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It's June: Offerings are Fresh
June 3, 2009
It's June: Offerings are Fresh
Farmers' Markets
DENISE MILLER
For the Albuquerque Journal
Going green in early June is easy, if the green is on your plate.
You should find a cool selection of healthy and delicious salad mixes, kale, spinach, chard, tatsoi and other leafy delights front and center this month at your local growers' market.
Have you had an experience with kale or spinach that leaves you wondering if you want more? Buy smaller-leafed spinach or kale that is picked young and is sometimes referred to as baby. Each is significantly more tender than its largerleafed sibling.
Heat is another factor that can make spinach or kale tough and in need of cooking. So while the weather is still relatively cool -- especially if your favorite growers live in the East Mountains or north of Santa Fe -- enjoy these super greens raw in salads and get the full benefit of their antioxidants (beta carotene and lutein), vitamins A, B and C and minerals (calcium, potassium and iron).
While you ponder all things green, it's also a good time to remind your taste buds that the season for eating locally grown food in earnest is here once again.
This month most area growers' markets that were dormant over the winter are reopening, though some in our colder climes won't start until July.
Beats supermarket
Growers' markets are a destination -- and more. As you head for the door in your sandals, shorts and hat, remember there's probably a growers' market not far from where you live or work. You don't need a shopping list, just a canvas bag or market basket.
Maybe it's the Thursday afternoon market in shady Morningside Park in Nob Hill that's convenient to your home or office, or perhaps you wake up closer to one of the long-popular weekend markets in Los Ranchos or Corrales.
Are you an earlier riser who lives or works on the northeast side of Albuquerque? By the end of the month you can choose either Tuesdays or Saturdays at 7 a.m. to start your local shopping at the newly relocated ABQ Uptown Growers' Market.
The Downtown Albuquerque Growers' Market at Robinson Park is always a favorite for produce that shines as well as a great city park for watching the antics of humans and canines.
Whichever market or markets you decide to frequent, the more regularly you go, the easier it becomes to plan your weekly produce shopping around them.
If I run out of eggs or greens and know market is just a day or two away, I find it is usually worth the wait to get the fresher market goodies.
Also, because my schedule often forces me to keep market shopping down to one day a week, I do my best to buy enough to last the week. Even with greens, it isn't hard because everything seems to keep at least twice as long as its store-bought counterpart.
Take, for example, a recent trip to the Santa Fe Market when I stocked up on salad greens, arugula, kale and spinach -- only to get home and realize we were going out of town for three days. Whoops. I tightened up the plastic bags and came home to find everything just fine. Most of it lasted nearly another full week.
Take advantage of the fine weather in June and ease yourself back into the habit of shopping at your growers' market. If your market has music or special events, enjoy those too, along with family, friends and neighbors.
As the season progresses, you'll find the color and vibrancy of the markets intensify right along with the selection of produce -- this combination makes the markets a great destination.
And as you come to rely on your local market for much of your household's weekly fruit and vegetable supply, you'll see the market's magical transformation from mere destination to indispensable necessity happen right before your eyes.
SPINACH, TOFU AND SESAME STIR-FRY
Serves 3
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 package (14 ounces) tofu, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon grated or minced fresh ginger (or ½ teaspoon ground ginger)
¼ teaspoon red chile flakes
Soy sauce, to taste
½ pound (or 4 cups) smallleaf spinach, rinsed and if necessary de-stemmed
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Heat the canola oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet or wok, and add the tofu. Stir-fry until the tofu is lightly colored, about five minutes, and add the garlic, ginger and chile flakes.
Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute, and add soy sauce to taste. Add the spinach and stir-fry until the spinach wilts, about one minute. Stir in the sesame seeds, and add more soy sauce to taste. Remove from the heat.
Using tongs or flat-bottomed spatula, transfer the spinach and tofu mixture to a serving bowl, leaving the liquid behind in the pan or wok.
Drizzle the dish with the sesame oil, and add more soy sauce as desired. Serve with rice or other grains, or noodles. You also may use it as a filling for whole wheat pita bread.
Variation: Once cooked, finely chop the tofu and spinach and use as a filling for spring rolls or wontons.
-- Adapted from the New York Times
