Greetings! We hope that you’ll join us for our next delicious Pathfinder Produce market at the Village Commons this Thursday, June 28, at 1 p.m. Our online ordering is available to customers (pick-up locations are in Edmeston and Morris on Thursdays), and we’ve got all the makings for your summertime fruit and veggie favorites.
Next week our schedule changes just a bit due to the Independence Day holiday … the online markets will be open from this Friday through Tuesday, July 3rd at noon, and our market will be open as usual on Thursday, July 5th. Another calendar item is the startup of our annual Summer Concert Series at the Pavilion … these free concerts are a highlight of the season. (The Summer Concert Series is a Decentralization Program. These programs are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, which is administered by the Chenango County Council of the Arts, with support from Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The series is also made possible with funds from private donors, Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match Program, and WGY’s Christmas Wish).
In this week’s blog, my colleague Martha Spiegel reflects on salad season and offers some of her favorite garden combos.
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I eat salad almost every day for lunch. I love a nice crisp green salad. I do not, however, care for most of the typical add-ins—tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, radishes. When I was a kid, my idea of a perfect salad was a bowl of iceberg lettuce, with maybe some shredded carrots. Oh, and gobs of bleu cheese dressing.
As an adult, I have grown to appreciate a more varied, nutritious, and calorie-friendly salad. First, I start out with some darker greens (there are so many, but that’s another blog for another day). In the colder months I usually just top my salad with some black beans, chickpeas, or turkey to get some protein. However, in the summer months, I love to experiment with fresh items. Here are some of my latest favorites:
Salad turnips: Salad or Hakurei turnips look like white radishes. They are also similar in taste, but much, much milder. I slice them thinly or cut into small sticks.
Raw broccoli or cauliflower: Break them down into small flowerets. You can peel broccoli stems and chop the tender insides as well.
Kohlrabi: This root vegetable looks like it came from outer space, with sprouts sticking out everywhere, although those are usually trimmed before marketing. The tough skins are green or purple, but inside they are white, resembling a potato. I chop them small and throw them in. The flavor is like an intense cabbage, and in fact, they make an excellent addition to a slaw. My foodie grandson, Jack, asked for me to cut one into sticks; he loved the first one, but when he went for another it was a bit much for him.
Bok choy: I have tried several ways to cook bok choy, but I have found that, like many vegetables, I prefer it raw. I chop the stalks like I would celery. The flavor is cool and mild, so it provides a nice balance for some of the more intense flavors.
Salad dressing: I typically buy bottles of low-cal salad dressing just for convenience sake, but when my daughter comes to visit she spoils me with homemade. It’s actually very easy, and I should do it more myself! She starts with olive oil, and then adds some sort of acid—usually balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. Then she heads to the spice rack and starts grabbing bottles of what she thinks would go well together. She loves to experiment, and always comes up with something delicious.
Until next time, be adventurous and experience all the flavors!
Martha (and Lori)
