Farmers’ Market
Farmers’ market fare! It’s my favourite. I’ve been really frustrated this summer because I’ve only made it to the market twice before today (read about those trips/recipes here and here). I dream and look forward to the market all spring and then when summer actually arrives I’m so busy living it up at friends’ cabins or being out and about that I just don’t have time to go. Woe is me.
Today I was determined – it’s the first weekend in weeks that I’ve had relatively few plans.
Well my determination was almost scuppered due to an abandoned cat I found en route to the market. The kitty was in a really bad way (couldn’t stand up, super skinny, low, pained mews, dirty, super dehydrated). Cue an hour of phone calls to the university animal hospital, animal humane society, no kill shelters and animal control (who finally came to pick the little lovely up).
Since adopting Juan and Jamal last year I have become a cat lady. No doubt about it.
Anyway. After some bawling from yours truly and a lot of sitting on the tarmac caring for the kitty, finally animal control showed up and promptly eased my fears of them being evil by being super sympathetic and loving. They said they most definitely would only euthanize her if there was no way they could treat her. Happy that she’s in safe hands. It was kind of an overwhelming experience for me. I feel like I need a giant nap.
Instead, I went onwards to the farmer’s market, to brunch with friends and then baked these blueberry crumb bars with my farmer’s market blueberries. It soothed my soul a little. Annnnd that’s my story for the day.
Blueberry Crumb Bars
adapted from smitten kitchen
Note: I halved this recipe since I only had one pint of berries.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 4 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. (This took an extra 10 to 15 minutes in my oven.) Cool completely before cutting into squares.
The stars in these bars (poet) are the lemon and of course the blueberries. I still haven’t mastered the art of the crumb. You can read about my last effort when I made rhubarb crumb cake here. I tend to end up with a bit of big crumb and a lot of small crumbs. Humpf. I will persevere! So I chilled these in the fridge for an hour before cutting them and they were still a bit too crumbly for my liking – guess I’ll have to try again!
I’m heading out for a run and then over to a friend’s house with these in tow. Ta ra!
This might sound a bit la-dee-dar, but it’s the simplest thing ever. Sweet, salty and fresh.
How summery and amazing was this? Incredibly. I don’t think I need to tell you how good it was. Summer to the max. The sweetness of the peas and the aroma of the mint tasted amazing once some salt and olive oil had been added. Add to that some dense french bread that stayed chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside and you have yourself a massive winner.
Today is summer solstice, supposedly the longest day of the year. This weekend was full of celebrations of summer, some more wholesome than others. I went to Rock the Garden, a mini music festival in Minneapolis and saw Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and MGMT rock it out.
I also drank beers and rode my bike home via a restaurant called Little Tijuana’s so I could get somewhat questionable Mexican food. It was good. In a messy way.
Sunday, after a gloriously healing brunch (egg-hashbrown-bacon extravaganza, a ton of coffee and the NYT crossword, if ya wondering) we hit up the St. Paul Farmers Market. Here are some things I love about this market:
1. It’s not gigantic, like some Farmers Markets and is therefore manageable to walk around when you just ate your body weight in eggs and bacon.
2. They have some rule where everything sold must have been grown within 30 or 50 miles of the market. No pineapples here.
3. They have loads of flowers and they are awesome.
4. They had all the ingredients for smashed peas with mint bruschetta.
Smashed Peas with Mint Bruschetta
adapted from Real Simple
Ingredients
- 1/2 baguette
- 10 oz fresh garden peas
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- Thinly slice half a baguette. Place the rounds on a baking sheet and broil them until they’re golden brown (about 1 1/2 minutes per side).
- Process the peas in a food processor until roughly chopped. Stir in the mint, oil, salt, and pepper.
- Spread the mixture on the rounds. Garnish the bruschetta with fresh mint leaves, if desired.
Oh and the best thing? Leftover mint = mojitos. Which obviously = win.
So, we’re done with Spring and Summer is officially here to kick our arses with heat, humidity and long sweaty bike rides.
What Summer foods are you most excited to eat?
Me, I am itching to go blackberry picking and to try my hand at something wondrous, baked and bad for me. Yum.
