Diced into salads of course, sliced onto a sandwich, tossed into a quicky pasta – all good. But one of my favorite ways to celebrate this beautiful fruit is baked in the Provencal style. This uses one of my standby preparations – crispy crumbs. If you have some stale bread toast it up and grind it into breadcrumbs or use panko. Put about a cup into a bowl, add a half cup of shredded parmesan, 2 tablespoons of good olive oil, and the fresh or dried herb of your choice. Currently I am into chives but oregano, basil, or thyme work as well. Rub the mixture together with your hands until the parmesan breaks down and every crumb has been touched with oil and herb.

Either cut your tomatoes in half or simply remove their tops. With your finger gently scoop out the seedy pulp in the sections and fill lightly with the crumbs leaving a nice layer covering the tops. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes on the upper shelf until the tops are golden brown. You can serve them right from the oven or at room temperature. Summer on a plate! They go well a white bean salad or grilled fish or chicken and lovely fresh market greens of course.

Here’s to the heat! Susan

You can make a pesto with it just as you would with basil or other herbs using nuts, oil, and parmesan or pecorino cheese but I find this a bit too powerful for my taste. I use some fresh chevre (Mama Terra, of course!) to mellow it and balance the sharpness and some fresh mint for a background sweetness. It’s great on crostini or tossed with pasta. If you want to mellow the flavor a bit more try chopping some into a stir-fry or in soup with other fresh market greens. Cook a few potatoes with it, or some rice, and puree it for a smooth creamy healthful bowl.  Croutons made with minced green garlic would be a nice addition to the soup or to perk up a fresh salad. Then again, you could grill it…

Well, you get the idea. Get some, toss it into everything, and think of all the generations of people who have been enjoying it!

To your health! Susan

SNACK…SHOP…SAMPLE…CHAT

MEDFORD, OREGON — (Saturday, May 12, 2012) — Just in time for Mother’s Day, Medford now has its own Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Saturday Market on the NE corner of 3^rd and Central, about one block south of Jackson (across from Heritage Motors.) Regional residents have been asking for their own Saturday outdoor shopping experience for some time and the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market has answered that request. The NEW Medford Saturday Market is open from 9 in the morning until 2 o’clock in the afternoon, every Saturday until October 27^th.

“Our new location at 3rd and Central will continue to provide an authentic shopping experience,” said business manager Lori Hopkinson. “This is an interim location for us, but it will help bolster our ties to the local community, and strengthen the vitality of the downtown core. 3rd & Central is also a stone’s throw from “The Commons,” where we hope to have a more permanent location in the future.”

“May 12^th is our grand opening celebration, and we are excited that it falls on Mother’s Day weekend,” said Medford Saturday new market manager Jill Kennedy. “For those who stop by, we will be offering a drawing for a Mother’s Day gift basket. It’ll be filled with local goodies from many different vendors. Bring mom to Market and share in the excitement of her very special day!”

The NEW Medford Saturday Market will continue the excellent tradition of the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Markets by offering the freshest produce, beautiful hand-crafted items, and great tasting food that shoppers have come to expect. However, because it’s on a Saturday, customers will now have another day to do their grocery shopping and have fun browsing the outdoor selections offered by local farmers, crafts people, and other vendors.

MARKET                                                       HOURS                     LOCATION

Medford Saturday Market                   9:00 – 2:00            NE Corner of 3^rd and Central

For more information, please contact: Lori Hopkinson, Business Manager, (541) 772-4614. You can also follow the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market on Facebook and Twitter.

It’s very easy to cook and suits itself to any meal of the day. Bend the stalk until it snaps, discarding the bottom or saving it for stock. Some people then peel off the little leaves remaining along the stalk but I never find that necessary. Simple quick preparations are the best, leaving a little crispness and crunch to the stem. I like to lay the spears on a flat plate, drizzle them with a bit of oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper. They can then be roasted in a hot oven, quickly sautéed in a pan, or best yet, grilled so that they blacken here and there. For this it is best to use a perforated grill pan on the fire since it is so frustrating to lose even a single spear to the spaces in the grill! For special occasions spiral a piece of prosciutto around the spear and grill until the meat is crispy and the asparagus just cooked through. Delicious!.

Other ideas are a quick sauté to fill an omelette or with green garlic as a side dish or with a touch of curry powder and sweet peas or with sesame oil and seeds or simply sliced thin into a salad. However you choose to prepare it, now is the time since the season is brief! Enjoy!

Happy Spring! Susan

I don’t bother to have breakfast; I just snack my way through while I take my time to shop and sample and chat. A pretzel from SunStone and a tub of chevre from Mama Terra and hopefully a spot of sunshine and I will be one happy shopper. Can’t wait!

See you there! Susan

Shoulder steaks are well-marbled and very tender if not overcooked. The USDA now says you can cook to an internal temperature of 145 and allow the meat to rest for 3 minutes after cooking. When you remove meat from the heat source there is always a period of carry over heat in which the temperature continues to rise. An added plus is that allowing the meat to rest helps ensure that the juices remain inside.

Pork is adaptable to just about any culinary tradition so you can go with any type of seasoning you crave – spice it up with some chiles and lime or use your favorite teriyaki or barbecue sauce. Cook it on medium low heat for 6 minutes on the first side, turn it over for another six minutes, and flip once more for another three. Let it rest for three and enjoy! To be absolutely sure it is cooked to your satisfaction, use an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle into the thickest portion to check that you have reached 145-150 degrees.

Serve it up with a big salad of market greens and some artisan bread and welcome the outdoor cooking season!

Happy BBQing, Susan!

ASHLAND, OREGON — (Saturday, May 5, 2012)

 The Ashland Saturday market has all of the fresh produce, hand-made crafts, and delicious goodies that shoppers have come to expect from the Tuesday and Thursday markets. However, because it’s on a Saturday, customers have more time to browse the large and varied selection offered by local farmers, crafts people, and other vendors. The Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market also welcomes debit, credit and Oregon Trail shoppers.

“This is a grower dense market,” said Saturday market manager Heidi Dawn. “We have an eclectic group of vendors here on Saturdays. People in search of farm fresh produce and great hand-made crafts are drawn here because of our great downtown Ashland location near Standing Stone Brewing Company. It’s also very convenient for those who like to bike or walk.”

MARKET            HOURS            LOCATION

Saturday            9:00 – 2:00            On Oak Street, In the heart of downtown Ashland

Tuesday             8:30 – 1:30            Ashland National Guard Armory • 1420 E Main St

Thursday            8:30 – 1:30            Medford Armory • 1701 South Pacific Hwy

For more information, please contact: Lori Hopkinson, Business Manager, (541) 772-4614. You can also follow the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market on Facebook and Twitter.

If you garden, you know that the radish is one of our earliest plants to be planted from seed right into the prepared bed and can be ready for harvest within only 30 days. Inspiring! Sow them with carrots which are slow starters to mark the row and to thin it as you harvest, making more room for the tiny seedlings of their slower growing neighbors. And if you have a lot of radishes, besides eating them as a vegetable you can pickle them. It’s incredibly easy since these are fresh pickles to eat within a week or so. Simply wash them well and put them into a cooled brine of water, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Ginger is a nice addition, or bay leaf and coriander seed. The brine will turn a gorgeous pink color as it absorbs the radish blush and you can eat them the very next day and for several days after.

There’s some nutritional value here as well since radishes contain folic acid, vitamin C, zinc, and potassium and are low in carbs and calories. And there are hundreds of varieties besides our familiar round red ones which can be planted and harvested year round such as daikon and black radish which shows up at market a little later in the season.

Radish! It’s a vegetable!

Happy eating, Susan

Traditionally beans have been cooked with a ham hock or some sausage and there’s a reason for that. The fat that is released from the meat enters the beans making them more moist and succulent. When I am cooking them vegetarian, I make up for this by adding olive oil to the cooking water, about two tablespoons for each cup of dry beans. I also add about one tablespoon of nutritional yeast per cup, a couple of bay leaves, and a generous spoonful of smoked paprika. I usually add cumin as well (which is reputed to alleve the bean “effect” later on) and some crushed oregano leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until tender. “Fresh” dried beans will cook in an hour or hour and a half, a shorter time than dried-to-the-point-of-desiccation beans from the grocery store.

No matter how you season them, never ever add salt until the beans are tender since it actually works to pull moisture out rather than in and wait until the end of cooking to add tomatoes as well. I don’t know why, but they also keep the beans from softening.

Now you have frijoles de olla ready as a side just as they are, or to add vegetables to for a full meal soup, or for refrieds for a Mexican fiesta. Remember that when you serve corn bread, or tortillas, or chapattis along with the beans the complementary amino acids create a complete protein. Very nutritious, and vegan too, unless you add that dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheddar!

Happy eating! Susan