three points kitchen

Every Saturday I start off my farmers’ market shopping with a visit to the bean stall for fear that it might be my last chance to eat fresh limas or crowder peas ’till next year. However, since I still had some of last week’s produce to use up before launching into the fresh ingredients, I put the beans in the fridge and made up for lost time with several ingredient-interlocking recipes.

Leek and Swiss Chard Tart

A leek and swiss chard tart, but with an olive oil crust. Less work, but also no flakiness. I’m remain undecided about this one…

Eggplant, Swiss Chard, Mozzarella, and Sun Dried Tomato Stromboli

The dough is via the King Arthur Flour Company, but the filling is courtesy the leftover roasted eggplant, mozz, swiss chard, and sun dried tomatoes in my fridge. Always amazed at how a fresh wrapping makes for an exciting new meal.

Leek, Butternut Squash and Potato Soup

Too pressed for time to peel a squash at this point, I cheated and used a couple of sweet potatoes to make this soup. No one complained.

I am a Libra to the core, a woman who can spend 10 minutes in a supermarket aisle just trying to decide on the best bathroom cleaner to buy.

However, with so many birthdays coming up, we have decided(!) to have a Libra birthday potluck this weekend (an event three years in the making). Everyone has to pick a dish to bring! There may also be fun party games, like choosing the best whiskey or deciding which movie to watch. The Virgos will referee.

In a fit of bravery, I volunteered to bake the celebratory cake since I had so recently been schooled by Rebecca in the basic techniques of the process. I have to say, if I can get from flour sifting to cake stand without crying, this recipe is a no-stress keeper for pretty much anyone interested in having a non-box party cake in their repertoire.

I don’t recall where it came from, but I loved this Alice Waters-ish anecdote I heard about a school kid on a farm visit refusing to eat a carrot pulled from the field because “it touched dirt.” Not that I mean to imply that I’m so much more salt of the earth. My suburban-raised self would have shuddered to feel something soft and feathery on the bottom of an egg while cracking a few open for a quick dinner frittata (making use of my roasted veggie leftovers–you taught me well, Rebecca!). These days, however, farm eggs so fresh they bring a bit of the nest along with them just feel so much cleaner somehow.

Where I used to accent my food shopping list with a couple farmers’ market finds, this summer we joined a CSA and I’ve hauled home my allotment (and then some) of produce and dairy from Waverly Market every week. As a result, my daily trips to the Super Fresh have ceased, and we’ve fallen into a happy rhythm of eating whatever treats the harvest brings in each Saturday. Like the grasshopper, however, I have put up no stores for the winter, so we’re either going to endure some very long months of potatoes and cabbage, or endure grocery store tomatoes come January. Luckily, we really like potatoes and cabbage.

It’s the bean stall that really seems to keep you on your seasonal toes, however (I still can’t believe I missed the last week of peas, and therefore my last chance at another batch of crushed peas with smokey sesame dressing!). This week, October Beans showed up (I had no idea what they were, but they were too pretty to resist), and there was another shot at fresh limas. Kate, if I was your hostess, I hope that you’d be a convert after tasting this dip. Cooked limas, a couple garlic cloves, juice of a lemon, handful of fresh dill, some cumin/curry spice combo to taste and a good dollop of  tomatillo salsa to kick in some heat without overpowering the crisp, fresh tastes of the other ingredients. Finish with a good glug of olive oil, process, process, process…and it was very had to put the lid on the dish and safely save it for tomorrow’s picnic.