U St Farmers’ Market: This Saturday’s Offerings

The Farmers’ Market at 14th and U Streets NW opened for the season a couple of weeks ago. Hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. From the Logan Circle News on Yahoo! Groups listserv, here is a review of some of the produce that will be available tomorrow at the market:

New this week:

• Red beets and goat cheese ravioli at Copper Pot
• Strawberries
• Beets at Garner
• Cai Gan (Chinese Broccoli Raab!)
• Braising Mix
• baby hakurei turnips
• Panorama’s NEW traditional French Baguette wasn’t

Vendors:

• Stefano Frigerio’s Copper Pot: rabbit ravioli, prosciutto tortellini, spinach and ricotta ravioli, sausage and sage ravioli, pappardelle, linguini, spaghetti, cavatelli, gnocchi, tomato sauce, bacon and parmesan sauce, roasted shallots and barolo sauce strawberry and vanilla jam, apple, blackberry and ginger, peach and prosecco, figs and balsamic. Here is what one happy customer wrote: ” I prepared the (rabbit) ravioli exactly as you suggested, six minutes in boiling water, with a sage butter sauce. It might have been the best ravioli we have ever had, even in Italy”

• Mountain View: They are wonderful growers Organic but not certified, their greens last at least a week. They bring unusual varieties.  Stinging Nettles one week, watercress another. (I love that green pureed watercress soup.) This week they have Chinese Broccoli Raab, Cai Gan. And salad greens, collard greens, kale, Swiss Chard, Mustard bunches, braising mix, beets with greens, Hakurei — and plant starts for your own garden. I grew amazing Okra from one of their plants last year. The Haukurei turnips are so tender than I often just cut them into salad. But you can braise them with their greens in a little oil or butter.  It is quick and very yummy. They are raising goats now and thinking about making goat milk soap….

• Garner: Bernard’s Northern Neck location puts him ahead in the strawberry race. (Yes, all the producers want to bring the first strawberries to market!) He has more Chandler Strawberries for you this week plus bright lights Swiss Chard, red, green and romaine lettuces, spring onions, and lots of baby plants for you to grow in your own gardens: basil, cilantro, parsley, dill, chives, oregano, chocolate mint, mint, tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplant, cukes, and lots of flowers and flowering baskets and containers. Lettuce and herb gardens as well. Grilled Asparagus and strawberries make a great salad, sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and Keswick feta cheese.

• Keswick: Melanie sends “scratch cheeses” every week. Drafts of new cheeses, works in progresses. Try them at the stand along with her silky blue cheese (Blue Suede Moo, her aged raw milk cheeses, her fetas, German style quark and Stefano’s favorite ricotta (he uses it in his stuffed raviolis). Did you knowyou could make Greek- style yogurt by just draining a quart of Keswick yogurt for a few hours. And her pudding is a delight for kids and the kids in all of us.

• Faucher Meadow’s flower of the week: Agrostemma (common name corn cockle) – it is a very delicate and charming, old- fashion flower with good vase life, ox-eye daisies, Dutch Iris.

• McCleaf: rhubarb,asparagus, canned peaches, apple butter, and a surprisingly wide variety of apples: Cameo, Golden Delicious, Rome, Empire and Granny Smith apples.  Spring onions, lettuce, kale and rhubarb to bake with strawberries… cobblers and tarts.

• Kuhn: lots of really crisp and juicy Goldrush, Fuji and Pink Lady apples, Asian pears, excellent asparagus, honey, rhubarb to make more rhubarb-strawberry cobblers. Canned peaches.

• Truck Patch: lots of asparagus. So, make some soup and freeze it for later in the year when you are craving asparagus and there is NO MORE. Green bore kale, arugula, spring mix, lettuce, red chard, chives, garlic chives, tarragon, mint. Black Angus grass fed beef, pastured pork products. Bacon.

• Pecan Meadow: EGGS from chickens, goose and mallard duck. Duck eggs have a bigger yolk than chicken eggs and a richer flavor. A lot of bakers prefer them… 100% Grass-fed -and-finished T-bones, porterhouse, sirloin,  New York Strip, fillet, and flank steaks. Sirloin tip, eye round, London broil, arm, chuck, rump, round roasts.  Sausage, ground beef,  patties, sandwich steak, shin bones, stewing cubes and liver.  Lois’ traditional baking: pumpkin whoopie pe, pumpkin bread, pecan pie, shoe fly pie, oatmeal pie and rhubarb pie this week.

• Panorama: Loic wants to recreate a true traditional French baguette. He is using a lower and longer proofing time than his regular baguette — and a different recipe. Come try it. He is very excited about it. We will have lots of samples at the stand. Plus my favorite Pumpernickel which I love with smoked salmon or turkey or cheese, those addictive 9 grain dinner roles with Toasted Sunflower Seeds, the famous rustiques, whole wheat with oat, rye, delis, breakfast challah, sourdoughs, multigrain loaves and many breakfast breads! And don’t forget the olive oil buns for tunafish sandwiches. Is there a bread you want Loic to bake? Let us know and we’ll tell him.

• Dolcezza: Made with local milk and cream, their gelati are superb. Valrhona Chocolate Amargo, Pistaccho di Bronte, Thai Coconut Milk, Meyer Lemon Mascarpone, Lemon Ricotta Cardamom, Mexican Coffees. Of course, a little Avocado Honey Orange might go well with a rhubarb crisp… The Strawberry Pernod would work even better, perhaps with that rhubarb. Sicilian blood orange, Mojito, Champagne Mango, Red Grape.  These could be interesting palate cleansers between courses this weekend…