SPRING FEVER!

     

     Spring, oh spring, thank you! What a delightful beginning to the season of roadside stands and farmers markets.  What better way to soothe my sorrows from a dead computer?  It's taken a while to get out of the cyber doldrums and re-awaken my blog.  All it took was a stop at a roadside stand for purple and green asparagus cut from the ground this morning.  And a basket of strawberries that sent me into cyberspace myself!
     Isn't it amazing how the sight or smell of certain foods can send you so vividly traight back to childhood?  I thought I was going to get my hand slapped when I taste-tested a strawberry this week. As a kid, for one of my 4-H projects, I received 100 strawberry plants which my Daddy help me plant in the field right beside the house, behind the clothesline.  It was a sandy spot, not much good for anything other than turning the tractor around, but I planted those berries in the spring.  My instructions were to nip the blossoms off the plants when they bloomed, to bring on more berries the next year.  Drats!  I loved strawberries, and couldn't hardly stand the thought of waiting one more year.
     The next spring I had so many berries, bright red and juicy.  It was hard to pick a full bucket when I hit the berry patch, for I'd sit and eat my fill, toting the bucket half-full back to the house with juicy evidence dripping down my chin.
   
 A DIFFERENT TWIST FOR STRAWBERRIES  - CHOCOLATE PASTA!

    While in the Boone area this past fall, I picked up a package of The Pasta Wench's dried chocolate pasta.  Truly, CHOCOLATE.  Tastes like cocoa that's not overwhelming, and definitely visually interesting for a dessert. Check it out at The Pasta Wench.
     That chocolate pasta was a perfect backdrop for the sweet Camarosa strawberries I found at the farmers market this week.  The rest of the berries - at least those that survived the car ride home - will find their way into my morning granola, maybe some over ice cream, and some, well, eaten over the sink after a quick rinse!
     I look forward to more varieties of strawberries that will ripen later this spring.  Hum.....jam?  Freeze?  Will they make it that far in my kitchen?

ASPARAGUS
     My mother, who grew up in a rural area of Ontario, remembers how they'd pick wild asparagus that grew along the roadside ditches on her way home from school.  It's still one of her favorites.
     I can't decide which way I love asparagus better  - coated with olive oil and grilled or baked in a hot oven; barely steamed with butter; with crabmeat, butter and cheese over pasta; or with shrimp & grits.  I've sprinkled it with lemon zest and juice, and other times with a ribbon of boiled eggs pushed through a sieve over top.  And, how about, as a lot of chefs are doing now, barely steamed with a fried egg and crunches of crisp bacon on top?
    With just-picked asparagus, the less you do with it, the better.  Let its natural, crisp and rich flavor shine through.
     Got a favorite recipe?  Open a conversation here, please!

AND TO TOP OFF MY SPRING FEVER . . . . SOFT SHELLS!

     The exciting culmination of a trip to the Outer Banks for research was finding fresh soft shell crabs for sale at O'Neals Sea Harvest in Wanchese (www.onealsseaharvest.com/).  They've added a great cafe to the retail market. Turn off the main road at the huge old oak tree onto Harbor Drive.
     Soft shells are so easy to cook, after they are cleaned at the last minute.  I admit I always wait until the hubby is around to take care of that chore for me!
     Saute those babies in butter/olive oil combo then douse with lemon herbed butter, or, grill after coating them with butter and hot sauce.
     Need a recipe?  Check them out in THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK:  Recipes & Traditions from NC's Barrier Islands, by moi, Elizabeth Wiegand.

Strawberries....need I say more?

GRILL, BABY, GRILL

I have fallen head over heels for grilled strawberries. I thought the sensuous combo of chocolate and strawberries would always be my true love, but now.....what can I say other than the caramelized stripe of charred sweetness transport a strawberry into a totally different realm?

Last summer we grilled peaches. Grilled pineapple slices remain a favorite. But strawberries? Never imagined that until I tasted one at the Asheville City Market at their weekly demo and tasting booth, which featured this Saturday Knife and Fork, a new restaurant in Spruce Pine.

EAST DOES IT

Recipes for grilling strawberries usually call for them to be wet, then rolled in sugar and then grilled. Many called for balsamic vinegar, so I decided to give that a try. Granted, my balsamic vinegar is not the real thing that costs as much as the price of a fancy dinner out for just one small bottle. Which means that the cheap balsamic I buy is mostly caramel-colored vinegar probably sweetened with brown sugar, which means a perfect coating for grilling strawberries!

I heated up my grill pan, since my outdoor gas grill was indisposed. I dipped the berries first in the balsamic vinegar, then rolled them first in white sugar. (I bet you could place the berries on a skewer, and roll them in sugar all at once.) The result with regular sugar and the balsamic vinegar was pretty good. When I rolled the berries in brown sugar, however, there was more caramelization going on in the grill pan, and the taste was oh so marvelous! I found that only a minute of heat on either side was more than enough.

The result? The berries pooled their sweetness into the plate. The berries are softened just a tad, with a somewhat crunchy bit of caramel on the grilled stripe. Which made me want to just stand there and fill my face rather than save any for tonight's dessert. I'm going to make a shortcake of some sort to serve them with.

SHORT SEASON

From the mountains to the coastal plain, there will be a short season of strawberries this year, due to the weather. Mainly the fault is with the rain, which is not a friend for strawberries when they are ripening in the fields. In fact, I should have known better than to purchase fresh, local berries this morning, what with our recent heavy rains. They were very soft and had a watered down taste, not as intense as those who roast in the dry sun, and I wound up being able to use only half of the basket.

I remember from my 4-H days, when I planted 100 plants for my growing project. The first year, I was required to pinch off the white blossoms, which meant no berries that year. (They don't do that anymore, I understand.) The second year, I'd go out to my berry patch with my bucket and plunk myself down and eat all within reach until I was almost too sick to pick any more!
STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE TART

So, this gorgeous tart is one of my all time favorites. Chocolate and strawberries, what could be better? Serve a little framboise with it, and yum! You'll also find the recipe in THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK: Recipes & Traditions from NC's Barrier Islands.

I've increased the filling to fit my tart pan a bit better. I like to use a removable-bottom tart pan for its ease in serving, and follow the sweet pastry dough recipe given by Julia Child in THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING. If the strawberries are large, slice them in half. Or use just small, whole berries placed bottom up.

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces

4 tablespoons heavy cream

1 9-inch pie crust, baked

1 quart (4 cups) whole,fresh strawberries, hulled (large ones halved), rinsed and dried

2 tablespoons strawberry or red currant jelly (not preserves)

1 teaspoon water

confectioners' sugar,sifted

sprigs of lemon verbena or mint

1. In the microwave or a double boiler, slowly melt chocolate and butter together, stirring frequently. When thoroughly melted and mixed, stir in cream and beat with spoon until combined.

2. Spread mixture into the baked tart shell.

3. Immediately place small berries with bottoms up, or large ones sliced in half with rounded side up, starting in the center, in a patterned circle covering the chocolate.

4. Melt jelly and water together in the microwave,stir, then brush the tops of each strawberry with that mixture so that the berries will glisten. Be careful not to allow jelly mixture to pool on the chocolate.

5. Refrigerate for about an hour or two, or up to six hours. Remove from fridge about 30 to 45 minutes before serving so that the chocolate layer can be sliced. Sprinkle confectioners' sugar over the top of each slice, and garnish with the lemon verbana or mint.

SPRING GREENS

FARMERS MARKETS ARE NOW OPEN!

KOMATSUNA, also known as Japanese spinach, is just one of the more interesting veggies you'll find at farmers markets this spring.  Greens are an easy grow and a good sell for NC farmers, and jump start the hearts of veggie lovers like myself.

Komatsuna is one of the many Asian greens and vegetables grown by Haruka and Jason Oatis, on their Edible Earthscape Farm in Moncure, in Chatham County.  Before coming to North Carolina, they farmed in Japan and now use many of the techniques learned there on their sustainable farm.  Bamboo provides poles for vines and water conveyors.  They use a "chicken tractor." 

 At the bustling North Hills farmers market last Saturday, Haruka was demonstrating how to lightly saute the coarsely chopped green with shiitakes and garlic, like you can do with Swiss chard and other greens.

Beets, turnips, arugula, mizune, fresh eggs, honey, chevre from Celebrity Dairy in Siler City, and even fish from Southport, were available.  And strawberries!!  Babies were out in strollers and toddlers danced to the live blue grass band playing on the grassy quad.  The fellow selling roses had a long line....it was the day before Mother's Day, after all.

My message to you?  Get thee to a farmers market on Saturday morning.  Take small bills and some change.  Carry your own tote sacks.  Put an ice chest in the trunk for your purchases.  It's one of the most enjoyable things to do on a weekend, AND, you will contribute to the local economy, by buying LOCAL.  Keep your food dollars in the neighborhood, and chat with the grower.  It makes a difference when you put faces on the food you eat.  

STRAWBERRY ALERT!   A market vendor told me today that strawberries will have an extremely short season this year because of all the rain.  So buy now!  I hope she's wrong.  I love strawberries, and have yet to make jam or freeze some. 

RECIPE:  SAUTEED GREENS with SHIITAKES & GARLIC

I bought a bunch of beautiful, red-stemmed Swiss chard that just begged for a light saute.  It was a perfect foil for the very mild grouper we grilled.  The shiitakes came from the SPAIN FARM in Raleigh.  

bunch of greens - Swiss chard, Komatsuna, red kale or other milder greens

3 to 5 shiitake mushrooms

2 or 3 bulbs of spring onions, thinly sliced

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Wash greens and spin or pat dry.  Cut off stiff ends.  Coarsely chop the leaves.

2.  Gently clean the shiitakes with a damp towel, cut off the stem, esp. if it's rather tough.  Then thinly slice the mushrooms.

3.  Heat olive oil over medium high heat, then add mushrooms.  Stir and saute until almost tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add onions, stir and saute for another minute or so.  Then add garlic and stir.

4.  Add greens, and gently fold the greens with the mushrooms, onions and garlic.  Continue to saute for just a minute or two more, or until the greens are wilted yet still a bit crisp-tender.

5.  Take off heat, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.