Category: Food: Local/Farmers’ Markets

Local, Fresh, Young Ginger Is Back in Season: At the Market Report

Tender, vibrant, local, young ginger from Old Friends Farm in Amherst, MA is back at the Copley Square Farmers Market.

This lovely pile of ginger was photographed at the Atlas Farm stand along St. James Avenue. The Atlas folks bring a few products from their neighboring farm, Old Friends, on Tuesdays and Fridays until Thanksgiving.

What is it about this ginger that makes it worth the price and makes me buy enough to freeze and use during the months when it is not available?

First, there is that love that is part of the sign at the market. I've known farmer Casey Steinberg for years and knowing him, I believe this ginger is grown with love and care. I know it's organic and fresh and grown with as light a footprint as his team can use.

I know that this young ginger is tender and bursting with ginger heat. I don't bother to peel it, no need. I just grab a microplane and grate what I need.

Unlike its supermarket counterpart, this ginger is highly perishable. Old Friends has a page of tips on how to store and use this special ginger product.

Stop by the market and pick up a hand to try this ginger in your favorite stir fry. You won't want to go back to the ordinary. You may even decide to use it in different ways. Then, like me, you'll set aside room in your freezer for a supply of your favorite, local, young, organic ginger.

Ginger Syrup, Too

We told you another aspect of this ginger story in our post: Old Friends Farm Organic Ginger Syrup. While you can make your own version with their ginger, it is so much easier to stock up on a few bottles to get you through the winter.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2014-2015 Penny Cherubino

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September 24, 2015
Time to Pick Up Your Edible Boston Autumn 2015 Issue

My preview copy of Edible Boston's Autumn 2015 issue arrived this week. It is another issue filled with great writing and photography.

Look for this cover when you visit shops and restaurants that support the local, sustainable food movement. Many of those places are advertisers and distribution spots for this publication.

Sharing Food Stories

This is one publication where the Letter from the Editor near the front is the place to start. Ilene Bezahler always makes me think, resolve, or remember. This time she shared memories of the food scene on Martha's Vineyard where Ed and I vacationed for many years.

She also recommended staying in a house or apartment on vacation rather than a hotel so that you can experience a place more like a local. That's something we've always preferred. She and I will have to sit down over a cup of tea or glass of wine one of these days and compare notes in person.

The Field of Grain

There are a couple of articles in this issue about grains – growing grains and turning them into great artisan breads. Living with a confessed bread-a-holic, these were two of my first reads this time around.

You'll meet another issue full of food makers, food growers, and food curators. And, the ads will give you lots of great ideas, things to do, places to visit, and items to add to your shopping list. Of course, a gift subscription to Edible Boston itself is a perfect gift for anyone who is a lover of fresh, local food, and the people who bring it our way.

Support publisher Ilene Bezahler and her talented team

First, pick up a copy of Edible Boston at one of these locations. In fact, pick up two copies and share one with a food-loving friend or leave it where someone might discover it among lesser publications and become a new fan.

May I suggest that you let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine and grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. Also, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on facebook, and in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Covershot: Courtesy of Edible Boston

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September 18, 2015
Time to Pick Up Your Edible Boston Autumn 2015 Issue

My preview copy of Edible Boston's Autumn 2015 issue arrived this week. It is another issue filled with great writing and photography.

Look for this cover when you visit shops and restaurants that support the local, sustainable food movement. Many of those places are advertisers and distribution spots for this publication.

Sharing Food Stories

This is one publication where the Letter from the Editor near the front is the place to start. Ilene Bezahler always makes me think, resolve, or remember. This time she shared memories of the food scene on Martha's Vineyard where Ed and I vacationed for many years.

She also recommended staying in a house or apartment on vacation rather than a hotel so that you can experience a place more like a local. That's something we've always preferred. She and I will have to sit down over a cup of tea or glass of wine one of these days and compare notes in person.

The Field of Grain

There are a couple of articles in this issue about grains – growing grains and turning them into great artisan breads. Living with a confessed bread-a-holic, these were two of my first reads this time around.

You'll meet another issue full of food makers, food growers, and food curators. And, the ads will give you lots of great ideas, things to do, places to visit, and items to add to your shopping list. Of course, a gift subscription to Edible Boston itself is a perfect gift for anyone who is a lover of fresh, local food, and the people who bring it our way.

Support publisher Ilene Bezahler and her talented team

First, pick up a copy of Edible Boston at one of these locations. In fact, pick up two copies and share one with a food-loving friend or leave it where someone might discover it among lesser publications and become a new fan.

May I suggest that you let their sponsors know you saw them in the magazine and grab an extra copy and get it to someone else who cares about supporting the local food movement. Also, if you have a blog, twitter account, or facebook page, write about them, link to them, follow them, retweet their tweets, like them on facebook, and in general, spread the word about this great asset to our community.

And, to be sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe over on their website!

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Covershot: Courtesy of Edible Boston

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September 18, 2015
Enjoying String Beans: Where to Find Great Recipes

Yesterday, we told you a bit about string beans. Today, we'll give you some ways to enjoy them once you've brought them home from the market.

Bean Recipes

It may also be that French onion soup mix green bean casseroles linger in the minds of some non-bean eaters. But with our exposure to more ethnic food these days, you can discover what other cultures do with beans and then create your own versions.

Three cookbooks were by my side as I researched this topic: The New James Beard, Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka, and Salad as a Meal by Patricia Wells.

James Beard expressed my feelings that beans should be cooked, "… until the raw taste disappears but they still retain a fresh taste and a crispness to the bite."

Barbara Kafka has a great recipe for long-cooked Romano beans and Patricia Wells took string beans to Salade Nicoise perfection and beyond.

Romano bean

The Romano bean is a favorite with Italian cooks and it is one bean that needs a long, slow cooking method to tenderize its tough shell. Yesterday, Russ Parsons explained why you no longer have to sting beans. When it comes to this flat wide bean, Parsons suggests that you, “Simmer freshly chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and pancetta; add Romano beans and stew until they’re tender, which could take 45 minutes or even longer. The texture is silky and the depth of flavor is amazing.” For a summer cookout, this could be a great slow cooker recipe.

Spicy Green Beans

Asian cooks like to add spice to beans. In a traditional Sichuan spicy green bean recipe, the beans are stir-fried in a very hot wok until they are tender, wrinkled, and slightly charred in a few spots. They are sauced with a mixture of rice wine, chili bean sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and salt. Finally, the beans are removed from the pan and chilies. Sichuan pepper, garlic, ginger, and scallions are stir-fried for about 30 seconds and then the beans are returned and mixed.

Bean Salad

In summer, you can add as many types of cooked beans as you like to your favorite vinaigrette and make a 3, 5, or 7 bean salad. This is a healthy side dish that you can bring to a potluck or keep in the refrigerator to make meal planning simpler during a busy week.

Last year, I reviewed the delightful cookbook, Morning Glory's Farm Food. One of the recipes I loved was for the Green Bean and Pasta Salad shown in the photo above in the book.

Now that you are no longer someone who “doesn’t know beans” about beans, I hope you’ll celebrate when you see a bin of beans at the market. I recommend buying a bunch and doing something different with them that will make you “full of beans.”

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino (Adapted for the web from one of her Fresh & Local Newspaper columns.)
Photos: ©2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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September 17, 2015
Enjoying String Beans: Where to Find Great Recipes

Yesterday, we told you a bit about string beans. Today, we'll give you some ways to enjoy them once you've brought them home from the market.

Bean Recipes

It may also be that French onion soup mix green bean casseroles linger in the minds of some non-bean eaters. But with our exposure to more ethnic food these days, you can discover what other cultures do with beans and then create your own versions.

Three cookbooks were by my side as I researched this topic: The New James Beard, Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka, and Salad as a Meal by Patricia Wells.

James Beard expressed my feelings that beans should be cooked, "… until the raw taste disappears but they still retain a fresh taste and a crispness to the bite."

Barbara Kafka has a great recipe for long-cooked Romano beans and Patricia Wells took string beans to Salade Nicoise perfection and beyond.

Romano bean

The Romano bean is a favorite with Italian cooks and it is one bean that needs a long, slow cooking method to tenderize its tough shell. Yesterday, Russ Parsons explained why you no longer have to sting beans. When it comes to this flat wide bean, Parsons suggests that you, “Simmer freshly chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and pancetta; add Romano beans and stew until they’re tender, which could take 45 minutes or even longer. The texture is silky and the depth of flavor is amazing.” For a summer cookout, this could be a great slow cooker recipe.

Spicy Green Beans

Asian cooks like to add spice to beans. In a traditional Sichuan spicy green bean recipe, the beans are stir-fried in a very hot wok until they are tender, wrinkled, and slightly charred in a few spots. They are sauced with a mixture of rice wine, chili bean sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and salt. Finally, the beans are removed from the pan and chilies. Sichuan pepper, garlic, ginger, and scallions are stir-fried for about 30 seconds and then the beans are returned and mixed.

Bean Salad

In summer, you can add as many types of cooked beans as you like to your favorite vinaigrette and make a 3, 5, or 7 bean salad. This is a healthy side dish that you can bring to a potluck or keep in the refrigerator to make meal planning simpler during a busy week.

Last year, I reviewed the delightful cookbook, Morning Glory's Farm Food. One of the recipes I loved was for the Green Bean and Pasta Salad shown in the photo above in the book.

Now that you are no longer someone who “doesn’t know beans” about beans, I hope you’ll celebrate when you see a bin of beans at the market. I recommend buying a bunch and doing something different with them that will make you “full of beans.”

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino (Adapted for the web from one of her Fresh & Local Newspaper columns.)
Photos: ©2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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September 17, 2015
In Appreciation of String Beans

I often wonder why there’s no excitement among farmers market shoppers when the first, fresh beans of the season appear on the stands. I see people buying them by the bagful but I don’t hear much happy chatter about this very useful vegetable.

Some people may have memories of canned green beans, overcooked green beans, and even undercooked green beans depending upon what was in fashion when they were introduced to this vegetable. And, for cooks, it may also be that they think beans take a lot of fussy preparation.

String or Snap

I do recall sitting with a basin of green beans beside my Aunt Sophie, patiently pulling the strings off the sides. I know now that was because she chose to grow a very old variety that still had strings.

In his article "Buy this now: Beans, with 12 recipes," one of my favorite food writers, Russ Parsons, explained that this was unnecessary, “Most green beans had this string until the 1890s (hence the names ‘string beans’ and ‘snap beans’). It was an early New York plant developer named Calvin Keeney who bred the first stringless beans, which were introduced by Burpee in 1894.”

Today, most beans do not have to be destringed. You can just line up your beans on a cutting board and tip and tail them by cutting off a sliver of the stem and end. I actually find no need to remove the tip, so I just remove the stem. Then you can snap or cut the beans to the desired length for your dish.

Tomorrow, I'll share some of my favorite ways to prepare beans and some cookbooks I use to find great bean recipes.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino (Adapted for the web from one of her Fresh & Local Newspaper columns.)
Photos: ©2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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September 16, 2015
In Appreciation of String Beans

I often wonder why there’s no excitement among farmers market shoppers when the first, fresh beans of the season appear on the stands. I see people buying them by the bagful but I don’t hear much happy chatter about this very useful vegetable.

Some people may have memories of canned green beans, overcooked green beans, and even undercooked green beans depending upon what was in fashion when they were introduced to this vegetable. And, for cooks, it may also be that they think beans take a lot of fussy preparation.

String or Snap

I do recall sitting with a basin of green beans beside my Aunt Sophie, patiently pulling the strings off the sides. I know now that was because she chose to grow a very old variety that still had strings.

In his article "Buy this now: Beans, with 12 recipes," one of my favorite food writers, Russ Parsons, explained that this was unnecessary, “Most green beans had this string until the 1890s (hence the names ‘string beans’ and ‘snap beans’). It was an early New York plant developer named Calvin Keeney who bred the first stringless beans, which were introduced by Burpee in 1894.”

Today, most beans do not have to be destringed. You can just line up your beans on a cutting board and tip and tail them by cutting off a sliver of the stem and end. I actually find no need to remove the tip, so I just remove the stem. Then you can snap or cut the beans to the desired length for your dish.

Tomorrow, I'll share some of my favorite ways to prepare beans and some cookbooks I use to find great bean recipes.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino (Adapted for the web from one of her Fresh & Local Newspaper columns.)
Photos: ©2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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September 16, 2015
Best Bite: Select Oyster Bar’s Black Mission Fig Tartinettes with Smoked RI Bluefish

Something like Select Oyster Bar's Black Mission Fig Tartinettes with Smoked Rhode Island Bluefish qualifies for one of our "Best Bite" posts when we have to work at not ordering it every time we visit the restaurant. Or, when we order it anyway after we promised ourselves we'd skip it this time and try other things on the menu.

The first time we tasted this menu item, Chef Michael Serpa brought a sample over for us to try. Since Penny can't have mayo, he explained that the bluefish was mixed with crème fraîche. The menu listing also mentions verjus and chives.

It not only became a frequent order from our seats at the bar, but also a fun photo subject.

While you may be tempted to dive right in for your first big bite, relax and enjoy the beauty of the colors and textures first. This is one good thing about taking food photos. It makes you think about the look of the dish and notice the work that the kitchen staff has put into presenting your food.

Not only will this be something we'll keep ordering for ourselves, but it also will be one of the shared items we'll make sure the table has when friends return from summer places and join us at this lovely addition to the Back Bay restaurant scene.

Since the menu at Select changes frequently, we did check with chef to be certain this dish would be around for a while. It will be. But with his creativity, it could have a bit of a change or twist here and there. We recommend you stop by for lunch one day soon and give this version your own taste test.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2015 Penny Cherubino

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September 2, 2015
Best Bite: Select Oyster Bar’s Black Mission Fig Tartinettes with Smoked RI Bluefish

Something like Select Oyster Bar's Black Mission Fig Tartinettes with Smoked Rhode Island Bluefish qualifies for one of our "Best Bite" posts when we have to work at not ordering it every time we visit the restaurant. Or, when we order it anyway after we promised ourselves we'd skip it this time and try other things on the menu.

The first time we tasted this menu item, Chef Michael Serpa brought a sample over for us to try. Since Penny can't have mayo, he explained that the bluefish was mixed with crème fraîche. The menu listing also mentions verjus and chives.

It not only became a frequent order from our seats at the bar, but also a fun photo subject.

While you may be tempted to dive right in for your first big bite, relax and enjoy the beauty of the colors and textures first. This is one good thing about taking food photos. It makes you think about the look of the dish and notice the work that the kitchen staff has put into presenting your food.

Not only will this be something we'll keep ordering for ourselves, but it also will be one of the shared items we'll make sure the table has when friends return from summer places and join us at this lovely addition to the Back Bay restaurant scene.

Since the menu at Select changes frequently, we did check with chef to be certain this dish would be around for a while. It will be. But with his creativity, it could have a bit of a change or twist here and there. We recommend you stop by for lunch one day soon and give this version your own taste test.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2015 Penny Cherubino

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September 2, 2015
Stuffies or Stuffed Clams are Easy and Fun

Stuffed clams, or stuffies, are a great all season appetizer. You can buy them in some frozen food cases or fresh from places like James Hook & Company on the waterfront.

Here is the final product from Paul O'Connell's stuffed clams.

How2Heros has a video of Chef Paul O'Connell preparing a chef's version of this Southern New England classic.

And, they have a very traditional home cook's version of Stuffed Quahogs with Bea Viera, mother of how2heroes CEO Lynne VIera.

Chef O'Connell's version is loaded with tips and options for ingredients and seasoning. He shares why he makes many small decisions about the size of the chop and the ratio of clams to stuffing.

Bea Viera adds some clam broth to her version of stuffed quahogs.

Bea's version is shorter and shows you how she has made this dish over many years. You are in the kitchen with her and she shows you how to make a familiar product for those who long for a taste of this traditional recipe.

In both cases the recipe with measurements is supplied on the linked to page.

Make Stuffies Your Own

Stuffies are a lot like a Thanksgiving bread stuffing. And, like stuffing it is a dish that has as many recipes as cooks and one you can feel free to adlib.

Many of my Portuguese friends do as Chef O'Connell does and add spicy chouriço to their stuffies. But, you can take them in a different direction and switch to sweet or hot Italian sausage.

One of my aunts always made them with bacon and cooked the onions and celery in the bacon fat.

I've also made these with frozen clams and baked them in a muffin tin. In clam shells, popped out of muffin tins or baked in a ramekin these make a great appetizer, a quick supper, or the perfect dish to bring to a potluck.

What do you put in your stuffies?

What's on your food lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Screenshots via www.how2heros.com

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August 27, 2015