because I had both in the fridge.

The green salad with the strawberry vinaigrette was perfect to offset the breakfasty foods (considering we ate this around 1 o’clock in the afternoon) and the croissants were heavenly.

All in all, it was a great way to start a Saturday! (Saturday night I made a weird but excellent pizza – look for that to come soon!)

What’s you favorite meal to start your weekend? 

 

A few fun food related comics for your Saturday

A Philosophical Moment

As Kim and I were enjoying our second meal courtesy of our CSA from Birdsong Farm, we had a little discussion about the benefits we have already noticed from getting fine produce this way……

1 It forces you to eat better because you don’t want to waste this delicious produce.

2 It challenges you to come up with new thoughts for meals that include the wonderful produce.

3 It has you trying things you have never had before…. ex. garlic shoots.

4 It has you recalling meals from your youth……ex. wanting to make tiny radish tea sandwiches because the radishes haven’t been that tasty since around 1962.

5 It has us talking with family and friends about what we are making, and that is always good.

Any other thoughts about why a CSA is a great thing?

6 Oh, and we are eating less meat already.

Carolyn

Our First!

When we came home from Chautauqua there was a big surprise in our fridge! Our first haul from Birdsong Farm CSA included a beautiful bunch of red leaf lettuce, a bunch of green leaf lettuce, a bag of lovely delicate mesclan mix, wonderful peppery tiny radishes, super fresh sugar snap peas, young bok choy, and something we have never eaten before, garlic shoots! Here is what we made for dinner- salad greens with radishes and a light vinaigrette,

and then a stir fry of pasta, shrimp, bok choy, sugar snaps and garlic shoots. Yummy! Here is basically the sauce that Kim added to the stir fry:

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp. oyster sauce

1 tsp. Thai garlic chili sauce

1 tbsp. corn starch

He briefly soaked the raw peeled shrimp in soy sauce before he stir fried them. He added the sauce at the end of the stir fry, and placed everything over a bed of fettucine!