One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday is go to the Farmers' Market. We have an awesome one in our suburb and an even awesome-er one in the big city. There are so many interesting products to sample and see, and so many interesting people to watch. There is great food for sale to be consumed on the premises, there are a lot of cool dogs and people with their kids, and it's all outside, which means when the weather turns nice, it is absolutely beautiful to wander around amongst good food raised by local farmers who make their living less than 50 miles from where you live, and all the people who appreciate that. In short, I really, really love the Farmers' Market.
Here is a cool graphic from A Veggie Venture. It is definitely apropos to this post, since I'm going to showcase all I got at the market this Saturday.
Here is some young garlic I bought. No, they are not green onions. It is garlic. It was very fresh and fragrant and delicious.
Here is the garlic again, with the basil I bought in the background.
Now, I love basil. I wish they made a basil perfume so I could smell it all the time. I seriously considered taking a leaf and just rubbing it all over my body. I love the smell that much. Yes, I'm aware I have issues.
Here is the gorgeous, fragrant basil on its own, highlighted by a lovely, deep-red tomato I also bought.
Here is an extreme basil close-up. Whooaaaaaaoooohhh! (Chez VCK will award a fantastic prize to those who can name that movie quote.*) Look how gorgeous and fresh and .... green it is!
And here we have the makings of a killer dinner. I made some homemade pesto (sans the pine nuts, since I didn't have any) with the basil and the young garlic. More on that soon.
Items not pictured that I bought at the farmers' market: Ancient Heritage Dairy's sheep's milk feta and adelle cheeses. These cheeses are incredible. I also love that this dairy is local, and its motto is "Raised with respect, nourished to nourish you." That's something I can get behind.
The adelle is similar to a brie in consistency, but it has a more pungent flavor and a milder rind. It is creamy and distinct and delicious.
The sheep's milk feta... well, that's pretty much one of the best cheeses I have ever had. It is briny, salty and chewy and it has this amazing strong flavor that is complex, but not too strong. Is is so. freaking. good.
Coming soon: I'll post about the delicious meal I made from these ingredients!
*Chez VCK awards you a pat on the back for knowing that quote was from Wayne's World. Nicely done. Aren't my prizes awesome?
This was a typical VCK "we have stuff in the fridge that needs to be used up so what can I make?" meal. I had five extra whole wheat lasagna noodles leftover from the last time I made lasagna. And really, you can't make a whole lasagna with five noodles. I also had some ricotta cheese and some tomato sauce, apparently. So, I concocted a new specialty: lasagna rolls! Served with a salad, it was a well-balanced, tasty meal that used up a lot of stuff in the fridge.
I started off by boiling the lasagna noodles 'til al dente, about 10 minutes or so. Then I spread each noodle with ricotta cheese and a layer of pesto.*
Some of my favorite things all together: pesto, cheese, pasta, Cookie Monster.
After the noodles were filled, I rolled them up and placed them seam-side down into a little individual baking dish.
Then I must've dumped some tomato sauce over the top and grated on some parmesan cheese. I don't remember doing this, but it was a few weeks ago. Plus, it sounds like something I would do. The sauce had probably been sitting in the fridge for a while and screamed, "Use me! I taste delicious! I will go with your pasta dish quite well!" when I opened the fridge door. And really, how can you refuse a desperate cry like that? So I used the tomato sauce.
I then baked them at a moderate temp--probably 350 or so, 'til they warmed through and the cheese melted.
Here is the salad I served alongside the pasta. I can't remember what I put in it. But let's look at this photo and play a fun game called "Guess What's in this Salad." It'll be fun, I promise.
Ok, it looks like we have the following in this VCK salad: spinach, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, carrots, avocado and pepperoncini. Hey, that sounds pretty good! I also made a very typical VCK vinaigrette. This is my stand-by dressing. It's a balsamic vinaigrette with mustard. Very simple and it goes with just about anything.
See? Wasn't that game fun?
And this is how the lasagna rolls turned out. Yumilicious, right? Well, you can't tell how they tasted from this picture. But they were good. Trust me.
*So I have a confession to make. Forgive me, cooking gods, for I have sinned. It has been a zillion days since my last confession. For this dish, I used... Well, it's difficult to talk about. I used... a powdered pesto mix. I know this is in bad culinary form, but hey, it's winter, and there's nary a fresh basil leaf to be found. So I bought this mix and added olive oil to it. In a pinch, you gotta do what you gotta do. The dish was delicious, powdered mix or not.
Please don't tell. It'll be our little secret. ;)
Cookie Monster and I like to make homemade pizza from time to time. It's easy, uses up a lot of ingredients and is a lot healthier than takeout. Since I have the patience of a gnat, we make our crust out of whole-wheat baking mix. Your standard Bisquick-type baking mix, only made out of whole wheat flour. Usually Cookie Monster is in charge of this while I busy myself with chopping and prep. He just adds water 'til it's the right consistency; sometimes he gets really wild and throws in dried oregano and basil. But only if he's really livin' on the edge. He also puts a layer of cornmeal on the pizza stone to prevent sticking.
This pizza has a layer of pesto on the bottom in place of red sauce, turkey pepperoni, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, parmesan cheese and goat cheese. Now tell me where one can buy a pizza with all those toppings. Where?!? At Chez VCK and nowhere else? Ha! That's what I thought.
The pizza turned out really yummy. It got a little crispy and the goat cheese browned nicely. Good job, us!
VCK Pesto Pizza
Whole wheat baking mix
Water
Cornmeal
Pesto
Turkey pepperoni
Sun-dried tomatoes, either packed in oil or water (doesn't matter)
Roasted red peppers
Parmesan cheese
Goat cheese
Combine baking mix and water 'til desired consistency is obtained. Throw in some dried Italian herbs if you're feeling especially adventurous. Dust some cornmeal on your pizza stone so your dough doesn't stick.
Spread a thin layer of pesto on the dough, then add the rest of the toppings. Bake at 400 'til cheese browns, about 15-20 minutes. Savor your handywork, then call your nearest pizzeria and brag about your homemade pizza skills.
Here is some young garlic I bought. No, they are not green onions. It is garlic. It was very fresh and fragrant and delicious.
Here is the garlic again, with the basil I bought in the background.
Here is the gorgeous, fragrant basil on its own, highlighted by a lovely, deep-red tomato I also bought.
And here we have the makings of a killer dinner. I made some homemade pesto (sans the pine nuts, since I didn't have any) with the basil and the young garlic. More on that soon.
Items not pictured that I bought at the farmers' market: Ancient Heritage Dairy's sheep's milk feta and adelle cheeses. These cheeses are incredible. I also love that this dairy is local, and its motto is "Raised with respect, nourished to nourish you." That's something I can get behind.
