Real Chefs Don't Blog.

Imagine a spectrum of chefs in the world.  Cut off one end, the food bloggers. Cut off the other, the televised contest winners. The array in between is filled with real, live chefs, paying their bills by putting food on your self-selected dining room table. They are the ones who walk behind the farmer’s market stalls tapping vendors for the sake of time to buy what they need.  They are, at their ages, burned out on a profession that makes them feel 20 years older in the mornings. They are inspiring characters, risk takers, and raw, honest types who will take a pan of hot oil thrown by the Chef de Cuisine for you if you cover their asses for something on the line. They are some of the most passionate people I know.

Last week, I walked through the farmer’s market with Roxana Jullapat, pastry chef at Ammo, in Hollywood, California. While there, in an interview, she gave a candied kumquat and Costa Rican prestiños recipe to Good Food's Market Report. She wrote the candied kumquat part down for me at coffee afterwards, and at home, I went crazy with all the free time of a freelancer to come up with a Candied Kumquats and Marzipan Cream Tart recipe, inspired by her original combination. 

Stew, Reframed.

This is a spectacular week for some of us, kicking it off by sitting at a table where we don't eat for hours and then drink a lot. Somehow, starting off cranky and drunk is a wonderful way to connect with our friends and families, our joys and passions. I think it breaks our thought processes down into simpler bits and allows us to reassess our words and actions. An example:

Yesterday, this stew was a working lunch without a message, poor thing. I threw the entire post out and started over this morning. After the heart-dropping act of deliberately hitting the delete key, the last things I wrote in the notebook were these:

• Beans should be salty, broth should be sweet.
• Give thanks.

There. Simpler. Less cranky. New post. As a friend pointed out, a blog post about stew should, like stew, be better the next day, anyway. Thanks, Robby.

Farmer’s Market Stew

Burwell General Store

Serves: 6 with bread

Roasted Baby Zucchini and Gruyere Gratin

Every week at the Santa Monica farmer's market, I walk by the farmers who I call the squash-and-artichoke farmers.  There are many squash and artichoke farmers there, so you won't be led to them if you go looking for farmers under that description.  That's just a marker in my mind that indicates they are the best squash and artichoke farmers at the market.

 

Only a person with no soul would have missed their first showing of squash this season about a month ago, effulgent yellow squash blossoms beaming from their tables.  I picked up a measure of those and practically skipped home to make something with them.  They looked like this:

 

and they became part of one of my favorite recipes to date, Black Truffled Risotto with Fried Squash Blossoms.

The lucky little green babies that came home with me yesterday are part of what I'm calling the Squash Series, where I buy squash from the squash-and-artichoke farmers across the season and cook with it at all stages of growth.  This is one of the things I love about blogging. I make stuff up and create fun for myself and hopefully, others.

Initial grander, spicier plans for these babies involved nutmeg and thyme, but it seemed like it would have defiled them to add spices. These tender, sweet, buttery squash didn't need much company in the pan. Perhaps when they get older and bolder, like so many of us do, they will be complimented by spicier counterparts.

Roasted Baby Zucchini and Gruyere Gratin
Burwell General Store

Serves: 4

Wild Berry, Mizuna and Smoked Trout Salad

Yesterday's trip to the farmer's market bore no direction, or plans for dinner with corresponding list, so for the first time in a long while, my eyes and nose were the sole decision makers.  My haul:

One package "wild berries"
One bag of mizuna greens
One head of red leaf lettuce
One fuji apple
Baby zucchini, purchased because the same vendor a month ago was selling the predecessors to these zucchini in the form of squash blossoms some of which I used here, prompting the bright idea to follow and cook this vegetable through its growth cycle
One handful of sugar snap peas
One German pastry, of the cream cheese and strawberry variety
One bunch fresh flowers

In the office, I set up my flowers in a vase and victoriously ate one German pastry and an apple.  When I got home, I made a salad and stumbled upon a new favorite flavor combination that will obsess me for a while.  Dear readers, prepare for an onslaught of berries and peppery ingredients recipes to come, starting here.

Baked Salmon on Spring Garlic with Steamed Baby Artichokes

Even though it feels like spring all year round here, this week it announced itself properly by the presence of baby artichokes at the farmer's market. For the patrons who missed the artichokes, the more obvious "Spring Garlic" showed up to the party as well. And so went my shopping trip, finding just five ingredients to put into a quick dinner at home.

Baked Salmon on Spring Garlic with Steamed Baby Artichokes
Burwell General Store

Serves: 2

Tanque Verde Swap Meet.

This past weekend, I set my sights on how much food was sold in between the booths of pirated dvds and used electronics at The Tanque Verde Swap Meet in Tucson, Arizona. This trip came a day before I read an intriguing Op-Ed in Sunday's Washington Post that tracked a trend towards opting out of the gourmet-ification of natural food and eating just as well, for less money.   I never thought it would become a political statement to buy an apple out of a guy's truck, but here we are, trying to squeeze between Cargill, Monsanto and undervalued, over-produced organic crops to get to our food.

Farmer's Market.

Just a quick photo post of some of the awesome finds at this week's Santa Monica farmer's market...

Arkansas Black apples. Tangy, crisp, heirloom.

Rockenwagner Bakery.

Yesterday,  on Third and Arizona in Santa Monica, California,  I was on my way to find sushi for lunch, but I like the color orange, so I stepped inside to take a look at the menu in the Rockenwagner bakery and cafe. (Sorry there's no umlaut over my "o".  My current font package just can't handle the concept.)

Farmer's market flowers.

Every Wednesday and Saturday, the city of Santa Monica hosts a farmer's market. It's a picture of rustic, romantic, meaningful exchanges. Never will you see so many Priuses and canvas tote bags in one place. And thieves.

I talked to the farmer who sold me these flowers;

"I have so many bouquets walk off out of my stall that we have to wrap them in brown paper when you buy them so security knows they haven't been stolen from me."
"Is it really that bad?"
"Watch your pocketbook in your bag. And we have to wrap your flowers."

So, I'm posting a photo of these flowers, sending everyone who sees it a little bouquet, and adding a little love to the universe to help offset the dishonest energy (for lack of a better word) that circulates.

Compassion is the only way we are going to move forward together in this world.