Spring is here in California. That means wonderful things growing that we only get once a year. If you have a farmer's market near you, GO. This is the best way to buy fresh food, things that are seasonal, grown close by and usually not messed up with nasty chemicals. My bliss at the moment is pea shoots and English peas. Yup, it's a lot of work shucking the damn things but damn, it's worth it. The pea shoots (the green from the top of the pea plant) are amazing, flash sautéed in a little EVOO (no I'm not a Rachel Ray drone, can't stand her), shallots and a squeeze of lemon. Perfection.
And last week I was brave enough to buy fresh Fava beans. Okay, those things are A LOT of work. First the pods have to come off and then there is another shell around the thing. Sure you can boil them to get off the second shell, but then all the color goes away when you cook them. And why eat favas if you aren't going to get that incredibly unique green color? Lastly, chives. I've got abundant chives in my garden. More than I could ever use. So I cut a bunch, ran them under hot water to remove some of the chlorophyll and then soaked them in a little canola oil for a day or two. Then pass it through cheesecloth for several hours to drain out the oil. You get bright green flavorful oil that is perfect for garnishing. Okay that's it. C'mon, GO to the farmers market!
Comments (1)
"Fava beans and a nice Chianti..." (Had to, couldn't resist!)
Something I have never cooked with, indeed a lot of work, but so tasty. And those pea shoots sound yum.
Here we grow tomatoes (nothing beats a luscious fresh tomato!), cucumbers, and last year our lemon tree went wild, we had so many we were just giving them away.
But farmers' markets make me thing of especially one thing - watermelon! Bliss. I just love it when this time of year rolls around.
Posted by Greta Brannan | April 29, 2007 12:45 AM
Posted on April 29, 2007 00:45