Cville City Market opening day

There wasn't that much produce to buy yet at the market, but I did buy greens that I hadn't ever come across in California - creasy greens. They are a kind of mild winter cress with about the same degree of bite as baby arugula. And like purslane, they grow like a weed here. I'm told they become like spinach when cooked.
Euell Gibbons, in his book "Stalking the Healthful Herbs," says that 100 grams of winter cress contain an impressive 5,067 I.U. of vitamin A and 152 milligrams of vitamin C. By comparison, oranges, known as a good source of vitamin C, provide a comparatively measly 50 milligrams of C per 100 grams.

The two photos, the creasy greens, above, and

the plants to the right below, were taken by me.

You can see the creasy greens also

 in the slideshow below, in a wooden crate.

The slideshow photos were taken by Jim.

Charlottesville City Market opens!

We're off to the farmers market; I'll post photos when we return.

Asian white pepper alert

Your white pepper is probably safe. But if you have any ground white pepper packaged under the Lian How or Uncle Chen brands, throw it out. The spice, imported from Vietnam, is contaminated with salmonella and has sickened a number of people on the West Coast.

Wondering how a spice could pick up salmonella? Food science writer Harold McGee had an excellent post here on the processing of white pepper and how it can pick up off-flavors. It didn't mention bacterial contamination, but you easily can see how it might happen.

Good food for the G20

From The (Manchester, UK) Guardian, Jamie Oliver's menu for the G20 dinner tonight:


Starter
Organic salmon from Shetland, served with samphire and sea kale, a selection of vegetables from Sussex, Surrey and Kent, and Irish soda bread.
or
Goat's cheese starter (vegetarian)

Main course
Slow-roasted shoulder of lamb from the Elwy Valley in north Wales, with Jersey Royal potatoes, wild mushrooms and mint sauce.
or
Lovage and potato dumplings for the main course (vegetarian)

Dessert
Bakewell tart and custard

Bakewell Tart by Jamie Oliver
from Jamie's Dinners
(Hyperion, 2004)
Serves 8

Ingredients
FOR THE SHORT CRUST PASTRY
1 vanilla bean, optional
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar
Small pinch of salt
2 scant cups flour
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cold milk or water

FOR THE FRANGIPANE
12 ounces blanched whole almonds
1 cup plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 free-range eggs
6 tablespoons good-quality strawberry jam
1 pint crème fraîche

MAKE THE PASTRY
1. Score down the length of the vanilla bean, if using, and remove the seeds by scraping a knife down the inside of each half (keep the pod for making vanilla sugar).
2. Cream together the butter, powdered sugar, and salt and then rub in the flour, vanilla seeds, lemon zest, and egg yolks — you can do all this by hand or in a food processor. When the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, add the cold milk or water. Pat and gently work the mixture together until you have a ball of dough, then flour it lightly and roll it into a large sausage shape — don't work the pastry too much, otherwise it will become too elastic and chewy, not flaky and short as you want it to be.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest for at least an hour. Remove it from the fridge, slice it up, and line an 11-inch tart mold with the slivers. Push them together, then tidy up the sides by trimming off any excess. Place the tart mold in the freezer for an hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then take the pastry out of the freezer and bake for around 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven, place to one side, and turn the heat down to 325 degrees.

MAKE THE FRANGIPANE
1. Blitz the whole almonds in a food processor until you have a fine powder and put this into a bowl.
2. Now blitz the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add this to the almonds with the lightly beaten eggs and fold in until completely mixed and smooth. Place in the fridge to firm up slightly.
3. Smear the jam over the bottom of the pastry shell, pour the chilled frangipane mixture on top, and sprinkle with some sliced blanched almonds. Bake the tart for about 40 minutes, or until the almond mixture has become firm and golden on the outside but is still soft in the middle.
4. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes and serve with crème fraîche or custard.

Recipe © 2004 Jamie Oliver. All rights reserved.

Lettuce examine the roots

When I first saw "living lettuce" in the stores, I doubted it was worth the extra cost. But three weeks ago, when I had a hankering for butter lettuce to eat with my tuna salad for lunch, I bought one of them in a clamshell and added a little water for its roots when I got home. Well, there is still a bit of it in the fridge and it's still just as fresh as when I bought it.

And I was even more impressed with it after viewing the video below. Most lettuce is more economical to buy by the traditional head, and since we have salad at almost every meal, there isn't usually the problem of any of it going to waste. But for specialty lettuces, I'm not going to feel too bad about spending a little extra for one with roots.

Days without food...

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days; been dealing with the gang who is trying to get us into a new house (and a new kitchen!). Besides, it's April Fool's Day, so why would you believe anything I said, anyway? I'll post tomorrow morning before things get all crazy again.

Meanwhile, here are some links to today's food sections:

How I learned to love goat meat by New York Times' Henry Alford. Goat, the most widely consumed meat in the world, has been edging its way into yuppier climes for a year or so.

Mark Bittman (The Minimalist) on Spanish tortillitas, with recipe.

Brown rice, once synonymous with hippies and vegetarianism, gets mainstream respect. San Francisco Chronicle.

10 iconic California cheeses (only 6 of which I've had the pleasure to taste). San Francisco Chronicle.

And an asparagus recipe from Debbie Arrington of The Sacramento Bee:

Crispy California asparagus straws

Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves 9 (36 straws total, 4 per serving)

This is a fast appetizer with great flavor. You can prepare them ahead of time and bake just before serving. As an option you can add a slice of prosciutto when you roll the asparagus up in the dough.

INGREDIENTS
36 asparagus spears
4 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated, divided use
Salt and pepper to sprinkle on top

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Trim ends of asparagus. Blanche asparagus in boiling salted water until lightly tender to the bite, about 3 minutes.
Place one sheet of phyllo on a cutting board. Set aside the remaining sheets, cover with a damp towel. Brush the phyllo sheet with melted butter. Cut the sheet into nine rectangles, two cuts down from the top, two cuts across.
Place an asparagus spear at the bottom of the short side of the rectangle with the tip sticking out from the dough by two inches. Sprinkle on a teaspoon of cheese. Roll up spear and seal with butter. Finish with remaining spears.
Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, salt and pepper. Cover the exposed asparagus tips with foil. Bake until golden brown and crispy 10 to 12 minutes. Serve warm.

Per serving: 181 cal.; 9 g pro.; 30 g carb.; 3 g fat (1 sat.); 3 mg chol.; 338 mg sod.; 2 g fiber; 14 percent calories from fat.

Food on the block

Move over hunters and gatherers, and make way for those with the numbered paddles. According to the Associated Press, grocery auctions are gaining in popularity as an easy way to cut costs. The sales operate like regular auctions, but with bidders vying for dry goods and frozen foods instead of antiques and collectibles. Some auctioneers even accept food stamps. 

One story I read in the Baltimore Sun about a week ago on using up your pantry staples was interesting on its face, but when I called it up, I realized the only item on the list that had ever gone bad on me was tahini. (There's only so much hummus and tahini dressing two people can use, even if you throw parties regularly.) Here's the rest of the list; for suggestions on how to use them up before they go bad, click here.

Bananas - Capers - Carrots - Celery - Chipotles in adobo sauce - Cilantro - Cilantro - Coconut milk -Cottage cheese -  Egg whites - Egg yolks - Garlic - Mayonnaise - Oranges - Pumpkins - Ricotta cheese - Romaine lettuce - Scallions - Sour cream - Tahini - Tomato paste

Photograph: Auctioneer Kirk Williams calls out to costumers during a grocery auction in Dallas, Pa., earlier this month. As consumers seek relief from the recession and spiraling food prices, grocery auctions are gaining in popularity as an easy way to cut costs. (Matt Rourke / The Associated Press)