By Seared Lightly

Celebrate Saturdays

 Mid May marks the renewal of Farmer’s Market season.  Urban centers in western Oregon suddenly sprout fresh farm produce and other tasty comestibles conjured by artisan resources.  Saturdays until late October shoppers will find vegetables, fruit and
seafood harvested the day before for the benefit of supermarket escapees.  The Willamette Valley is one of the nation’s elite food farming regions and site of hundreds of small family farms that bring their varied and carefully tended wares to town to inspire summertime Saturday events in Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Salem and Eugene. 

Popularity of these market days is growing.  Organizers in Portland, Beaverton and Eugene have reorganized and expanded their open air sites for the new season.  Growers
are responding with an ever wider variety of  fruit and produce paying homage to the potential that drew pioneers thousands of arduous miles to propagate. 

Gourmet Products Proliferate

The agricultural bounty has stimulated the crafting of a widening array of packaged products.  Sauces, jams & jellies, sausages, cheeses and more are gracing the Saturday stalls.  Seafood harvesters are also finding a trip to town pays off in sales of just caught finfish and farmed shellfish.  This season, Portland and Beaverton markets will offer Beef and Lamb raised and processed by ranchers rather than being delivered to an industrial operation. 

Immigrants find Oregon farmer’s markets a reminder of home, whether their former residence was in Europe, Asia or Latin America.  Our Saturday shoppers now find a large number of stalls operated by a diversity of ethnic persuasions.  Oriental greens, Mexican salsas and German sausages are peddled by producers whose childhood weekends involved family visits to an open public market in the town or village square. 

Follow the evolving harvest of field and sea this year with the folks who bring it to you and worry not about the ‘sell date’ and nutritional content labels.

Produce Inspirations

All those green growies piled in Saturday stalls beckon your preparation skills.  We heartily endorse using a variety of young Asian greens for a salad that makes a meal:

Oriental Salad

 A mixture of young Asian greens  ¼ cup Bean Sprouts

 ¼ lb. Mushrooms, thin sliced   1 cup finely chopped Garlic Tops*
 2 tbsp. Sesame Seeds    ½ lb. fresh cooked Oregon Shrimp
Tear up larger greens, mix in bowl with Mushrooms, Garlic Tops, Sprouts, Sesame Seeds and Shrimp.  Toss with the following Dressing:
 Blend thoroughly:

  Juice of 1 Lemon  1/8 cup Soy Sauce
  3 tbsp. Sesame Oil  ½ tsp. Sugar
  ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
     *green shoots found in the market May & June

Celery Root Salad

This ugly brown root makes better Slaw than Cabbage.  You need a grating blade in your food processor to eliminate drudgery:

 Juice of 1 Lemon   1 large Celery Root, shredded
 1 tsp. White Pepper   Salt to taste
 1 Carrot, finely chopped  1 cup Mayonnaise
 3 tbsp. chopped fresh Chives

Peel the Celery Root with a potato peeler, shred and mix in a bowl with Lemon Juice immediately after grating to keep Root from turning brown.  Stir in the Mayo and season w/Pepper & Salt…add a few shakes of Tabasco if you like a little spice in your life.

Caesar Salad

You can’t open the doors of a fine dining establishment now without a Caesar on the menu.  However, the following version emulates the best this correspondent has tasted:

 6 tbsp. Lemon Juice   1 tbsp. dry Mustard powder
 12 tbsp. extra virgin Olive Oil 4 cloves peeled Garlic
 1 whole Egg    1 cup grated Swiss Cheese
 1 tin Anchovies in  oil   2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
 4 slices Bacon    Fresh ground Black Pepper (to taste)
 1 large or 2 small heads of Romaine

Place Lemon Juice, Garlic, Olive Oil, Egg, Worcestershire, Mustard, Anchovies (and oil in which they’re packed) in a blender and blend well.  Saute’ the Bacon ‘till crisp, chop up and put aside.  Wash Lettuce, roll leaves in towels to dry, tear in pieces, discarding the toughest parts of the spine.  Place Lettuce in serving bowl, toss with Dressing, Bacon, Cheese and Pepper.  Add toast Croutons if desired.

Stuffed Peppers

This is more adventurous than what Grandma used to make.  Peppers can be prepared a day in advance of cooking:

4 large Bell Peppers   ¼ lb. unsalted Butter
 3 large Sweet Potatoes  1 large Yellow Onion
 ½ cup Half & Half   1 tsp. White Pepper
 2 tsp. Cajun Seasoning  2 tsp. Paprika
 2 tbsp. unsalted Butter

Boil Sweet Potatoes in water to cover, 40 minutes.  Meanwhile, slice Peppers lengthwise & deseed.  When spuds are done, rain and let cool, then peel and mash with ¼ lb. of Butter, set aside.  Saute’ chopped Onion in 2 tbsp. Butter until transparent, mix into the Potatoes.  Now mix Half & Half, Cajun Seasoning and White Pepper.  Boil water, drop Peppers in for just 2 minutes, remove & drain.  Stuff Peppers with Potato mixture, place in greased baking dish and sprinkle Paprika on top.  Bake in 325 degree oven 30 minutes.

Cuff Notes:  Portobello Mushrooms are now a focus of commercial growers and a giant leap for mankind over white & brown buttons that have dominated fungus growing. Soak large Portobellos in Olive Oil, then grill whole over coals ‘til slightly charred, slice & enjoy…of course, the wild Oregon mushrooms sold in Saturday markets are unbeatable…more and more, we see restaurants offering imaginative Appetizer lists that inspire ‘family style’ dining, with a table sharing tastes of various plates…Italian and Thai cuisines are in a spirited battle to dominate new restaurants in our region.  Whatever happened to French dining-out dominance?…we’re astounded at the variety of European cheeses spreading in our market, but forget not that Oregon Cheddars and Goat cheeses can be as good as these varieties get…add Chicken to the list of Oregon-grown items that surpass anything from out-of-state, but our Lamb growers need to emulate Europeans, Australians and New Zealanders in bringing very young, lean and tender meat to market.

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