Tuesday, May 20, 2008

market finds and fresh foods



smiley face tomato at the Syracuse Regional Market

Right now, there is a chill in the air here and we have our heater on. It's a crying shame to have October-like weather in late May, (*shakes fist at Syracuse*) but at least we had some warm spells in the previous weeks. So having thought, however incorrectly, that summer was indeed upon us, Daiku and I did get to cook and eat some delicious warm-weather foods.



First up, some more Yellow Rose tester recipes for Joanna. Above, we have a cabbage salad with a sweet sesame dressing. So much lighter and more flavorful than a run-of-the-mill coleslaw- I could eat this by the bucket!



Next, we have a roasted beet and pear salad with a citrus-mint vinaigrette. I loved being able to use fresh mint from our mint plant that has survived for over 2 years!



Next, we have a spring greens soup. I chose to use fresh dandelion greens from... our lawn! It is so fun to forage for food in your backyard, doesn't it? And since we don't use any chemicals in our yard or on our lawn, we can eat dandelions to our hearts' content, worry-free.



I love visiting the Susu kim chi booth at our local farmers market. Isn't that the cutest label ever? The jar you see pictured above is something that is new to me- watercress kim chi. But boy, is it good! It has a lighter and sweeter flavor than regular cabbage kim chi, and goes well with everything. The fact that it's vegan, local, and organic, adds to its awesomeness.



We picked up some veggies at the market and made the tapas spread that you see pictured above- tomato/caper salad, broad bean/cucumber salad, lemon parsley steamed potatoes, shallot spice roasted potatoes, and last but not least, crisp bread with roasted caramelized garlic to spread on them. We had this meal with a glass of sangria- pretty much the world's most perfect meal set-up, as far as I'm concerned!



Finally, we have what Daiku and I call our "hippie meal." It's an arame-zucchini stir-fry recipe from the Natural Grocery Company website. Whenever we feel a bit run-down, or want to eat something super healthy, we turn to this dish. It's a simple stir-fry of tofu, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, and TONS of seaweed! (We actually used wakame instead of arame, since that's what we had on hand.) Served with brown rice and a healthy sprinkle of sesame seeds, it's a nourishing meal. After you eat it, you feel full and yet light. The satisfaction carries over to the next morning. I'm usually ravenous for breakfast when I wake up, but not if I had this for dinner the night before. My hypothesis is that the seaweed is so full of minerals and nutrients that my body feels that it has everything it needs, and thus doesn't crave anything more! I don't know how scientifically sound this hypothesis is, but why don't you experiment and see if this meal doesn't nourish you the same way?

Now, I'm going to go check on the thermostat. Brrr!


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15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the lovely comment on my blog!:D
And I'm very glad to see the kimchi post again. It goes great on top of grilled tofu, by the way. Oh, and I'm totally gonna make some zucchini stir-fry today... your picture made me so hungry!:)

Anonymous said...

can we, like, exchange temperatures or creating a new ones out of both the ones we have? because we're melting here. seriously puddle-like ickiness. no fair!

urban vegan said...

I hear you about the chill....I worre boots and a sweater yesterday. It was 55 here.

Looks like you are enjoying some fresh, healthy foods. Here's to foraging from your chem-free lawn! And here's to seaweed....I concur with your hypothesis. Seaweeds are super foods.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that kimchi looks great.

And I'd eat that hippie meal of yours anytime. It looks great!

Oh and the potatoes, the entire plate, yum. I just ate but I can still look at food porn and want to eat again!

I used to eat dandelions a lot when I was younger, I should pick some and make a nice green salad.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Yeah, it's freezing here as well :0( No warm weather for the Midwest/East Coast!

Wow, look at all those delicious finds from the market!! Love the tomato - haha, too cute :0)

Rachael said...

this weather is ridiculous, isn't it? But warmer this weekend...

I love the kim chi people...every once in awhile they have samples...they had this garlicky watercress and sesame thing a few weeks ago, plus seaweed salad...yum! We bought a big tub of each of them.

Rural Vegan said...

It's been getting down into the 30's at night here too. It's absurd.

However, the tapas with the gorgeous caramelized garlic has completely made me forget that my hands are freezing right now. Thanks for that!

aTxVegn said...

That's the happiest tomato I've ever seen!

Anonymous said...

Your photos are beautiful...and your food is making me drool :o) That smiley tomato is too cute! Your roasted beet and pear salad is gorgeous...and I am not even a huge fan of beets! But I would eat that in a second...

Courtney

Anonymous said...

I'm back!!! My blog is now up again and I've been hopping around catching up on everyone. I'm so enamored by your sourdough bread. Your artisanal loaf is so beautiful it looks like you purchased it from a bakery.

I'm intrigued by the arame stir-fry. It sounds delicious. I think I have some wakame but not any arame. I'm curious about the difference between the two seaweeds. I'm going to be craving this until I make it. Printing out the recipe now.

Jen said...

Mmmmm, the tapas plate is my favorite (and the SANGRIA!). Plus, it reminds me of this one time in grad school when one of my (kind of sexist boys-club type) profs suggested that our class go to a tapas bar, and I got all weirded out because I'd never heard of tapas & thought he'd suggested we go to a "topless bar." Um, yeah. Totally different things.

bazu said...

Yes! I'm always paranoid when I say 'tapas' because it sounds like 'topless' - ack!

Anonymous said...

Those salads look great! I know beets are good for me, but sadly they are the only veggie I merely tolerate...I bet the sweetness of the pears is a great combo!

dreamy said...

I am glad you have a market for fresh food! In Sg, most of our food are imported except for some local food.

Kati said...

Hi Bazu! Long time no blog (on my part, anyway...). Anyway, I think your hypothesis is spot on. Certain authorities have asserted that when we're hungry, we're actually craving minerals. So, seaweed is the perfect fix!