Awake at the Whisk

Saturday, February 19, 2011

New at the Farmers' Market: Whole Wheat Flour & Orange Juice

Organic Whole Wheat Flour

Can you cook a complete meal from the Sacramento farmers’ market? Absolutely! What about baking an entire recipe? Yes, indeed! Our market has butter, milk, and now whole wheat flour, too. Hello, locavore baked goods!

Massa Organics whole wheat flour from the Sacramento farmers' market

Having local whole wheat flour at our market is the holy grail of locavore eating. The meals you can make without ever leaving the region for ingredients! Just a few examples:

pizza dough (use a touch of local honey and Bariani olive oil for the perfect crust)
pancakes and waffles (use farm fresh eggs and local walnut oil)
muffins and quick breads (use raw milk)
homemade pasta (make ravioli and stuff them with local spinach and mushrooms)

Massa Organics has been selling this flour for at least a year now, so it’s not technically “new.” But I have several friends who hadn’t yet stumbled upon this amazing market wonder, so I wanted to share the secret.

I’ve been using this flour since it hit the market, and I’m a big fan. It’s light and has proven successful in all my baking endeavors. I now prefer this flour over other quality brands sold in the supermarket.

Flour this fresh and this clean comes at a price. You’ll pay $8 for a 5 lb. bag. But it’s worth it!

Orange Juice & Blood Orange Juice

I once made it my mission to consume California oranges exclusively for my morning juice. My husband and I own an orange tree, and use every last fruit it grows to produce fresh juice during the winter months. When our harvest is over, I try to buy oranges in bulk at the market to get me through the rest of the year.

But lately, my life has been getting busier and busier. While I still juice every last orange that falls from my tree, in the off months I have been cheating occasionally, buying the oh-so-easy plastic jug at the grocery store. I hate this, because I don’t know whether the oranges come from California or someplace far away. It’s not my first choice, but I don’t always have the extra 15 minutes to make juice before I head off to work. Sigh.

Thankfully, it just keeps getting easier and easier to live la vida locavore here in California!

Freshly squeezed orange juice from Ferry Farms--now sold at the Sacramento farmers market.

Ferry Farms has taken away my guilt and provided me with a local outlet. They are now selling unpasteurized, freshly squeezed juice at our farmers’ market! Hip-hip-hooray! For conscientious, but busy gals like me there is nothing better than the feeling of grabbing a jug of juice that you know is made from local fruit.

Ferry Farms isn’t just selling the orange stuff. They’re selling blood orange juice, too. Dark with a touch of sour, the bright flavor perks up your mouth—and your mood. When mixed with a little apple juice (also purchased at the market), you’ve got a delicious morning beverage.

Thanks to our many local farmers who are doing the amazing things they do so we can eat locally!

Labels: blood orange juice, farmers' market Sacramento, Ferry Farms, living la vida locavore, local orange juice, Massa Organics, new at the farmers market, whole wheat flour

# posted by Amber @ Saturday, February 19, 2011 0 Comments

Monday, November 22, 2010

Chile Relleno Pizza Recipe

Who doesn’t love chile rellenos? Sweet, fragrant peppers with a tangy zip oozing with chewy melted cheese and drowning in rich, thick tomato sauce—chile rellenos comfort and delight. But, covered in crunchy fried beer batter, they also clog arteries. Unwilling to give up the flavors of this marvelous dish, I have invented the perfect solution: a whole wheat pizza that captures all the flavors of this dish in a heart-healthy manner. Prepare to indulge! Your mouth won’t know the difference.

Poblano peppers hit the farmers’ market in Sacramento two months ago, and with our pleasant weather, are still coming in strong. Patrick’s Garden is the only farmer selling them downtown. He sells a colorful array of flavor-bursting peppers—far better than any bell I’ve had. I buy several peppers at once and roast them in the oven, peel the skins, and then store them in a bit of olive oil in my fridge for a few weeks. I throw them into burritos, tacos, scrambled eggs—anything and everything. I devour these amazing peppers until the season runs out. And in particular, I eat lots of this chile relleno pizza.

Pour yourself a beer and prepare for an amazing mouth moment!

Chile Relleno Pizza

1 Whole Wheat Olive Oil Pizza Crust (recipe follows)
½ cup Zesty Red Sauce (recipe follows)
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup grated jack cheese
2 Roasted Pablano Peppers, torn in long strips (recipe follows)
1 red onion, sliced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 Tablespoon olive oil

My chile relleno pizza in a take out box after a pizza contest.

Farmers’ Market fare: jack cheese, pablano peppers, onion, oregano leaves, olive oil
Supermarket ingredients: parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Bake Whole Wheat Olive Oil Pizza Crust in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove from oven and add toppings, starting with Zesty Red Sauce. Next, add parmesan cheese followed by jack cheese. Now add the roasted peppers, then the onion. Finally, sprinkle with red pepper flakes and oregano.

Return pizza to oven for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and cool for about 5 minutes. Drizzle olive oil over pizza, cut into slices, and serve.

Whole Wheat Olive Oil Pizza Dough

¾ cup warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon organic sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour, divided
1 ½ teaspoons salt

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Whole Wheat Olive Oil Pizza Dough

Farmers’ Market fare: whole wheat flour, olive oil

Supermarket ingredients: yeast, sugar, salt

In a small dish, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Set aside for about 5 minutes until it foams. (If it doesn’t foam, dump it out and start again.) In a large mixing bowl, combine salt and 1 cup flour. Stir to combine. Add the yeast mixture and olive oil. Stir to combine.

Add more flour until you have an elastic dough that no longer sticks to your hands. Do not knead it yet! The glutens in whole wheat flour have to rest a moment before you knead. Instead, cover it with a moist towel for about 15 minutes.

After the dough has rested, knead on a floured surface for about 8 minutes. This dough will make one large pizza, two medium pizzas, or four individual pizzas. Divide your dough according to your needs. Then cover each in a separate bowl with a bit of olive oil to coat and prevent from sticking. Cover the bowl with a moist towel.

Let the dough rise for at least 1 hour or in the fridge overnight. Instead of punching the dough down, immediately roll it for your pizza. Place rolled dough on a pizza pan that has been greased and sprinkled with corn meal. Bake in preheated 500 degree oven for 6-8 minutes or until golden. At this stage you can either add toppings and continue to make your pizza, or freeze the cooked dough for later use.

Heirloom tomatoes make amazing Zesty Red Sauce

Zesty Red Sauce

· 2 cups oven roasted heirloom tomatoes or tomato sauce

· 1-2 Tablespoons tomato paste

· 1 Tablespoon onion powder

· ½ Tablespoon dried oregano

· 1 teaspoon garlic powder

· 1 teaspoon chili powder

· 1 teaspoon cumin powder

· ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

· ¼ or ½ teaspoon super hot chili powder (cayenne or your favorite)—use less if you don’t like it hot, because it will be hot!

· Salt to taste

Farmers’ Market fare: tomatoes, oregano

Supermarket ingredients: tomato paste, spices, salt

Pour all the ingredients into a food processor. Blend well. You can either use sauce immediately or store in fridge or freezer.

Best pablano peppers found at Patrick's Garden

Roasted Poblano Peppers

4 or 5 pablano peppers, stems, veins, and seeds removed
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare peppers. Dip your fingers in the olive oil and rub each pepper until the skin is lightly coated in oil. Lay them on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Using a pair of tongs, flip each pepper over and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

When the skins are slightly blackened on both sides, remove the peppers from the oven and place them in a metal bowl. Cover the bowl. (I use a plate). You want to trap the heat inside the bowl so that the peppers steam. This will make them easier to peel.

After about 10 minutes, working with one pepper at a time, remove the skins and discard. Your peeled peppers will last in the fridge, covered in a bit of olive oil, for a few weeks.

Labels: chile relleno, chile relleno pizza recipe, farmers' market Sacramento, locavore Sacramento, roasted pepper recipe, seasonal recipe, tomato sauce recipe, whole wheat pizza dough recipe

# posted by Amber @ Monday, November 22, 2010 0 Comments

Friday, July 30, 2010

Sacramento Leads Nation in Farmers’ Markets & Farm Stands

Sacramento loves its farmers! And it shows. Yesterday marked the second week of a new Capitol farmers’ market at 6th Street and Capitol Mall. This market is just one more example of Sacramentan’s fondness for local produce. In fact, we lead the nation in farmers’ markets and roadside farm stands, according to a new study released and conducted by Shermain Hardesty, a Cooperative Extension economist with the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

The new market on Capitol Mall won’t last long. It runs every Thursday through September 30th from 10:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M.

I stopped by the market yesterday to investigate. Unlike the other weekly markets, I found plenty of elbow room here. I had more time to ask each farmer about their wares.

An heirloom tomato farmer empathized with my home gardening woes. Although he had plump, gorgeous heirlooms covering his table, he said the cool start to summer set him back by about three weeks. Yet, his tomatoes are far ahead of mine. My heirlooms are still hanging green on the vine. So I paid $2.50 for a heavy Brandywine, which I intend to savor in thick slices with chunks of fresh mozzarella.

A melon farmer talked with me about this year’s crop as a luscious smell rose to meet my nose. The perfectly ripe orbs showed pale green and pale orange through their thin matted skins. After detailed explanations about the various flavors I might expect, I selected two happy, juicy melons for less than $5.

Although I’m a vegetarian, I decided to talk to the local free-range meat farmer. At the Sunday market, his booth is usually flanked (pun intended!) by swarms of people. Yesterday, I was able to speak with him at length. He had combined forces with the free-range chicken farmer so they could share the burden of working another market. He said his Sunday customers were pleased to come out to this market, because they could have first dibs on popular items like tri-tip, which he said are normally sold out by the time Sunday rolls around. Since my three brothers-in-law are currently visiting, each of them weighing in at over 6’ 3”, and one of them a hearty and devoted meat-eater, I plunked down $17.50 for a chicken I was told would easily feed four hungry men.

A local baker took the time to help me plan which tortillas might go best with the menu I was considering for dinner. She also gave me a sample of one of her freshly baked cookies. The caramelized sugars in her whole wheat and oat chocolate chip cookie danced and crunched in my mouth. I paid $1.25 to take one more home with me.

And of course, several stalls were overflowing with the ripe harvest of peaches, nectarines, pluots, plums, vegetables, and healthy produce. I heard the farmers explaining patiently, and repeatedly, to new customers what a pluot was, or the difference between a freestone peach and a cling peach.

When I asked each farmer why they were drawn to participate in this particular market, they each gave a similar answer: meeting new customers, expanding awareness, and hopefully, earning just a little more money during the week.

As I loaded my groceries into my car and was driving home, the heavy perfume of the melons filled my car with the bright scents of summer. I sure hope that Sacramento’s love of fresh farm produce continues to flourish in this fine city!

Labels: Capitol farmers market, farmers' market Sacramento, Sacramento leads nation in farmers' markets, Sacramento locavore

# posted by Amber @ Friday, July 30, 2010 1 Comments

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Quail Egg Appetizer on Blini with Grapefruit Zest & Dill Sauce

Want an easy way to impress your party guests? Try these! They’re tiny, cute, and tasty to boot. You can find fresh quail eggs for a mere $1 at the Sacramento downtown farmers’ market on Sunday.

When you present a platter of these, your friends will ooh and ah. Go ahead. Let them think you slaved all day! Only you and I will know how quick these little treats really are to prepare.

Quail Egg Appetizer on Blini with Grapefruit Zest & Dill Sauce
20 quail eggs

Blini with Grapefruit Zest
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg (chicken egg, not quail egg)
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon melted butter
Zest from one grapefruit

Dill Sauce
1 cup organic sour cream
2 Tablespoons organic mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon dill weed

Farmers’ Market Fare: quail eggs, grapefruit, chicken egg, butter, mayonnaise (you can make your own mayonnaise with local egg yolk and olive oil)
Locally sourced from California: buttermilk, sour cream
Garden-grown: dill
Supermarket ingredients (non-local): flour, salt

To hard boil the quail eggs, lay them in the bottom of a small sauce pan in a single layer. Cover with cold water about 1 inch over the tops of the eggs. Partially cover the pan with a lid, and turn heat on to medium high. Bring water to a boil. As soon as the water boils, place the lid fully over the pan and turn the heat off. Set a timer to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, fill a small bowl with ice and water. As soon as the egg timer rings, drain the hot water from the quail eggs and immediately place the eggs in the ice water bath to stop them from cooking. This method will produce an egg with a creamy yellow middle.

When the eggs have completely cooled, crack each egg thoroughly on a plate to loosen the shell. From the bottom of the egg, pinch the shell to tear it open. Gently peel the egg. Rinse off any bits of shell that remain behind. Repeat until all the eggs are peeled. Set them aside until assembly.

Meanwhile, make the blinis (or mini pancakes). First, place two skillets on the stove top over medium heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and grapefruit zest. Add this buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until combined.

Coat your skillets lightly with olive oil. Using a single Tablespoon, drop the blini batter onto the skillet. You should avoid using too much batter. You want the blinis bite-sized, or smaller than a biscuit cutter.

I use two skillets at once and make four blinis at a time in each skillet (or 8 blinis at one time). This speeds up the cooking time considerably.

You should flip the blini over when air bubbles begin to surface, and then cook until they are golden brown on each side. Place each finished blini on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

While the blinis cool, make the dill sauce. Stir together sour cream, mayonnaise, and dill weed until well combined.

Now you are ready to assemble your appetizers.

Set one single blini on a pretty serving tray. Top with one teaspoon dill sauce placed in the center of the blini. Place a hard-boiled quail egg in the center of the dill sauce. Repeat.

You are now ready to impress your guests!

Labels: blini, California grown, dill sauce, farmers' market recipe, farmers' market Sacramento, hard boiled quail egg, quail egg, recipe

# posted by Amber @ Wednesday, March 03, 2010 0 Comments

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