East Oxford Farmers Market

I have another long-delayed post scheduled for today about food in Rome, but I thought I'd interrupt the queue to tell you about the foodie excursion I took this morning.

My dorm room in Oxford came equipped with a mini fridge, so I've been able to eat a little more cheaply (in other words, PBJs for lunch every day). Actually, I did this without a fridge last summer in London - peanut butter and jelly both keep well enough on a shelf at room temperature. The bread, though, tends to go moldy after about three days. I wasted a lot of bread. But now that I have a lovely little fridge, the bread has lasted and I've been able to keep some milk for my morning granola!

My London dorm should be even better - it's supposed to have shared kitchen facilities. I am really looking forward to this - while veggie dishes are far easier to come by in the UK than they were in Rome, there still aren't enough veggies for me. To put things in perspective, Jeff and I spent two months trying to consume three or four heads of lettuce in a week (besides the rest of our farm share). That amounts to a ton of produce. Our weekly menu revolves around veggies. But since I've been away, my diet has revolved around starches (though beans have made some inroads, since I've been in the UK - lots of falafel and hummus).

So, as you might imagine, the idea of a farmers market makes me giddy with joy right now. When I found the website for the market in East Oxford, just half a mile from my dorm, I jumped at the opportunity. It would make more sense, of course, to wait until I actually arrive in London to buy my veg, but I would have to rely on the grocery store rather than local organic farmers (London's farmers market scene is rather good, too, but there's nothing in my area until at least Thursday - and while the supermarkets do a great job stocking local products, I prefer to avoid the middle man when at all possible). So first thing this morning, I trotted over to the market to stock my little fridge!

The market was a bit crazy. There was only one produce stand, so the area around it was quite crowded. After observing the chaos for a few minutes, I realized that the system was this: take a number, take a box, fill your box with the produce you want, then hang in the background and wait until your number is called. Most of the chaos was caused by the people hanging around the background - the room wasn't very big, so it was impossible not to be in someone's way.

I took my number and popped over to one of the bread stands to pick up a whole-grain loaf and a cute little hedgehog bun (close-up below). I then eyed up the other stands - some baked goods, including French macarons (I passed, because I found great macarons at a cheaper price yesterday), a few stalls with prepared foods, some meat vendors and some craft stalls. I wasn't interested in anything else, so I honed in on the veg. I grabbed some salad and stir-fry ingredients. I couldn't take any greens (though the spinach and chard were so tempting) because I was doubtful they'd survive my journey to London tomorrow. But I did get salad fixings (which may also be dipped in hummus!): cucumber, broccoli, a bell pepper and carrots. I liked the look of the broad beans, so I grabbed a bunch along with some onions and tomatoes, perhaps for a little veggie saute. I also got some zucchini because I couldn't help myself.

We'll see how this goes. If my produce survives the trek to London intact, and if I have access to the cooking equipment I require, I may try and post a recipe. Until then, back to the regularly scheduled line-up of travel posts!

Winter Farmers Markets

Most people think of farmers markets as a summer and fall thing, but local markets can be just as vibrant in the middle of winter. Just check out this picture if you want proof!

This morning, Jeff and I went over to the special winter farmers market hosted by Slow Foods Central Jersey at the education center for the D&R Greenway Trust. It was a beautiful venue for a very lively market. We filled our market basket with local barbecue sauce, shiitake mushrooms, winter root veggies and kale from North Slope Farms, Terhune Orchards apple cider (my all-time favorite - our fridge is never without it!), sausage from Beech Tree Farm, Cherry Grove Farms Havilah cheese, and a fresh loaf of bacon bread from Lawrenceville's Village Bakery. We got to meet some new vendors, sample flavorful local foods and pick up some of our old favorites.

Afterward, we headed over to Terhune Orchards' farm store for some fresh eggs, which we had neglected pick up at the market. We also snagged a large rutabaga and some cut-up blue hubbard squash. I've been wanting to try hubbard squash for some time, but have been wary of picking up one of the behemoths I've seen at the market. The lady in the farm store said that's exactly why they cut it up - to give customers a chance to try it in smaller amounts. I appreciated the gesture - it worked out perfectly for me! We also scored some free (still warm!) cider doughnuts because we brought our own bag.

Finally, we stopped by our usual haunt, the Trenton Farmers Market. I feel lucky to live right by a market that is open year-round. While the selection has wound down a bit in some areas, it has picked up in others. In addition to the expected onions and potatoes, many vendors have small pots of winter lettuce that can be kept indoors and nibbled at for several weeks. I passed on that (I tend to kill lettuce rather quickly), but picked up some onions and pumpkin ravioli from the Italian specialty store.

We got home around lunchtime and made scrambled egg sandwiches on thick slices of toasted bacon bread with Havilah cheese. Mine had some local shallots and dried dill from our garden; Jeff's had sauteed shallots and shiitake mushrooms with dried thyme, also from our garden. Eating local never tasted so delicious!

My point is that the winter farmers market (whether a special weekend market or year-round market or farm store) are chock full of local food options. The ground may be icy and the garden bare, but local farmers still have plenty to offer. So what are you waiting for? Go check it out!

Farmers Market Day and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

The farmers market is one of my favorite places in the whole world, and we have a particularly good one here in Trenton. I get giddy with excitement every time I go. Even though I go every week. In fact, I often have to restrain myself from going more than once a week. We can only eat so many vegetables in seven days.

This season is particularly exciting because most of my favorite vegetables are out in full force: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, winter squash. Here's a look at this week's haul:

Some truly fine vegetables there. The cauliflower is bigger than my head. Hiding in the middle is the tiniest spaghetti squash I'd ever seen (which was my dinner tonight, since Jeff's not home). There's a lovely assortment of apples and cider from Terhune Orchards, my personal fav. And yes, on the left are some Brussels sprouts on the stalk! This is the first time I've gotten them this way. Most of them are tiny, but I'm expecting them to be deliciously tender. But that's for Sunday dinner . . .

My topic today is the pumpkin seeds I just roasted. These were also of farmers market origin - Jeff and I picked up some large carving pumpkins a week or so ago. This was actually our second go at pumpkin carving this year. Our first attempt was a few weeks ago. (Yeah, we jumped the gun a bit, but we were excited!) After a paltry four days, both pumpkins were filled with mold. I guess carving three weeks before Halloween and displaying your pumpkins in full sunlight in a 68 degree living room is a bad idea. So now I know.

So last night was our second attempt. That means it was also the second go-around for pumpkin seeds! And these pumpkins produced a ton. So many that the recipe I used was a bit inadequate. The seasonings definitely needed to be doubled. They also took forever to roast, since I overloaded one pan instead of spreading them out evenly in two. That meant that after fifteen minutes of unsuccessful roasting, I had to remove half and do them in smaller batches. This worked fine, in about the amount of time the recipe suggested. Despite these setbacks, they're still pretty tasty. So tasty, in fact, that I should put this bowl a bit farther from me . . .

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Adapted from the savory recipe here.

pumpkin seeds

2 tbsp melted butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt (to taste)

When carving your pumpkin, the seeds should be separated from the flesh and put in a colander. Wash them well to get any remaining fleshy bits off. Let air dry for 30 minutes or so (this time I left mine overnight, since we finished carving late). If they're still a bit wet, spread them out onto paper towels to finish drying (the annoying part is getting them off - they will want to stick to the paper towels a bit).

Preheat oven to 275°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Combine the seeds with butter and seasonings and stir thoroughly to combine. Spread them out evenly on the baking sheet.

Roast the seeds 10-20 minutes until golden brown. Watch them carefully, stirring every 5 minutes. (Like I said above, mine took much longer because I overloaded the pan. Make sure they're spread in a single layer for optimal roasting.)

When they're done you can adjust the seasoning if necessary. I would say this recipe suits the seeds from one large pumpkin. Since I used the seeds from two, the seasoning was a bit on the light side.