FARMERS' MARKET HAUL

It's one of my most enjoyable May--through-September rituals.  I love all farmers' markets and frankly go to as many as I can.  I love the sense of community, the great food - both fresh and prepared. And then there's the haul home, imagining what I can do with all these luscious fruits and vegetables and flowers. For a quick fix, there's nothing better than farmers' market goodies.  We're talking here about Mother Earth's fast food: ripe, juicy peaches; sweet, sun-ripened tomatoes with a bit of fresh, pungent basil; sharp red radishes; crispy, crunchy zucchini spears. All healthy, delicious, and budget-wise. But then, there's the desire for a sweet or savory concoction to tickle the most jaded eye and discriminating palate:

• Tomato salad with finely minced parsley, creamy, crumbled Greek feta, white balsamic vinaigrette, and sprinkles of pink Himalayan sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Melon chunks dressed in lime juice and lime zest and topped with minced spearmint and crumbled cotija cheese.
• Lovely brown lentils with fresh-lime vinaigrette topped with slices of roasted beets and crumbled goat cheese.  (Yes.  I'm really into using cheese as a condiment to avoid excess fat. It's good. I don't feel deprived at all.)
• Voluptuous green squash stuffed in the Lebanese manner with rose brown rice and finely minced lamb scented with onions, garlic and cinnamon, and stewed in fresh tomatoes.
• Shredded radishes mixed with soft, lightly salted butter and spread on freshly sliced bread GF bread of your choice.

Actual product ingredients may contain more and different information than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

LAMB STEW with orange and thyme

Thyme, Wikipedia.

The recipe

Serves six

• 2 pounds of lamb for stew, cut and trimmed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh, salted butter
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 large yellow onions, cut into large dice
• 4 medium boiling potatoes, cut in fourths
• 3/4 pounds of string beans, tipped and halved
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 cup of dry red wine
• 1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 2-inch pieces of orange rind
• juice of one orange
• 2 cups homemade gluten-free chicken stock or 1 sixteen-ounce package of Imagine Organic Free Range Chicken Broth, gluten-free
• 4 springs of fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup of calamata olives, pitted
• freshly grated sea salt, to taste
• freshly grated black pepper, to tase

In a pot large enough to accommodate (four quarts) the ingredients, melt the butter with the olive oil.  Brown the meat in the fats and then remove them to a plate and reserve.  Sauté the onions until they are translucent.  Then add the garlic and cook, stirring well for a minute or two. Remove the garlic and onion and set aside for a moment.

Pour the wine into the pan and deglaze, loosening all the sediment from the bottom and sides. Place the lamb back into the pan. Bring to a boil, adding the broth, sautéed onions and garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, olives, orange rind, orange juice, and potatoes and string beans.

Turn down the heat.  Cover and simmer for one hour or until the meat is tender.  You may periodically have to skim the top of the stew.  Remove orange peel. Taste for salt and pepper and add as appropriate.

Actual product ingredients may contain more and different information than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product.