Top Burnt Chef: farmer's market

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Farmer's Market Salad

I picked up some beautiful organic and pesticide free green beans and red bell peppers from the Irvine Farmer's Market this past Saturday. Usually I just saute the green beans with some garlic and butter but on KCRW's Good Food's Farmer's Market segment, Daisy Tamai of Tamai Farms shared her recipe for green bean salad. It is a very simple salad: green beans, bell peppers and red onion marinated with a kicked up Italian dressing. I didn't have bottled Italian dressing on hand so I just made a simple vinaigrette. It's just as easy as buying a bottle but cheaper.

You can listen to Daisy Tamai on KCRW's Good Food here

TBC Green Bean Salad inspired by Daisy Tomai

1 lb of green beans, ends trimmed
1 red bell pepper
1 red onion

For the dressing:

1 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
4 TBSP olive oil
fresh herbs: basil, chives, parsley

Directions:

Blanch the green beans in boiling water for just a few seconds. Remove and put in ice water. Thinly slice the red bell pepper and red onion. Combine the vegetables into a bowl.

Combine the vinegars, mustard, sugar, and herbs. Whisk in the olive oil. Season to taste. If your vinegars are too acidic, add a little more sugar. The dressing should be a good balance between sweet and tart. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Irvine Farmer's Market

I went to the Irvine Farmer's Market by my alma mater, UC Irvine, for the first time on Saturday. I was super stoked to find such a great farmer's market. The Irvine farmer's market is a good sized market with many different vendors. It is much bigger than the Costa Mesa Farmer's Market at the OC Fairgrounds on Thursday. I live in Costa Mesa, so I occasionally buy my produce from the Costa Mesa Farmer's Market but I am usually disappointed by the limited selection. The Irvine market is at least three times the size with many different vendors offering a huge range of products such as organic and pesticide-free produce, flowers, plants, soap, hand made crafts, freshly baked goods, cage-free eggs, grass fed beef and fresh seafood. And to add to the excitement, there is also a kettle corn and roasted corn booth. Unfortunately, I didn't bring much cash and being on a budget and all,I had to conjure up my will power (which is very weak against kettle corn and roasted corn) and restrain myself from splurging on the delicious corny snacks. I focused instead on the free samples.

One thing I noticed while I was sampling left and right, was the abundance of plums! There were so many varieties to choose from: dinosaur, gold, pink, just to name a few. I tried the sweetest plums but unfortunately I can't remember the name of the farm (what a joke!)but they were so juicy and sweet. In fact, I have three plums waiting for me in the ice box as I type right now.

The Irvine Farmer's Market is on Saturdays 8 A.M - noon at the In N Out shopping center at Campus and Bridge.

For more information about the Costa Mesa Farmer's Market and other Orange County Farmer's Markets, check out the Orange County Farm Bureau.

Don't forget to vote for Hank and George in the Cutest Dog Competition. We could win a million dollars!