From the Market Part 1 - Scrambled Eggs and Herbed Cheese

Scrambled farm fresh eggs with Keswick Creamery Herbs de Provence Bovre cheese. The bovre is creamy and crumbly at the same time, similar to goat cheese, and loaded with fresh herbs, including lavender. I added it at the very end and allowed the heat to melt it in.

Dupont Circle Farmer's Market

So I may now be a little farmer's market obsessed. After picking up a few tops from Ann Taylor Loft, I stumbled upon the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market. While hearing about this market for years, I typically visited Eastern Market for my mega fresh produce shopping. I could not get over what I have been missing! And (almost) in my backyard. 

To add to yesterday's bounty, I picked up:

• tomatoes on the vine
• Yukon gold potatoes
• assorted mushrooms
• onions
• gazpacho
• buffalo chipotle chorizo (from Cibola Farms)

I plan to make a Spanish style tortilla with today's buffalo chipotle chorizo and yesterday's garlic scapes. And for side dishes, yesterday's asparagus (roasted) and today's assorted mushrooms (sauteed).

This morning I added some of yesterday's Keswick Creamery Herbes de Provence cheese into my scrambled eggs. Delicious! I'll post some more pics and recipes soon of how I use all of this good food in the coming week.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach, Basil and Walnut Pesto

It's been a common theme around my house lately: grab whatever ingredients are laying around and make something for dinner. Tonight's ingredients - pasta and spinach. I considered pasta with olive oil, wilted spinach and garlic, but thought that may be too much of the same taste. I was hoping I could find some chickpeas in the cabinet and use them somehow in a sauce, but no such luck. Along they way, I discovered the very end of a bag of chopped walnuts and aha! The idea for spinach, basil and walnut pesto was born. 

For those who have been following along, you know that I have an Aerogarden. A very fruitful one. So, I welcome the opportunity to use up some of the fresh herbs it grows. Adding spinach to a traditional pesto recipe yields a lighter taste and substituting walnuts for pine nuts gives the sauce an earthy flavor. I threw in some tomatoes for varied texture at the end.

Spinach, Basil and Walnut Pesto

spinach leaves

basil

chopped walnuts

garlic

olive oil

parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Pulse all ingredients (in your preferred quantities) in a mini-prep food processor to your desired consistency.

Enjoy!

Pesto

Tomato and basil are two ingredients that were likely made for each other. Tomato, mozzarella and basil; tomato, basil and a splash of balsamic vinegar; tomato basil soup; tomato basil sauce - the pairing can be found everywhere. So, what to do when you have a bunch of basil and a few tomatoes on hand, and are looking for something a little more interesting and complex? Make pesto!

Pesto

1 cup, packed, of basil leaves

1/2 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 TBS minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil, to preferred consistency

Roughly chop basil and pine nuts in a small food processor. Add parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper and chop to combine. Add olive oil in a steady stream while food processor is on, to desired consistency.

Combine with tomatoes, use as a pasta sauce, spread on bread as a base for sandwiches, mix with mashed potatoes. The possibilities are endless.

Enjoy!

Tzatziki

I am thrilled that my Aerogarden has been so productive (and prolific!). It seems that I'm continually working toward finding out how many ways you can use one lone ingredient - like basil or thyme. This time I looked to the Greeks to find a use for the stems and stems of dill that I have on hand. Tzatziki dip. 

I read through several recipes before throwing this one together myself. Many called for hours and hours of draining the yogurt and cucumber, using cheesecloth etc., but I just didn't have the time, or patience, for that. I bought Greek yogurt, which is already thickened and did a few quick presses of the grated cucumber between sheets of paper towels and I think it turned out just fine.

Tzatziki

8 oz. Greek yogurt

1/4 cup grated cucumber

garlic and dill in quantities to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a spoon. Refrigerating before serving helps bring out the flavors.

Tzatziki is a cool and refreshing accompaniment to pita, or spread over spiced or marinated grilled chicken or fish.

Enjoy!

Seeking Recipes - Lots of Herbs

It's been two and a half weeks since I plugged in my Aerogarden and I am well on my way to having a bounty of herbs this Spring. So much so, that I'm using this down time - it's another week or two before I can start picking the herbs - to figure out how I'm going to use them. Pesto or tomato, mozzerella and basil?  Salmon with dill or tzasiki dip? Send in your favorite recipes featuring fresh herbs and I'll be sure to post and try them!

Aerogarden Update

My Italian basil, purple basil, thyme, and chives are sprouting. I set up the Aerogarden on March 19, and 6 days later, I have herbs. Baby herbs. So far, so good, on this product. The set up was a snap and the instructions, easy to follow. With a little research, I learned that on the herbs setting, the pump and the lights don't necessarily run simultaneously (for a while, I thought I was sent a faulty pump). 

With my mind at ease, I found the the light timing that worked best for me and set the timer to turn off at 9pm each night. In the germination phase, the lights are to be on for 17 hours (pump runs for 12) and the lights and pump go off for 7 hours. The lights are quite bright, so timing them to my rough sleep schedule seemed to make the most sense.

The basils sprouted first, followed by the thyme and the chives. Looks like mint comes up next followed finally by the dill. I'm quite excited for the prospect of healthy home grown herbs as summer approaches, and if this works well, I may attempt to grow tomatoes or strawberries this winter.

Aerogarden Pro 100

For my upcoming birthday, I received an Aerogarden Pro 100 from my wonderful Mom and Dad. This is, for me, the perfect gift living in a city with a small balcony that doesn't receive any sunlight. Last year I attempted to grow tomatoes. I got one. Now, I can grow herbs, lettuces, tomatoes, even strawberries (!) right inside my own home. More pictures of the set up, and actual herbs (once they grow) to come.