Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Farm to Kitchen

I love the farmer’s market this time of year. Some of my most favorite foods are in season; corn on the cob, heirloom tomatoes, okra, peaches and my “wait all year” favorite figs! Admittedly, I don’t really cook so we typically eat these items “as is” or on the grill.





This week I got the itch to cook (yes, I feel ok) after seeing several recipes for heirloom tomato pie. Tomatoes?... and cheese??... in a pie?!! Yes, please!! Here’s the result: 






Feeling successful, I then looked for a new recipe for figs. My go to trick for figs is to stuff them with blue cheese crumbles, wrap them in bacon and grill them! YUM!! I made these as well but I also found a week night recipe for Fig Focaccia. I made it more into a pizza by rounding out the dough and adding grated parmesan cheese. We had this with a simple side salad with oil and balsamic vinegar so we could dip the thick crust into the left over oil and vinegar. (I’m patting myself on the back now!)





Lastly, and since I was on a roll, I wanted to try something different with fresh corn on the cob. I usually just soak my corn in a salt and sugar water bath for a bit and then grill it, husk and all. Instead I found a recipe for grilled corn and butter bean salad. This was perfect because we were already planning on grilling brats. The recipe calls for most of the ingredients (corn, peppers and red onion) to be grilled too. It was a very yummy side I can see myself taking to the next covered dish occasion or cookout!






Granted, none of the above were complicated and probably child’s play to the seasoned cook; but I was pretty impressed with the results. I struggle putting foods together and looking at a recipe without a picture. My friend Lauren can dump the leftovers of her crisper at the end of the week and make a delicious meal; my brain doesn’t work that way! Hopefully I’ve inspired myself to try more recipes (we will see). I actually enjoyed cooking this week and I am already thinking about what fall at the farmers market has to offer! Could I possibly pull off a squash casserole?? As my husband often reminds me, “I never said you can’t cook; I just said you don’t!”. Fair Nuff!


Buzz!!

1 comment:

  1. For someone who professes not to be a cook, I say look at this awesome collection of dishes that you just "whipped up" and start calling yourself a chef. They sound really yummy! Thanks for sharing!

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