Every summer I anxiously wait for the new crop of garlic braids at the farmer’s market. The garlic has a nice strong flavor and it lasts in my basement for months. If you get a chance stop by the Meridian Farmer’s market on Saturday or Wednesday and visit the Stone Cloud Garden’s table. So far she has had two varieties of garlic braids and a shallot braid. She should have more varieties in the coming weeks.

There are a couple of reasons why l like to buy my garlic at the farmer’s market. First of all, I really like the idea of buying from local producers. Ken and I are even thinking about purchasing our meats from a local/Michigan farm that produces grass-fed beef (no hormones etc.).

Another reason is that -well it just tastes better. Furthermore, I don’t have to cut out the bitter green shoot until around winter time. (Usually garlic that is sold in the market has been around so long that it already has that green shoot growing out the top of the clove.)

Finally, every time I go to the market Marjie, the owner of Stone Cloud Gardens, is always willing to talk to customers about her passion for growing food. She even takes pictures of markets from around the world. If you are interested she sells homemade soap as well ( I have the tea-tree soap and love it.).

If you know of any local farm that sells grass fed, hormone free beef– please let us know.

My mom made these burgers the other day–they were yummy. I think I need a coined phrase it seems to be required to make it in the culinary arts. You know– Ramsay has Done! Rachel Ray (sorry Ken) has Delish! Everything that sticks seems to boil down to a sound byte.

Anyway, I would highly recommend these burgers. The recipe came from the April 2007 issue of Bon Appetit. This week she is going to try to make them ahead and freeze them. This also means that I should have some pictures!

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 green onions, coarsely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 lemongrass stalk (bottom 4 inches only), sliced
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 3 cups quartered button mushrooms (about 8 ounces)
• 1½ pounds ground pork
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 6 hamburger buns
• 3 cups shredded Napa cabbage

Directions:

Whisk mayonnaise and lime juice in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; chill.. Puree green onions and next 3 ingredients in processor until smooth. Add mushrooms; process until finely chopped. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in pork and next 3 ingredients. Divide into 6 equal patties.
Grill or heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Fry burgers until brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Spread 1 tablespoon lime mayonnaise on bottom of each bun. Place burger atop mayonnaise. Add cabbage to remaining mayonnaise in bowl; toss to coat. Top burgers with cabbage mixture, dividing equally. Place bun tops on cabbage.

This is our version of the recipe in Jamie Oliver’s book The Naked Chef.

Ingredients:

• whole fish (we bought 2 whole trouts for 4 people)
• fresh herbs (we used fennel, basil, dill, and parsley)
• lemon
• Course Sea Salt 2 1/2 lbs for two fish(We originally bought it at Meijers but even though it said course it was fine. We ended up buying it from Krogers)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Stuff the fish with the frese herbs and top with slices of lemon. Make sure that there are enough herbs to in the belly of the fish (bulging!) so that the salt cannot get in. Lay baking foil over a baking tray where your fish. Sprinkle at least ¾ inches of coarse salt on the bottom of the tray. Lay your whole stuffed fish on the bed of salt. Sprinkle another ¾ inch of salt on top of the fish. Curl up the excess foil at the sides so that it forms a bowl around your fish. Make sure that there is salt on the sides of the fish too. Drizzle a little water on top of the salt to help make a crust. Cook for 10 minutes for each pound of fish. After baking, allow to rest for 15 minutes. Gently break and remove the salt. Make sure not to pierce the skin of the fish. Transfer to another plate and wipe off excess salt

An article in the New York Times on Feb. 27th mentioned that there has been an alarming reduction of bees. Now for all you cooks out there– especially if you make a lot of A.G.’s granola crack -this is truly cause for alarm. Oh and there is something else to worry about …

“A Cornell University study has estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, mostly fruits, vegetables and nuts. “Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation.”

Well I think I know where they all went. We have a flowering tree in our backyard that was absolutely swarming with bees.

Just in case you don’t believe me- Ken our resident documentary filmmaker captured this wondrous event.

Last weekend during our dinner with our new neighbors S.S. brought over Mini Chocolate Lava Cakes. I just reheated the leftover (couldn’t believe there was one leftover by the way) lava cake and -well- it was still absolutely, sinfully, delicious. The recipe comes from the Feb. 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times.

The website for the magazine also emphasized freezing the batter before baking to make sure the inside is extra gooey

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 3 lg eggs
• ¼ c. sugar
• 1 ½ tbs. flour

Directions:

1. Coat 6 6oz ramekins with oil or butter.
2. Melt chocolate and butter in dbl boiler stirring often
3. Beat eggs and sugar with elec mixer until thick and pale yellow about 3 min. Fold in choc. Mixture and sprinkle in flour. Whisk to blend. Divide among prepared ramekins and cover. Freeze min. of 6 hours or overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 400. Bake 15 min or until puffed and set around edges. Let stand 1 minute. Serve in ramekins or run sharp knife around edges and invert onto dessert plate. Serve hot with good ice-cream.

For a twist to the recipe you could serve it with raspberries.

If you want to see just how delicious they are you might want to check out this picture on Flickr by desertculinary. (Even though she added a Ancho chili powder -they still looked the same.)

Mine is definitely nam pla. It is true- it smells like– well imagine a very foul smell. Still I absolutely love the salty flavor it adds to food. You can find it in your local market that specializes in Asian foods. You can also buy it at World Market or your local grocery store– however, they don’t sell the economy size ;-). Although my bottle (see image below) says squid- this sauce is made from anchovies.

What is your indispensable ingredient?

Mark Bittman is my hero. He consistently produces recipes with loads of flavor that can be made by anyone who has a tight schedule. This recipe came from his book The Best Recipes in the World.

We made this dish and served it with steamed beans and rice. This worked out really well because I was able to cut up the beans and mix them with the leftover chicken and rice. So not only did we have an excellent meal but we also had tasty leftovers for lunch.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter, preferably chunky (We didn’t use chunky and it was still excellent)
• 1 Tbl. of curry powder
• 1/2 c. coconut milk (We used lite and it was still great)
• 2 Tbl. of nam pla sauce (This is my personal indispensable ingredient)
• 1 Tbl. of fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 lbs. of chicken thighs -boneless and skinless
• 1 lime in wedges
• chopped cilantro for garnish (This isn’t just a garnish– it really added a lot to the taste)

Directions:

Start a charcoal or gas grill or preheat the broiler; the fire should be only moderately hot, and the rack should be at least 4 inches from the heat source. (We used the broiler and it turned out very well. I am not sure if I would like this as much on the grill.) Place the peanut butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the curry paste and enough coconut milk to achieve a creamy, stirrable consistency. Cook over low heat, whisking, for about 5 minutes, careful not to let mixture boil. Stir in the nam pla and lime juice.

Marinate the chicken in it for 5 minutes or up to an hour. Grill or broil slowly, until nicely browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. (We just placed these on a broiling pan, tucking the ends under each other to make sure the density was consistent so some parts didn’t get over done.) Garnish with cilantro. (Serve the lime wedges on the side as an option.) Serve immediately.

This past Saturday we had a wonderful meal with our new neighbors. Everyone brought a dish to pass. Every single dish was delicious. We made Black Bean Cakes from the August 2004 issue of Bon Appetit. The great thing about this recipe is that it can be an appetizer or main dish.

Ingredients:

• 3 15 oz. cans of black beans
• 2 large eggs
• 3 c. toasted fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless french bread, divided
• 1 c. chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 c. chopped green onions (about 4– it took 6 for me)
• 2 large garlic cloves minced
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (go easy on this if you don’t want the cakes spicy)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

• 4 Tbl. vegetable oil
• Purchased salsa
• sour cream
• avacado slices

Directions: Puree 2 cups of black beans with eggs in processor until smooth. Transfer to large bowl. Stir in remaining beans, 1 1/4c. breadcrumbs, and next 10 ingredients. Shape mixture into ten 1/2 inch-thick-patties, using about 1/2 c. mixture for each. Transfer patties to baking sheet. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover and Chill)

Coat black bean cakes on both sides with remaining breadcrumbs. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in each of 2 heavy large skillets over medium heat. (We used one big pan but I think you have to be careful to brown the bottoms but also cook long enough to warm it through.) Add 5 cakes to each skillet; cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plates. Serve topped with salsa, sour cream, and avocado slices.

Now that we own a house everything seems to be put into perspective…. well sorta…

The other day we bought a $250 Le Creuset Dutch oven pot from Williams and Sonoma. (Thanks to a gift card from our realtor.) By the way whoever thought up the Williams and Sonoma gift card … genius. I always spend twice the amount on the gift card.

Now that I have a pot that costs more than the lawn mower I don’t have… I am feeling the pressure to use it. Well– my quest has ended and once again Mark Bittman has come to the rescue.

Cooking Tip: The handle for the lid is not supposed to go into an oven hotter than 450. To solve this problem we took off the handle and put the screw through the top of the lid.

Check out the video below and his recipe for no knead bread (You just need to register with the NY Times- it is free).

You can also watch him make the bread online with this YouTube video.

My husband once said that it is impossible to find a meal that is fast, cheap, and tastes great. You can find a meal that is any of those two things but never all three. So far I might have to agree.

Although we are making progress.

The other day I was craving Pad Woon Sen but I didn’t have time to chop up all of the vegetables. So I went off to the grocery store to see what I could find in terms of fast meals.  As it turned out I was able to make my Pad Woon Sen by amending my recipe a bit and relaxing on the organic vegetables.  I bought chopped vegetables for salsa (red and green pepper, celery, and onion), mushrooms (I would have bought sliced if they had them), tofu, garlic and noodles. I was able to make my favorite dish in seconds. (I had the fish sauce at home.) It tasted just as good as the regular recipe. (The only thing that was obviously lacking was the cilantro.)

I would definitely do this again.

P.S.

At some point I am going to post some recipes from my mom…  She is always able to whip up fabulous recipes in no time.