June Culinary Smackdown, Part 1: Farmers Market Inspiration

I thought about titling this post "What If We Threw a Smackdown and Nobody Came?" It's been crazy hot everywhere (except the Pacific Northwest?). We've been contending with storms, power outages, vacations, who knows what in our personal lives, plus lots of summertime opportunities. Our Smackdown host this month, Diana from Cookerati, was kind enough to extend the June deadline for Battle Mint to July 2 since she's been vacationing in Colorado. And I kinda got my Battle Mint entry together, thanks to some farmers market inspiration.

Last Saturday morning I stopped by Bellevue Farmers Market, where Chef Matt Buschle of Virgil's was doing a cooking demo with local product from the market, including chickens from Atwood Village Family Farm. I've gotten eggs and this hearty loaf of garlic scape ciabatta from Atwood before – now I know to check out their chickens too.

I ran into friends from Slow Food Cincinnati, who were covering the Thistlehair Farm booth featured on the Boone County Farm Tour. Matt gifted me with some mint, and I knew it was a sign I'd better get my dish made and a post up.

But first I had to scurry off to meet Katie of Taste and See Cincy, another Smackdown buddy who didn't have time to post this month. Katie and I met at the Boone County Farmers Market in Burlington, KY, which this time of year is open 7 days a week. In the oppressive heat, we hit only 3 of the 15 farms on the Boone County Farm Tour, but our mutual favorite was Thistlehair Farm.

Thistlehair's onsite farm stand is open Thursday and Friday, 10:00-7:00, and we loved our tour of this organic farm, where Vickie and Ed Tewes cultivate lots of heirloom vegetables and are branching out into asparagus and even artichokes - yes, in Kentucky. They also raise bees. This whimsical structure is where they demonstrate pollination.

McGlasson's is also charming, and where I found fresh okra.

I'm headed to the river to visit friend Cindie in the morning and will be back later in the week with the actual dish I made for Battle Mint. Meanwhile, have you ever tried adding mint to a BLT? Mint wakes up this old favorite. And somehow cools you down at the same time.

Happy 4th to all!

Blazes, It's Battle Salad!

I had the best of intentions last weekend, trekking to four farmers markets earlier Saturday morning than I usually get out and about. My grand plan also included attending Taste of Cincinnati. But by 10:15, dripping through my shirt, I realized it was not to be. With temps in the 90s and humidity to match, this Memorial Day weekend felt more like Labor Day often does in the Queen City.

My intended Battle Salad entry was spurred by a recipe I saw a couple years ago for a blackberry and bacon salad along these lines. I picked up some herbed goat cheese from nearby Capriole Farm, thinking to try my hand at breading and frying it. To gild the salad lily a tad more, I contemplated extending my recent obsession with runny eggs, a technique I have yet to perfect at home in a skillet, although fresh thyme and sherry vinegar are plusses. Time spent photographing results, not so much, since runny eggs run only so long.

What to do when summer weather saps your ambitions and, darn it, you just need to eat a simple supper? Forget about that blackberry puree you'd need to strain the seeds out of. Heck, forget about following any ding dang recipe (my frequent approach here in the Intuitive Eggplant Kitchen). Consider what you have on hand, pay attention to anything that actually makes you want to eat, then wing it. These local strawberries from the inaugural weekend of the Mt. Adams Farmers Market were something I wanted to eat right right away.

Bacon always makes me hungry, so I fried up some Hickory Smoked Bacon I'd bought at Eckerlin's at Findlay Market and decided to incorporate strawberries instead of blackberries for this venture. A couple more farmers market purchases that piqued my tastebuds were a caramelized onion and herb foccacia from Savor at Covington Farmers Market and cheese brats made from a Napoleon Ridge goat (appropriately named Gouda) I met on a visit to the farm a couple months ago. Tricia from Napoleon Ridge partners with some of the best small sausage makers/butchers in the region to process her animals. If you're looking for local and sustainably raised proteins, check out her booth at the Saturday morning Covington farmers market, where she Kentucky-proudly offers up great stuff not just from her own farm but her great network of local/regional small farmers and producers. Here's the salad I ended up with.

Culinary Smackdown Reminder and More May Food Events

Spring is in the air, and local farmers markets are bursting with early season goodness! One way to put some of those great spring greens to use is to join in this month’s Culinary Smackdown: Battle Salad. The Smackdown is a friendly little cooking/blogging contest that is open to all. We’ve had some great newcomers – and winners – in the last few months! It's a fun kick-in-the-pants to try something new, and I always come away with great ideas from everyone else's contributions. Get all the details here from last month’s winner, Grumpy Granny, who is this month’s host and judge. You're by no means limited to greens, and I love that she poses the question: "What's a salad? You definite it. This is your playground." So play away, kiddos!

Despite its popularity the past two years, Farmers Fair in Covington will not be held this year. Instead, a series of individual events is planned, starting with a 25-mile Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food bike ride next Saturday beginning with coffee and breakfast burritos at Findlay Market, stops at Enright/Price Hill Eco Village, McGlasson’s Farm, and Boone Farm, and concluding with lunch at Covington Farmer’s Market. The event is free, but registration is encouraged to ensure enough food is on hand. Details here.

Another offshoot of Farmers Fair is Dinner on the Farm June 1 at Napoleon Ridge Farm to benefit the Community Farm Alliance. It will feature food sourced from NRF and other local farms prepared by Chef Steven Geddes of Local 127 plus local wines from Stonebrook Winery and music by The Turkeys. Transportation will be provided departing from Local 127, where you can kick off the evening with cocktails. I’ve been to Napoleon Ridge, off I-71 just past where it splits from I-75 toward Louisville, and am really looking forward to this! Only 50 seats available.

Here are some other fun food events you might want to put on your calendar.

Jean-Robert’s Table is offering a Springtime in Paris special Thursdays after 8 p.m. through the end of the month, a bargain at four courses for $40 plus half-price wines by the glass and music.

You can head to Viet Nam via the Cincinnatian's Third Thursday Tasting this month, where $60 gets you a two-course dinner for two and bottle of wine.

The Go OTR Summer Celebration next Sat. (5/19) will feature crafts by City Flea, food by A Tavola, Abigail Street, Bakersfield, Lavomatic, Senate (which is doing a BBQ pop-up), Taste of Belgium, Venice on Vine, and probably more.

And don’t forget Asian Food Fest next Saturday (11 a.m. to midnight) and Sunday (11 a.m. to 9 p.m.) at The Banks.

FYI, I always have an eye out for special food events in Cincy and environs. Check out my facebook page for news as I spot it. And stay tuned to the blog for much more I have in the hopper :)

Culinary Smackdown: Battle Literary Food

Our March Culinary Smackdown winner, Katie from Taste & See Cincinnati, challenged us to Battle "Literary" Food this month, leaving plenty of wiggle room for our entries to be inspired by fiction, memoirs, or any non-cookbooks. See what Katie's come up with for this battle here, and check the comments section for links to the other fine entries.

Before I'd managed to zero in a book, I stumbled across some fresh favas at Madison's in Findlay Market, and an idea was born. I snatched some up, eager to play around with a spring ingredient I've never worked with before, and picked up a bottle of Chianti on my way home. Neither would have gone to waste, but I was glad to confirm my recollection that the movie The Silence of the Lambs was based on a book, by Thomas Harris. I confess I've never read the book, and was probably one of the last people in America to see the movie, afraid it would creep me out.

I promise you there is nothing creepy about this dinner I made last night. It is most assuredly free of liver (of a census taker or any other critter) and is instead a celebration of spring produce. My fava beans and a nice Chianti had a splendid supporting cast, including ramps, morels, and fiddlehead ferns, also from Madison's.

I'd never cooked with any of them before. So step one was to read up on the basics of preparing fresh favas and fiddleheads. I came across a couple of different ways of extricating the fava beans.

First, you "unzip" the pod to get at the favas, which are similar to lima beans.

But your prep work is far from done at that juncture. Next you have to get the beans themselves out of their "waxy" outer casing. Some people peel away the casing. I decided to go with a method where you dunk the beans in boiling salted water for 30 seconds, drain and shock them in cold water, and then try to "slip" them out of the casings.

The blanch-first method worked pretty well for me. To open the casings I just used my fingernails (which I wished I hadn't cut the night before). Alas, I did not always manage to slip the beans out whole. These are delicate little things that easily split in half. Still, it remained a time-consuming process to free all the favas. English peas, which I was also using, are lot less work, even though they and their pods are much smaller. Here's a comparison shot (with not-yet-freed favas).

Piddlehead ferns always make me smile. They just look so darn fun and unlikely.

I found this handy primer on how to prep fiddleheads, but mine had no chaff to speak of or unfurled ends longer than 2 inches, so I washed them, patted them dry with paper towel, and figured I was good to go. The most important tip I came across was to make sure not to cook them more than 3-4 minutes. I'm not sure how old mine were, but I cooked them less than that and some of them were a bit bitter.

Ramps, sometimes called wild leeks, look a lot like tiny scallions and give off a pungent garlicky onion flavor. There are two good reasons to use them soon after you find them: 1) they are delicate and will taste better and 2) you will be able to smell them not only in the refrigerator but also outside the refrigerator if you try to store them for a while. I used three, slicing the white portion near the bulb thinly.

I figured it couldn't hurt to use the ramp leaves too, along with the leaves from some lovely radishes I'd found at Northside Farmers Market.

I sliced the accompanying radishes, shucked some peas, made thick slices out of the morels, cut some asparagus, stripped some fresh thyme, and ended up with a whole lot to cook with.

I had in mind my own personal pasta primavera, so I cooked off some whole wheat penne and set forth to cook – but not overcook – my bounty of tender young spring produce. I started with one non-herbivore ingredient, a single slice of lamb bacon. I swear I wasn't even thinking about the tie-in to the title of this book/movie when I purchased it, at the new Dutch's Larder in Hyde Park. (Their grand opening is this Friday, featuring Belgian style beers from Rockmill Brewery in Lancaster, Ohio, and the lamb bacon in question is just one of the items they offer from Smoking Goose Meatery in Indianapolis, whose products are also available at Jungle Jim's and served at Enoteca Emilia in O'Bryonville.)

If you've been following this blog, you probably know I'm always curious to try something new, and there are certain questions I am powerless to say no to. Would you like a loaf of homemade bread? Yes. Would you like to try some local charcuterie? Yes. Would you like to go to a pig-tasting dinner? Yes. Never having contemplated the concept of lamb bacon before, as soon as that option was displayed before me, the answer was another immediate Yes.

So I rendered (and removed) the bacon with a sprig of fresh thyme, added some butter to the drippings, and started gently cooking my unfamiliar veg in the order I guessed would be best to get them done, but not overdone. I overdid the "braised" radishes, and would probably have been better off not slicing them. Sometimes you just have to figure things out on the fly, and that's what I did, removing what seemed ready when I still had other veggies to add to the skillet.

A splash of sherry vinegar, some salt and pepper, a drizzle of Chianti, and another dab of butter or two all went in at some point as well (upon reflection, some lemon zest or juice would have been worthy additions). Finally, I added the penne to the pan, along with all its assorted partners, swirled in some pasta water, pronounced my dinner done, and was glad for a glass of Chianti.

Into a bowl it went, dolloped with some herbed goat cheese. And one of the best accompaniments any spring dinner could have: a slice of homemade ciabatta courtesy of Jeff of A Dork and His Pork, who has previously graced our Culinary Smackdown. Jeff brought smiles to many Cincy friends and bloggers Sunday morning by playing bread baking angel, and I'm honored he included me. Let's just say that if he ever opens "Sticky" I will be first in line.

Wishing you all a bountiful spring, and courage to try cooking (or tasting) ingredients and dishes that are new to you. Seize the season. And if you're lucky enough to have a generous angel of the baking or farmer ilk in your midst, say Yes!

Happy Friday the 13th via Small Girl Delights

Today was a lucky day indeed for me, thanks to the talented Stephie Boertlein. In addition to being a friend, food blogger (at Small Girl Adventures), and frequent participant in the Culinary Smackdown, Stephie has launched her own catering business, Small Girl Delights. My office does a round-robin Friday morning Breakfast Club. So as my turn approached, I enlisted Stephie to provide today's treats. I should have snapped some photos before my co-workers devoured the spread she put on for us – because devour they did! Here are a few highlights.

In addition to her signature sugar cookies, always delicious and beautifully decorated (she also made some chocolate black cat cookies in honor of the day, which were gone in short order), Stephie provided spiced pumpkin and crumb cake muffins. She also had the brilliant idea of doing a "granola bar," with a gorgeous fruit plate of blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, and orange slices plus Greek yogurt and not one but two varieties of homemade granola.

Here's Granola #1, with oats, almonds, peanut butter, honey, and raisins.

And here's Granola #2, with oats, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, brown sugar, and cherries.

I received many compliments and thanks from my colleagues. I even got an email from a co-worker who doesn't participate in Breakfast Club but sits near the kitchenette where Stephie's breakfast treats were laid out. She told me she heard so many oohs and ahs that she had to check it out, and was most impressed. I encouraged her to sneak a taste:)

I hope your Friday the 13th has treated you as well as mine has. And if you're in search of a caterer in the Cincinnati area, I strongly recommend Small Girl Delights!

Arts and Lettuce Sneak Peek and Battle: Literary Food

I've been traveling, eating, working and, alas, not blogging in a while. But all is well, especially after a phenomenal meal tonight at Arts and Lettuce, the monthly underground dinner series prepared by the talented Ryan Santos of Please Catering. It was springtime on a plate through many surprising and delightful courses, and I'll be back with a full report, along with tales of my travels to Tennessee, and more.

Meanwhile, our gracious host of the March Culinary Smackdown – Battle: Spherical Food – Leah, of Eat, Drink and Be Married, recaps the "Battle Balls" entries here. Congrats to Katie of Taste and See Cincy for her win with some insanely tempting popcorn balls and one of the funniest entries in Smackdown history. As last month's winner, Katie becomes host, judge, and theme-picker for the April Smackdown, and this one is mighty intriguing. Check out her announcement post for all the details on Battle: Literary Food here. All are welcome to join in this friendly little monthly cooking/blogging contest.In fact, our most recent winners have been newcomers :)

Hope you are seizing the delights of Spring wherever you are, and sharing a table with friends, family, or, as I did tonight, an intriguing group of people you are meeting for the first time.

xoxo, eggy

First Bite, Take #2: The EAT! Food Truck

Sorry about yesterday's posting glitch. Here's my full report.

The new EAT! food truck has been out and about in various locations for a month or so now. I finally had a chance to see what they're up to when they appeared on Fountain Square last week. What's better than a warm early spring day and a nice line of interested customers!

Here's the menu EAT! posted the day I stopped by (sorry about the shadows cast by the downtown office buildings). Based on my previous experience as a supporter of Cincinnati food trucks, I would suggest you not be surprised if they pare it down or alter it once they get their feet under them and see what their customers want in various locations.

EAT! is offering mix-and-match combinations of proteins you can add to pasta and salads or find in sandwiches, including shrimp, scallops, turkey, Amish chicken, and paneer.

I went with the Indian cheese called paneer because, well, I could. Here's a look inside at the grilled paneer and accompanying tamarind chutney, on a great multi-grain bread with fresh greens.

I also tried one of EAT's soup specials that day, pureed lentil soup, another unique offering among Cincy food trucks, with their own croutons.

I'm happy to see EAT! join the Cincinnati Food Truck scene with fresh alternatives, and I will be staying tuned to see how our food trucks jockey for position in the limited space on Fifth St. adjacent to Fountain Square now that that space has been opened up by City Council and as warmer weather unfolds.