Sunday, October 3, 2010

farmers' market sighting contest: october 2010

it has been a few months since i have been able to work the MFP table in Hollywood-i miss being there.
fellow MFP, Ernie is now the chef @ the farmer's kitchen-congrats and so well deserved!! in just one week, he has already been bustin' out preserves and new menu items (like awesome enchiladas).

this weekend, right when i came in a happened to pass Alice Waters leaving the market, i had to do a double-take because i wasnt so sure that it was really her-she always seems to visit h-wood when in town.
but this weekend i happened to see 2 actors at the market: one right after Alice and one at the end when i was shopping with friends - both already mentioned here in this blog before.  correct answers get a jar of Bloody Mary mix strait from the market-i can ship for those who can't make it to the shop!!

ACTOR 1: married with child(ren), was seen looking for hot food-his recent film, despite over a year build up (or is it a "performance piece"), was/is a dud.  hopefully his brother's film, just out now is a hit.

ACTOR 2: total shocker that i saw him-yes i know he is no longer taping with this HIT TV show in Hawaii anymore, but i was still surprised that i saw him. and yes he is a very, "dark" character....total hot piece BTW.

Friday, October 1, 2010

CSA cooking: savory butters

basket inventory: baby carrots, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, cantaloupe, yellow chard, yellow pear tomatoes, green beans, oranges, dill, cilantro, parsley, basil


big fan of ReadyMade Mag (i think that is pretty obvious), and i of course get their email newsletter.  in this week's newsletter, there was a little ditty on compound butters aka flavoring butters with a number of seasonings/herbs/fruits/etc... to get rich, complex, fatty goodness slivers that will gourmet-up just about anything you put it on.


this weeks CSA basket was a perfect challenge to make butters with all of the herbs we had!
Each recipe follows the same procedure: 1 stick of butter softened, dice the crap out of your ingredients and mix very well into the butter (you can also use a food processor for everything), either keep in a glass jar, or for longer storage, roll into logs  in plastic wrap and keep in the freezer.  cut slices as you need them-the possibilities are endless.

VALENCIA ORANGE, SHALLOT AND PERUVIAN SALT
  • 2T orange zest
  • 2T minced shallot
  • 1t salt
CILANTRO, THAI CHILI WITH LIME
  • 2T minced cilantro
  • 1-2 small chilies 
  • 1t lime zest
BLUE CHEESE WITH GARLIC AND PARSLEY
  • 1T blue cheese
  • 2 cloves garlic minced (or more)
  • 2T minced parsley
SIMPLE SWEET BUTTER
  • 1-2T honey (like Backyard Bees local honey)
  • 2 T orange zest OR raspberries OR smashed macadamia nuts (we are not getting them for a few more months i think, but a girl can think ahead)