Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Farmers Market Goodies

Farmers market is starting to have an abundance of spring veggies and fruits.  Also beautiful flowers!  I can't help myself, I just can't pass up the gerbera daisies, so many colors to choose from!  What are some of the things you can't pass up at the Farmers Market
and more....
Fava beans anyone?  My goal is to try things I've never tried before and the fava bean is one of them.
With all of the recipes I've seen using fava beans I decided to grill them. First I washed, dried and put them in a bowl.  I drizzled some olive oil, coarse salt, pepper, cilantro and a squeeze of lemon.  It doesn't take long to grill them about 6 or 7 minutes, flipping them once as they grill..  What was the verdict on tasting the finished product?  Not bad, not my favorite, but not bad.  They remind me of lima beans, which I don't like and never have, but better.  I don't know if I'll buy them again but I would eat them if someone had them.
Butter Romaine lettuce that looks like a flower when I opened it to drain the water out.  This has such a nice flavor.
Pea shoots and dried garbanzo beans are also finds at the market.
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Chopped up romaine, tomatoes, green onion, bok choy, garbanzos, pea shoots with ginger miso dressing drizzled on top! 

More goodness to come!

15 comments:

  1. I'm confused... I was convinced that fava beans and lima beans were the same thing. Fava is the name that tends to be given to the dried beans though, isn't it? (Thankfully in Australia, we generally just give them the generic title of "broad beans", so I don't really have to think about it, hehe!)
    :)

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  2. Our local farmer's market just opened for the season, and I can't wait to go and stock up on veggies. I like your idea of trying stuff I haven't before. The organic farmers tend to have stuff I may have not tried before, so I think I'm going to go for it too. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  3. Megan-It does seem pretty confusing. The fava bean or broad bean is actually from the pea family. The lima bean is also called the butter bean(which I never knew) but there are different types of lima beans.

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  4. That lettuce looks so damn good! Wow!

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  5. Yes, fava beans are a bit of a pain, but so delicious... Even buying them frozen, you need to peel off the outer skins. I do think it's ultimately worth it though... Just not everyday of the week. ;)

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  6. Our farmers' market doesn't start until June...I can't wait. That head of butter romaine is gorgeous! And the resulting salad is making me hungry...love the sound of miso-ginger dressing.

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  7. Rose & HayMarket8- the lettuce is so good and I so just wanted to drizzle dressing all over it and start crunching down on it. Oh maybe next time! lol!

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  8. Oh gosh, so envious! It's turning to winter down here... fresh farmer's market greenery and flowery (that's so not a word in that context :P) are lightyears away!

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  9. i love that everything from your farmer's market looks absolutely lovely, JoLynn! gerbera daisies are my favorite flower (peonies and carnations come in second) and your ginger miso dressing sounds delightful. i wish i could find pea shoots at our market. there's a vendor who sells microgreens - perhaps i can convince him to grow pea shoots. one can try, right?! i can't say i've had fava bean before either, but being a butter bean/lima bean fan i'm gonna try them out, fo 'sho!

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  10. Your vegan blog is very, very beautiful. Thank you so much for your posts!

    Grace

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  11. I've been getting strawberries, lots and lots of strawberries! Now I'm thinking some of that butter romaine would go great with strawberries in a salad. :-)

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  12. Yum! peashoots are my favourite, as are farmer's markets though I think I may have a few more weeks before my favourite one opens.

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  13. We have been getting fava beans in our CSA. I blanch them quickly and peel them and just eat the pod inside. I sauteed them really quickly in a tiny bit of olive oil throw in some fresh herbs and crushed garlic- bit of salt and pepper. I served them with pasta. I have also added tomatoes and red onion. I had never cooked with them until about a month ago. You could make hummus or falafel if you get enough of them. Bon apetite!

    I am loving the stone fruit that is showing up. Loving the cherries!

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  14. Broad beans! I was gifted 2kg of them from a neighbour's garden last month & wasn't sure what to do with them. I boiled them for 5 mintues, then off with the skins - and I served them with pasta (with sautéed mushrooms, parsley & cashews)? It was really good! I'm going to plant some next year - I'm sure of it!

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  15. Lovely! I used to work in a greenhouse that raised gerberas- they're one of my favorite flowers!

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