First day of the Farmer's Market and CSA pickings!

Today was the first day of this year's farmers market.  My friend BW and I look forward to this every week and really miss it when it closes.  We make a morning of it by arriving at the market about 7:30am, shopping and then having a slow breakfast afterwards.  It's a day of new choices as we try to select something new from the market and we like to find new breakfast places each week.

This year BW and I decided to split a CSA membership.  I had purchased a membership last year for $200 and ended up donating $100 to a local orphanage and then letting BW pick up some produce and still ended up with money left over.  This year we've split it and I'm determined to eat all of my share!!

Today I picked up the following (items I've never tried before are marked as new):

1. Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard (new)
2. Pea Shoots (new)
3. Baby Lettuce
4. Carrots
5. Green Onions
6. Snap Pea Leaves (new)
7. Cilantro
8. Peppered Bacon
9. Ham Slices
10. Nice salad mix of arugula, sliced green onions, sliced kumquats, walnuts, blanched almonds, sliced pears and strawberries with a cream cheese pepper filling (new)

I decided to eat the salad mix with a grilled chicken breast for lunch.  It was absolutely delicious!  I'm so glad I picked this up.  The peppered cream cheese filling the strawberries though very sharp was balanced by the sweetness of the pears and the strawberries.  The sliced kumquats were bittersweet and gave the entire salad a nice sharpness.  I cooked two chicken breasts and the salad mix will definitely make another salad and I think I have lunch for Monday now!  One less meal to eat out!

Chinese Sweet Chicken Thighs

I had some chicken thighs in the refrigerator that I needed to cook.  I wanted to do something different and had some sweet pepper and jalapeno jam in the pantry and thought it would be good on the chicken.  After baking the chicken in the jam I thought it was too sweet so I decided to use some spicy chinese mustard.  The mustard added just the right touch.

Chinese Sweet Chicken Thighs
(serves 3)
printable recipe

Ingredients:
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
4 tablespoons sweet pepper and jalapeno jam
4 teaspoons lime juice
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons spicy chinese mustard

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°.  Mix the jam and the lime juice together.  Place the thighs in a small casserole dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and spread with the jam mixture.

2.  Bake until nearly done and spread with the mustard.

3.  Place back in the oven and continue baking until the mustard has formed a sticky glaze.

Italian Beef

I was looking for a good sandwich recipe to go with the Crack and Cheese (post to come) I made for Dave a friend who had outpatient shoulder surgery on Friday and so I went to Tasty Kitchen and found this recipe for Beef Pepperoncini.  It was fabulous!!  I did make some changes and the changes are what I have listed here.  I was going to take a picture of the sandwich itself but my husband was so hungry when he got in there wasn't time.

Italian Beef
(serves 4)
printable recipe

Ingredients:
1-1/2 to 2 lb sirloin steaks
2 tablespoons minced garlic
salt and pepper
8 oz jar of pepperoncinis
sliced cheese of choice
4 italian buns

Directions:

1.  Put the two steaks side by side (some overlap is okay) in a 9x9 baking dish.

2.  Salt and Pepper the tops and pour the juice from the pepperoncinis over the top.

3.  Place 1 tablespoon of minced garlic on each steak and rub in.

4.  Slice the pepperoncinis into rings excluding the stems and sprinkle over the tops of the steaks.

5.  Cover with foil and bake at 350° for two hours or until you can easily shred with two forks.

6.  Shred the steaks in the pan you baked them in, mixing the juice and pepperoncinis with the beef.

7.  Slice and toast the italian buns.

8.  Place sliced cheese on the top bun and the beef mixture on the bottom bun.  Don't be shy pile it on!

9.  Wrap the sandwich in foil and place back into the oven long enough for the cheese to melt and to reheat the meat.  Serve.