Toronto

I just got back from a great three days in Toronto. The first day I was there I got to visit St. Lawrence Market, which is a great indoor market that used to be a grain depository for the Queen. The Queen of England that is. There is no Queen of Canada. See, Americans do know something about Canada.

The main floor was mainly butchers, cheese shops, and a couple of bakeries.
I think I found my home and the new wallpaper for my computer.
Pick a color, any color.
Maybe you prefer meat on a stick? This was only one part of one case for the butcher section. Most butchers had cases almost 30 feet long. I have never seen so much meat in one place, and I've been to The Hanger Club.
They even had stuff I could have gotten for Teddy if I hadn't had to get it past customs. Note Canadian boy in the backgroud looking at me like I'm a freak.Downstairs was produce, dry goods, and souvenirs. I love the different colors of potatoes.
Really blueberry and cherry? That seems pretty nasty.
Sunflower seeds anyone?
I totally should have bought the shirt on the left for Yo-yo Seibert.
It was a great trip and I can't wait to go back. I got to have dinner at a restaurant right on the water and watch the ships go by. A loverly way to spend an evening.

June Updates

So, I have been told that I have been slacking the in posting department. And I have. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.
I tried to make another souffle, this one with bacon, scallions, and cheese. There was an extra yolk and 2 strips of bacon which made this one much denser than the last. I probably wouldn't make it again. The salad was great, and the company was even better.
I made chicken stir fry with snap peas, broccoli, and scallions from the CSA. I added some peppers and carrots from the fridge so I didn't end up with a green and white dinner.

I think Matt liked the veggies.

The final product.

We've been getting the most beautiful eggs.

I love the little specks on each of the eggs. And the purple carton is awesome.

After a couple of souffles, I went back to basics this evening. Scrambled eggs and hash browns, sprinkled with scallions from this week.
My mini garden is growing well. There are a number of tomatoes coming in.
And the cucumbers are trying to come in the house.
And I love our local farmer's market. I bought this at the last one I went to.

Rising eggs

This week the delivery included parsley, red leaf lettuce, romaine, snap peas, bok choy, and radishes. And more eggs.

Since I still have some eggs left from last week I decided to make a souffle. I used this recipe (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/HERBED-PARMESAN-CHEESE-SOUFFLE-4472) and it work out great.

Egg whites whipped till stiff about to be folded into the souffle base.

Finished souffle. Fully cooked, unlike the last time I made one and served at a baby shower and served undercooked eggs to pregnant women.

I also made salad with homemade vingarette. Very French and a great way to spend an evening.

First Delivery

My very first delivery was yesterday. I got lettuce, salad mix, garlic chives, mint, radishes, baby shallots, and turnip greens. And some gorgeous eggs.
The only thing I've used so far are the eggs. They are a beautiful bright yellow inside. I'm making hamburger buns for a BBQ tomorrow night and I'll post pictures of them when they're ready. They're currently on their second rise and hopefully will come out better than the packaged kind.

It starts next week!

I got the reminder email today that our CSA delivery starts next week. I can't wait!!

Bread Salad (take one)

Last night was the first bread salad of the season. I am a little obsessed with this salad, and I make at every opportunity in the summer. It's not a traditional Panazella, but my twist on it. Once the tomatoes are coming in better, and I actually make the croutons, I will post the recipe. I haven't made it about 9 months, so I want to make sure I remember it correctly before I post it. I did use a brilliant shortcut last night, I used frozen garlic bread for to make the croutons. It worked out well, but would have been even better with a higher quality garlic bread. But I would definitely do it again.

Ramps

I bought 2 small bunches of ramps this weekend. I had heard that they were good sauteed with bacon (what isn't?) and thought I would give it a shot. I forgot to ask the farmers how much of it's edible, so I tried to find a recipe in my cookbook collection to tell me. This is the first time my collection has failed me. How do two cookbooks entirely about vegetables not have anything about ramps? I decided to cut them up and saute the white parts separately from the leaves. I'm so glad I did. The whites (with a little of the pink) were fantastic. Kind of like a onion with a little bit of the bite of raw garlic. The green leaves, not so much. They were bitter and ended up in the garbage disposal.