http://www.christopherjmorgan.com/ |
Returning
to this farmer’s market on Saturdays means I get
to decorate my supper table with the region’s best. This is a recent display.
You’re
looking at Soft
Shell Crabs served on a bed of
yummy collards, olive oil-poached salmon, slow roasted over herbs and cherry
tomatoes, and an arranged grilled
vegetable salad that featured eggplant, peppers, onions and locally grown
tomatoes. Dessert was triple chocolate bread pudding, of course.
That
same week, shopping locally meant dining on an herb rubbed organic chicken,
raised humanely not 100 miles from home. I borrowed the recipe for Foolproof
Rotisserie Chicken from the New
Life Farm Stand and slow roasted it—the chicken really merits its very own
blog entry and I promise you I’ll get to it soon. I simply wanted you to have
this super easy, DEEPLY satisfying recipe on file for those lazy summer
weekends ahead.
What’s on the table
tonight—in this insane locavore tour of Boone—is the Fresh Catch!
The
purveyor was Carolina Beach Mobile Seafood.
I couldn’t believe their selection. I mean talk about fresh! Some of them were
still moving among an array of catfish, grouper and shrimp. The fish monger on
duty offered me a sheet of paper as she was packaging up my treasure. I looked
down and read the instructions on how to clean the crab.
“What? You don’t
clean the crabs?”
I asked a little nervously.
“No, Maam.” Well OK then. Off I went.
Dealing
with my awesome haul of seafood later
that night, I found that cleaning the first crab was a little scary, but by
crab number six I was an old pro. I sautéed them in butter and olive oil and
made a pan sauce with lemon, garlic and wine. I can’t begin to describe how
good it was so I won’t even try.
But
what I will do is describe the local food scene—you’ll need to know it, if you
ever come to call. Among my favorites are Lulu’s Sweet and Savory—bread puddings
to die for. I don’t know whether to be proud or ashamed, but I cleaned up with
Lulu. It was only my first trip out, and already I’ve bought enough decadent
bread puddings to fill one whole shelf of my freezer. I cannot wait to dig into one particular concoction that I bought
there, featuring mushroom, rosemary and goat cheese.
Then
there’s Cheryl
Piraccie, offering samples of her home made jams. Check out the photo of this
pair of Bella Rooster sweetness.
My summer experience has begun and my taste buds are already on high alert. If you can’t get to the mountains of North Carolina, check out the websites of the farmers’ market vendors near you. Some of them ship! Share your farmers’ market finds and fresh recipes with the readers here. Post a comment or send along your thoughts to Jorj@Jorj.com. More to come!!
No comments:
Post a Comment