Let it be said that I have a weakness for Farmers Markets. Ok, its not really a weakness as much as an absolute addiction. It is my heroin. In fact, if I saw a Farmers Market on the street corner, I would allow it to take me by the hand, lead me down a dark alley and have its way with me. I just can’t help myself! The colors of all the fresh produce, all locally grown, the people selling fresh eggs, homemade pies and breads, different flavored honeys, fresh, local, organic meats, buckets of spices just waiting to be smelled. I just have to dive right in and spend every cent I happen to have on my pockets. It matters not if I have the ability to eat everything that I buy, and more often than not I always overbuy. I can’t help it. I try and restrain myself, but I get jittery and crabby and wake up at 3 am the next morning beating myself up because I didn’t buy that sweet corn.
What really makes my day are days like today – being able to spend hours perusing the different vendor stands, sampling fruits, vegetables and jams, and coming home with the makings for a great meal. Today I scored some fantastic sweet corn, lovely cherry tomatoes, zucchini, baby red potatoes, homemade bread, and fresh bison steak. Yeah! In case you were wondering, I marinated the bison steak with a little bit of olive oil, a macerated and minced garlic clove, some sea salt, and some freshly ground pepper for about 2o minutes before plopping it on the grill for 4 minutes on each side. For the sweet corn, I shucked it and smeared it with butter, and then put that on the grill as well.
And it was lovely.
Zucchini Trifolati with Cherry Tomatoes & Basil
1 zucchini
5 ounces cherry tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
Small handful of fresh chopped basil (you really do want to use fresh here)
A really good Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Black Pepper
Cut the zucchini into cubes, about 1/2″ thick.
Squeeze the cherry tomatoes to drain of their juices. Try and get all the juices you can out. Go ahead and throw away the juice, you don’t need it.
In a large saute pan over high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
When the oil is hot, saute the zucchini.
When the zucchini is just starting to brown, add the garlic.
When the zucchini has browned well, add in the cherry tomatoes and season with the salt and pepper.
Cook this for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mix in the basil and pour a little of the really good olive oil in.
Cover and remove from heat. Let this sit for 10 minutes before eating.
Jenni lives in Des Moines, Iowa with her amazing husband, two girls, two dogs who think they are children, and a feisty cat. She is the creator of The Gingered Whisk, a recipe blog dedicated to finding easy, healthy-ish, and tasty weeknight meals that kids and adults alike will love. She is super passionate about helping every member of a family learn to love great food. When not cooking, eating, or thinking about food, she is often hiking around area parks, creating intricate legos castles with her girls, watching nerdy tv with her husband, or curled up in a corner somewhere reading a good book.
Let it be said that I have a weakness for Farmers Markets. Ok, its not really a weakness as much as an absolute addiction. It is my heroin. In fact, if I saw a Farmers Market on the street corner, I would allow it to take me by the hand, lead me down a dark alley and have its way with me. I just can’t help myself! The colors of all the fresh produce, all locally grown, the people selling fresh eggs, homemade pies and breads, different flavored honeys, fresh, local, organic meats, buckets of spices just waiting to be smelled. I just have to dive right in and spend every cent I happen to have on my pockets. It matters not if I have the ability to eat everything that I buy, and more often than not I always overbuy. I can’t help it. I try and restrain myself, but I get jittery and crabby and wake up at 3 am the next morning beating myself up because I didn’t buy that sweet corn.
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