This Week at Smart Markets Oakton Farmers' Market

This Week at Our Oakton Market
Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Hosted by Unity of Fairfax Church
2854 Hunter Mill Rd.
Oakton, VA 22124
Map

Thank you for stepping up to welcome Jonita Green with Three Peas in a Pod Cupcakery last week. She had such a successful day and such a good time that she will join us for the rest of the season. Part of the arrangement is that Kylie will be taking her Pop Shop to our Springfield market on Saturdays. She feels that since she grew up in that area, she can do well and help the market with her contacts. So this will work out for everyone.

Ignacio is bringing lovely produce now, including these cauliflowers. He should have the first cherry tomatoes of the season this week, too.

For kitchen adventurists out there, here is a recipe for Pimento Cheese–Stuffed Squash Blossoms. Heritage Farm is bringing half chickens, and they have plenty of wings too. Start planning ahead for the long 4th of July weekend, and we will have lots of new recipes for grilling their meats, including chicken thighs and lamb-sausage “grillers.” We encourage you to try something new and local this year! Doug will have the best burger meat you can buy, and while the pre-made burgers are great for cooking for a crowd, you can learn how to form your own and take charge of the grill and the picnic. We will have tips about how to do that at the Smart Markets tent.

Max Tyson is keeping his fingers and lots of other body parts crossed, and we join him, in hoping for something less than a major storm with hail this week that might wipe out his peach crop. He is only about 10 days from picking the first of the season. He is still bringing strawberries (if they survive the weather) and cherries, which sold out fast at Reston Wednesday. Heritage Farm also sold out of strawberries and rhubarb fast. We have several recipes for combining the two and a great recipe for rhubarb BBQ sauce. HF&K also is bringing green and yellow wax beans, baby kale, spinach, a nice selection of cut herbs, and much more — I can’t keep up with what’s coming out of their gardens.

I don’t know yet what Three Peas in a Pod Cupcakery will be bringing, but check our Facebook page if you need to know in advance. Celtic Pasties will not be with us this week but will be back next week. Also on vacation is the Kettle Corn Guy, and Taste of Local is off but will return next week too.

Whim Pops will be on hand with a precious Father’s Day craft. Their insulated bags are a steal — only $3, or less with a purchase of Whim Pops. Adding your frozen meat to the bag with the pops or ice cream will keep it all frozen for several hours.

Valley View continues to surprise. They will be bringing new items throughout the summer, so make sure to do a thorough sweep of the tables. We miss Becky, who has been dealing with a health issue, but the guys have been filling in nicely.

Fat and Happy will be with us, so come and enjoy the BBQ to eat on site or take home for lunch or dinner. You can preorder by calling (703) 880-5598 if you are serving a crowd.

Enjoy this lovely weekend! See you at the market!

Jean

From the Market Master

In the last few weeks, I have been asked questions at the market that reminded me that we have curious and creative shoppers who really do want to try something new each week, as I often advocate. You might like to hear the answers to some of those questions and also benefit from some of the kitchen wisdom floating around out there.

First of all, you can eat greens. Not just the greens that are sold to be eaten, but the greens on the tops of radishes, beets, and turnips. In fact, it is only at farmers’ markets where you can find tops that are fresh enough to eat. Sometimes the root veggies in the grocery store are so old and look so bad that that they have been removed.

I have found that kohlrabi greens are usually too big and tough to be palatable, but beet greens are great sauteed in a little butter and oil and then added to the beets themselves that you have roasted or steamed. And radish greens can often be washed thoroughly, patted dry, and added to salads. For all the others — kale, mustard, turnip, and collard greens — you can start with ourGuide to Greens.

Second, don’t wash any produce, especially lettuces and berries, before storing them when you get home. It is always best to store first and wash later with one exception: If you are planning to use that lettuce within 24 hours or so, you may separate the leaves, wash them off carefully, and either dry in a spinner or pat dry with paper towels. Then roll up in a cotton or linen dishtowel before refrigerating. With soft leaf lettuces especially, this will help keep them crisp for a short while.

Lay the towel open and, starting at one end, make a single layer of leaves, then fold over and make the next layer on top of the first but on the new towel layer you have created with the fold. Keep doing that, and when you have completed rolling the towel, fold it over in the middle. You can then place it in a plastic bag, but do not seal the bag. This takes some time, but if you are planning to impress with a lovely summer salad, you will succeed with this method.

Lastly, I have a great way to preserve garlic and to have it available indefinitely to add to sauces, vinaigrettes, marinades, and mayonnaises. The garlic in the market is wonderfully mild and sweet at this time of year, and it is well worth your time to preserve it. I am lifting this recipe directly from my favorite cookbook, Not Afraid of Flavor by Ben and Karen Barker of the Magnolia Grill in Durham, N.C.

Roasted Garlic Puree

• 4 heads of garlic, separated into cloves, unpeeled (not elephant garlic)
• 2 bay leaves
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the garlic with the bay leaves in enough olive oil to coat thoroughly. Transfer to an ovenproof pan large enough to hold the garlic in one layer and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 30–45 minutes until the garlic is soft and aromatic. Cool slightly.

Pass the cloves through the fine blade of a food mill or press them through a strainer and then transfer the puree to a container. Cool completely, cover with a thin film of olive oil, and seal the container. Refrigerate until needed. This keeps indefinitely as long as it is covered by the thin film of oil.

I will try to do this occasionally throughout the year. There are so many kitchen tricks out there — Julia Child was famous for throwing them out during her early TV shows. And there are many good cookbooks written by chefs who have them buried in the recipes. I hope to share more from my own repertoire, and some that I will just try to find for you. Try them! You’ll like them!

Photo by Sarah Sertic