Monday, May 28, 2007

I <3 the Farmer's Market..

I've been emerging from my grilled tofu obsession.
While this post still features some and I have leftovers in my fridge, I have been cooking and baking focusing on seasonal produce, the Lost finale, and interesting new things from Fubonn, most of which will come next post. This week, get ready two farmer's market visits, since I go both Wednesday during lunch and Saturdays for the big one.


Freaking adorable morel mushrooms - waiting to be sauteed with red wine, maybe tonight.
These are the first ones I've bought and will try. I've been curious in the past, and then after reading them mentioned in the amazing The Road, I couldn't resist at the market this weekend.

Purple and green spinach mix from the farmer's market.

This past week's haul: morels, garlic scapes, spinach, kale, basil, mint, giant zucchini, summer squash and asparagus. When I say giant, I mean THIS for 50 cents? It's already been used in a curry and won tons.

Fresh mint from the market in a mojito. Perhaps my favorite cocktail.

Something of a tofu scramble - marinaded tofu, tomatoes, basil, asparagus, garlic scapes, spinach, carrots, chickpeas and spices. Being that this was marinaded, giving the tofu extra flavor - it was also the first scramble that Thomas has tried in ages. We credit the marinading.

Giant strawberry and almond flavored pancake, almost done.

Sunday Breakfast.

I had some lovely ppkers over for the Lost Finale last Wednesday, and they brought me some Canadian Tandoori Doritos (yes, vegan) from their road trip. The finale was pretty nuts and frustrating, of course. The chips were way better, and spicier, than I'd anticipated. Not as powdery as I remembered at all. Nothing I'd order online since it is junk food, but you know, if someone in Canada wants to mail me some or swap or something...doot doot doot....


Aha! The grilled tofu. A very farmer's market lunch: thin spaghetti with the last of my roasted orange pepper and red wine marinara, grilled asparagus and garlic scapes, basil and grilled tofu and zucchini.

Sorry for the wretched photo - but this is the only one I got of my tropical fruit crisp from Lost night. It had strawberries, mango, nectarine, kiwi and rhubarb with a barley oat topping.

Soy Not Oi peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Ala Charlie and Claire, Season 1.
I also made faux korean seitan dumplings.

Leftover coconut creme pudding from last weekend's pie, topped with chopped strawberries. I actually liked it better this way.

Marinated tofu sandwich from Backspace. Check out the recent Stumptown Vegans review of Backspace, here. This sandwich was really good, but served cold?? Not really my thing.


Mango tofu with red peppers. My first attempt at recreating this dish from Island Hopper in Boston. Next up - fine tuning the sauce and learning to serve it in a mango skin!

23 comments:

erica said...

Purple spinach?!? How dare they!

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

ooh la la - look @ that yummy mojito! i bought an orange mint plant just so that i could make them - but i don't know how... any tips?! and what a georgous farmer's market booty-load! :o)

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

erica - I know! It's softer than green, too. Personally, I like the green better, but that purple ain't bad. Just beautiful!

Vicki - Orange mint sounds fantastic!
I crush a few mint leaves at the bottom of my glass and add a good squeeze of lime juice, dash of light rum, seltzer + sugar water (usually I just leave that out) or lemon lime juice. Add a little tequila for a mojarita! Or so says a local caribbean place. I also added a slice of cucumber to one - very cool!

Tracy said...

Good God, you've been busy! I love Farmer's Market's too. Ya just never know what you're going to find.
I'm a Canadian, but I when I tried those Tandoori chips they really turned me off. Just not my bag, I guess!

Anonymous said...

i love to see new vegetables that we dont have here. i cant believe how beautifull they are.

the food looks awesome too!!

Mikaela said...

Holy pretty post...! The yummy mojito looks the best :)

Anonymous said...

Jess,

I'm a Canadian who is wondering!

What would you like to exchange for some tandoori Doritos?

bazu said...

You are a woman that knows how to do the farmer's market right! Those morels are gorgeous- and that mojito... swoon.
And, and, frickin' TANDOORI doritos???? Jesus! (I remember trying dill pickle chips in Canada- they get the cooler chips!)

Elizabeth said...

I saw that purple spinach at today's (Wednesday's) market! Pretty radical. I didn't buy any, I just stared at it. :-)

And we had mojitos here last night, too! I have mint growing in my garden so it was a *requirement.* Even the kids had virgin mojitos.

erica said...

Great farmers' mkt haul! Let us know how those morels turn out...

aTxVegn said...

Man, that's a lot of great looking food! Purple spinach - I need some! Tandoori Doritos - I need one bite.

I'm sure you know I think you are an awesome vegan foodie so I hope this makes you laugh - I thought the fruit crisp was lentils at first glance.

You have perfected grilled tofu!

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

thanks, jess. i need to get the goods & mix it up.

Dreena said...

Wow! Wow! Wow! So many colors and such beautiful produce, and outstanding food pics. I wanna come over! :) I've never seen purple spinach - hope to this summer now. Do you use an outdoor grill/bbq for all of your veg/tofu grilling - or an indoor model?

Shananigans said...

It all looks gorgeous, and yummy! Purple spinach, I’ve never heard of such a thing.

I’ve never tried morels but I’m intrigued. You must let us know how they are.

That fruit crisp looks to die for. Recipe please?

laura k said...

I love the purple spinach, and, well, all your farmer's market finds. That mojito looks so cool and refreshing--I love mojitos too!

Anonymous said...

Can you tell a few of the marinating combos you like to put on your tofu? It always looks so yummy!!

Kate said...

Everything looks amazing, but what really sticks out ot me in the purple spinach. Those cookies look really good. Peanut butter and chocolate are my two favorite things.

urban vegan said...

And I <3 Jess' food fotos from the farmer's mkt.

Those morels look like little brainiacs.

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Anonymous Canadian- I will need to know a little more about you! First off, this is a very nice, though silly on my part since it's doritos, gesture. I suppose I can send you some American treats, maybe from Food Fight? baked cookies? Let me know what's up. You can email me at jdfunks@yahoo.com

Bazu - I think I've seen those Dill Pickle chips before! Not my thing, but wow. I remember seeing Feta Lays when I was in Europe, actually.

erica - morels! tonight! woo!

Atxvegan - that is really funny! I knew it wasn't a good photo, but come on ; )

Elizabeth - Good for you! I was actually at the market again yesterday for a brief bit - restocked on the spinach~

Dreena - Thanks for stopping by! My grill is a grill pan, indoor use. I adore it.

Shaninigans - Thanks for the compliment on the crisp! I took a random one from online, veganized it (margarine), added a touch of allspice along with the rhubarb and threw in whatever fruit was around, which was fortunately quite an assortment.

Anonymous - regarding the tofu, thanks - I use the Vegan with a vengeance Italian marinade a lot, but sometimes I just use tamari/organic balsamic viniagarette (Trader joe's, newman's, whatev) + lemon juice and garlic. Sometimes I just use tamari or braggs, with garlic and a little bit of agave. I have been known to let things mariande for a few days, but I usually do it at least over night. It's very important, but you probably already know this, to drain and press the tofu before marinading in order to get rid of the extra water and to firm up (avoid crumbling).

Kate - I too, just love this purple spinach. Sadly it's not as crisp as the green, but I'll still buy it. It's purple!

Urban - I'm eating brainiacs tonight! I'll try to avoid thinking about it : )

Vegan_Noodle said...

So much good looking food! I would love to find morels at a farmer's market down here, but alas, I have never seen them. Can't wait to see what you did with them. And your pancakes are making me want a big breakfast this weekend!

Anonymous said...

holy longest post ever!
jess, i've been very curious about those zucchini flowers(is that what they're called?) for the longest time. i've heard so many good things about them.
and talking about all the good stuff you got at the market makes me kinda kick myself for not getting anything. then again, crowds suck. :o)
the weather will be nice again tomorrow but i'm going canoeing so, alas, i won't be running into you tomorrow....

SDGvegan said...

mmmm mojitos are my favorite! Your food looks great.

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