Sprouts from yesterday's Farmer's Market:
Mmmm... pardon me while I type with my mouth full... yum... yum...
I think I will call this... the Florida End-of-Summer Farmers' Market Salad...
because this is about all you can get at the Farmers' Market in Florida right now :) I think our season is almost the opposite of many others'. Everyone else gets excited for the Farmers' Market to open in the Spring, and they enjoy fresh produce all summer long. Our produce withers away in the heat, and many of our Farmers' Markets close at the end of May and re-open in October. This may also partly be due to our seasonal population changes.
I am looking forward to Fall, when we start getting more fresh veggies at the Market. Just when markets in other areas of the country are closing up for winter, ours will finally be bursting with lots of choices!
So for now... this is what we have (and it's delicious)
Salad
One head of hydroponic butter lettuce. This lettuce was living yesterday morning! You can't say that about that plastic-wrapped head of iceberg lettuce sitting in the grocery cooler ; )
Shredded carrot
A combination of fenugreek, radish, and pea sprouts
Mustard vinaigrette
(measures approximate)
3 Tbsp Greek (or any kind) extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp Champagne (or any kind) vinegar
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 dates
Blend.
Makes enough dressing for 2-3 large salads. Dressing will keep for a few days in the fridge.
The fenugreek sprouts are new to me. I've read about them (see NIH, SproutPeople), but had never tried them. I am really enjoying them... they seem to have a slightly nutty flavor.
Radish sprouts taste just like radishes.
Pea sprouts (aka pea shoots) taste like very green, green peas.
I cannot even tell you how delicious this salad is! I think it must be because everything is SO fresh. There is so much flavor in these veggies!
More on the health benefits of sprouts here, here and here
mmm! looks good :) we planted our garden today, much to my MIL's surprise on the phone "but, everything is finishing up now" hee hee. I'm with you, though- looking forward to fall finds.
ReplyDeletealso- http://www.ourlocallife.com/ - is a neat blog by catholic worker folks in gainesville. you might like it for the UF connection, or because they sometimes feature awesome recipes, or because they encourage local food :)
Cool, "MamaK"
ReplyDeleteJoan just picked up some raised beds at Big Lots, and we're just now trying to decide what to put in the garden. What do you usually plant? We've got herbs, but we want "real" food ; ) Like lettuces and such.
Does "LittleK" like to help in the garden? :)
Thanks for the link! I will definitely check that out.