dan's "seafood " salad

Surprise! What is a dead ringer for seafood or crabmeat salad is actually a combination of lion's mane ( or bear claw), chicken of the woods, and oyster mushrooms, fresh from the woods of New Hampshire ( third picture from the top). Dan the mushroom man also offered me a "chicken tender" made from a slice of chicken of the woods that was sauteed in grapeseed oil - I swore it really was chicken. I'll have to track him down next Saturday to find out how he made the salad. You just never know what ( or who) you're going to meet at the Farmer's Market!

saturday farmers market, hancock, nh

What a delight to have our local farmers market a half a mile away! I started this market in 1990, and it's still going strong, I'm happy to say - if anything, it's even better than it was in the old days. The vegetable selection is broad , clean, and lush. I spent a happy hour or so chatting with Robin from Red Maple Farm, and Susan from Moose Brook Farm, and collecting a breathtaking two-bags-full of fresh, tasty veggies, some of which were blanched and in the freezer within the hour. My fourteen dollars bought me:

a huge bunch of green swiss chard

a bag of beet greens

a bag of arugula

a sugar pumpkin

two patty pan squashes

fresh green cabbage

hot peppers

fresh onions and garlic

a bag of gorgeous spinach

and a free jaw dropping look at Robin's 8 inch yellow dahlia.

(no charge for the conversation)

Enjoy!

baby beet greens with lardons and red wine vinegar

When I saw these baby beet greens at the Keene Farmer's Market, you can believe I snatched them up quickly. Early spring vegetables and greens are one of the joys of eating with the seasons, and the way I make them is quick and delicious.

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I added lardons (little sticks of sauteed salt pork) but you could just as well use bacon - or no meat at all. When I opened the package of salt pork, I was sorry to see it was pre-sliced, so I couldn't make the matchsticks as fat as I wanted. (To make the lardons, simply cut salt pork into fat sticks about an inch and a half in length, and 1/2 inch in width, simmer in water for a few minutes, then drain and pat dry. Proceed with your recipe from there.)

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This recipe serves two, but it's easy to multiply.

To make:

2 large handfuls baby beet greens, about 4 cups, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons or so of lardons

3 slivered cloves of garlic

2 T. olive oil

1 or 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or herb vinegar

salt and pepper

In medium saucepan, heat the olive oil, then saute the lardons and garlic until just golden.

Remove the lardons and garlic to a paper towel, but do not drain off the oil.

Carefully add a half cup water ( it will sputter) to the oil, then the beet greens. With heat on medium, cover and cook about 5 minutes.

Uncover the greens and remove from heat. Add salt and pepper and vinegar to the greens and stir.

Remove to a plate and pile the lardons or bacon and garlic on the side, then dig in!

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What I'm reading: The Hunger, a story of food, desire, and ambition, by Chef John Delucie.

farmer's market day!

This morning I made it to the Keene, NH Farmer's market in record time - a half hour after it opened. Which meant it was only the second time ever I was able to buy a warm loaf of Bob's bread ! Usually by the time I drive the 45 minutes to the market, Bob's has sold out and driven away, so it was worth going without my second cuppa. Though sunny, it was wildly windy today, and the farmers held down their tents with one hand while they tried to make change and bag up the veggies with their other.

Lots of herb and flower plants, leafy greens, a few eggs ( new layers are slow this time of year), the sausage people, a new goat-cheese vendor, and a maple syrup producer were on hand today - and Bob's bread being sold out of the back of his white van. Keene is the biggest farmer's market in our area ( the southwestern corner of NH known as the Monadnock region), so they offer more produce and products than the smaller markets in the outlying villages of Hancock, Peterborough, and coming tomorrow, Temple, NH. I go to all of them if I have time.

Keene Farmer's Market is open Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9-2, Hancock Saturdays 9-12, Peterborough Wednesdays from 3-6, and Temple, Sundays, not sure of the time.
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Here's a list of all the farmers markets in New Hampshire - so hope you'll plan a visit!