Berry Picking

I went out and picked blueberries and raspberries this afternoon at Charlotte Berry Farm down the road. Their blueberries had been pretty well picked over since it's the end of the season, but I managed to get a few in my white bucket. My favorite part is not the picking, it's the ping sound the berries make as they drop into the bucket. Always reminds me of the movie Blueberries for Sal I watched when I was little.

I've never picked raspberries before, but I broke that streak today. There were some beautiful Fall raspberries growing, and the girl who worked at the farm told me she likes them better than summer raspberries because they're sweeter.

I'm planning on making Heidi Swanson's Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cake with the berries when I get back to Boston. Anyone interested in taste testing? Of course, L and JK are my in-house official test kitchen volunteers, but I'm always happy to dole out some extra forks (or photos) for my friends. The kitchen will be in full swing next week when I'm back home!

Easy Breezy Summer Salad

I made this salad in the morning before I left for work. It took about 15 minutes from start to finish. It's best to make it in the morning otherwise you might end up with some soggy veggies by lunchtime. icky.

What you need:

1 ear of sweet corn

1 handful of green beans

1 small head of broccoli

3 leaves of romaine (or your favorite) lettuce

1/2 tomato, chopped

your favorite dressing (I'm still using that Newman's Own Italian - tried and true)

1 hunk of french bread, cut in half.

Tabbouleh (take it in its container to work. Spread on at lunchtime)

1. Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil.

2. Set a small pot of water on the stove to boil.

3. Shuck the corn and cut off any funky bits you see on the ends.

4. While you're waiting for the water to boil, rinse and dry the lettuce. Cut up the tomatoes. Wash and chop the broccoli into small trees. Cut off the ends of the green beans.

5.When the small pot boils, throw the green beans in for about 1 minute. When they turn bright green, remove and rinse in cold water immediately. (you've just blanched them). Next, toss the broccoli in for about 2 minutes to soften them up. Rinse in cold water.

6. When the big pot's boiling, throw the corn in and cover it. Boil for about 5 minutes (more or less depending on how soft you like the corn. I think 5 is just right). Remove the corn and when it's cool enough (using your hand or a fork to hold it upright) cut the kernels off using a knife. Just take the knife and run it along the corn from top to bottom, shearing the kernels.

7. Toss everything in a Tupperware container. Stash the Tupperware, a bottle of salad dressing, the container of tabbouleh, and the baguette in a bag and hurry off to work.

At lunchtime:

Toss your salad with dressing

Toast your bread (if you can) and smother in tabbouleh

Show your friends how delicious your salad looks.

Eat.

Pack-n-Go Summer Breakfast

Summer just wouldn't be summer without fruit like the tender, bright orange interior of a cantaloupe melon when it's weighted down with syrupy juice. Or tiny, freshly picked raspberries that practically melt as soon as you bring them near your mouth. My breakfast this morning was a nod to summer and my last week in VT where it's so easy to get your hands on everything that summer intended.

Cantaloupe with freshly-picked raspberries and vanilla yogurt

I took all the parts to work and assembled it in our kitchen there.

At home: cut the melon in half and put that and a handful of raspberries in a container. Grab a lime and your favorite yogurt out of the fridge. Head out the door.

At work: just scoop out the melon seeds and throw them away. Fill the new cavern with rinsed raspberries. Squeeze some lime juice on top. Serve with yogurt.

What you need:

Melon - pick your favorite. I used cantaloupe.

1/4 of a lime

handful of raspberries, rinsed right before eating

yogurt - I had Chobani vanilla yogurt

Scenes from the Burlington Farmers Market

The Burlington, VT Farmers Market is full of delicious local food, and some of it is made for you on the spot. For example, FolkFoods has developed the veggie burger that puts all the other veggie burgers to shame. And they'll throw it in an egg sandwich (they're frying up the eggs in the photo below) with melted VT cheddar cheese on a sesame bagel. I waited all week to get one for breakfast this morning, and it didn't disappoint.

Hiding underneath the creamy, melted cheddar cheese is the veggie patty...

The SamosaMan is a really popular stop, but I don't have the stomach for fried food when I get there around 9AM. I'll have to give it a try next weekend before I leave town.

Chickpeace makes some rockin hummus and tabbouleh - he had a mint hummus out today that tasted somewhat like pesto - would be great on a sandwich.

Here's a shot of one end of the market. You can see the guy on the right is playing his guitar - and you can't tell from the photo, but he's got a great singing voice. Around lunchtime, the grassy area in the middle is full of people picnicking and kids running around with brownies smeared on their mouths, all hopped up on fresh root beer poured out of a wooden cask.

This is a picture of Tim, another intern, at his other job - working for Willow Hill Farm. This farm has some really nice cheeses, especially their Vaquereo Blue. I have a nice big hunk of it in my fridge right now...

Greek Salad...Sandwich optional

I'm up in Burlington, VT now - yup, another foodie magazine internship - and have completely fallen for the place. People up here, safe to say, take their food seriously - and that means everything about where it comes from to how it's thrown away. Every morning on my drive to work, I get to look out at beautiful pastures of grazing cows on one side and Lake Champlain with the Adirondack mountains behind it on the other. Saturdays are farmers market days, and there is a bounty of vegetables, cheese, pastries, and crafts. I love wandering slowly, often to the sounds of a vendor playing his violin or singing with a guitar, and admiring (and sampling) everything.

When I get back, my fridge is generally full to the brim with goodies. And then I have to decide what to make with everything! As usual, I like to make things that combine fresh food with prepared stuff I get ar the market. For lunch on Friday, I combined fresh vegetables - including some beautiful heirloom tomatoes - with pre-made grape leaves and tzatziki. I don't usually find salad enough to fill me up, so I brought along some French bread with the center scooped out - a perfect resting place for the salad...


For the most part, this is a "what do I have in my refrigerator" salad. So, throw as much of each vegetable as you feel like in there!

Prepare ahead of time:
Yellow pepper, roughly chopped
Tomato (I used a few slices of red tomato and a gorgeous zebra-striped heirloom), roughly chopped
Romaine lettuce, rinsed, dried, and roughly chopped
Stuffed Grape Leaves (Cedar's brand tasted surprisingly fresh - I used two grape leaves for my salad)
1 baguette - cut off the size you want to eat, slice it in half, and scoop out the center

Bring to work/school separately:
Salad dressing (bring it to work - don't put it on in the morning or you'll wind up with a soggy salad)
Tzatziki - a Greek cucumber yogurt dip - find it near the hummus in the refrigerated section

When you're ready for lunch, toast the bread if you can, and toss the salad in dressing. Spread about 1 tablespoon of tzatziki on each half of the baguette. If you'd like, you can put some salad in a baguette and mash a grape leaf on top. Open-faced sandwich deliciousness!