Hurricane Irene put an early (way too early) end to the Accidental Locavore’s farm boxes. Heavily supplied with winter squash and missing the last of the tomatoes, Paul and I decided to put an end to the boxes. I may be the only person disappointed by the lack of Brussels sprouts, but they too, met an early and watery end. If anyone has great ideas for crook-neck, butternut or any other winter squashes, let me know, I’ve got quite the collection (or will swap for some heirloom tomatoes).
So I was happy to find the Rockland, Maine farmers’ market loaded with a diverse selection of beautiful produce. As much as I don’t like beets, you had to stop and admire bunches of multicolored beets next to similarly colored carrots. There were still tomatoes, corn, some bokchoy, cauliflower and that veg from another planet, romansco.
My father made a beeline to the pork lady and we both bought “serious” ham-hocks. He’ll use his to make choucroute garni with local sauerkraut, while the Locavore will probably go for some split pea soup or to flavor a cassoulet (except that d’Artagnan makes such a good kit).
Further along the market was the Appleton Creamery. They make some great goat cheeses and even though the Locavore thought she would never eat again after some of the best eggs Benedict at Home Kitchen Café, I rallied enough to taste some of their delicious chevre. Amazing that you can always find room for cheese, isn’t it? I bought some of their award-winning feta, a wheel of chèvre rolled in herbs and Kaitlin gave me the last half of a terrific goat cheese rolled in lime-pepper. That made me wonder what rolling a disc of chèvre in Montreal Steak Seasoning would be like. A project for another day.
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