The last year I have been obsessing over farm fresh produce. It all started last summer when stopping by Witte’s Vegetable Farm in Cedarburg, WI. Everything tastes WAY better then when buying from the grocery store and lasts WAY longer! You also get the added bonus of supporting local businesses and growers. So, when the Farmer’s Market Season started, I hit the ground running! I wanted to incorporate as much seasonal produce as I could, while trying out new recipes.
Here’s what I’ve tried this spring:
Asparagus:
When the asparagus was ready for purchase at Witte’s I begged my husband to stop on his way home from work. We had it roasted on it’s own and roasted on a lemon & mushroom pasta. But my favorite thing we did was eat it on Pizza! We usually have homemade pizza at least once a week because it’s an easy thing to throw together during the week, and also because…PIZZA (yum). I used this recipe and it greatly exceeded my expectations! We have made it at least 4 times since.
Some fun things we had added/changed are:
● Sprinkling the ricotta cheese with salt, pepper & oregano. In addition to the
crushed red pepper.
● Adding prosciutto!
● Adding other seasonal vegetables including: Spring Onions & Mushrooms
● Also we used store bought crust because ain’t nobody got time to make pizza
crust during the week!
Radishes:
Up until recently, I thought I HATED radishes. My husband made me try one recently and shockingly my tastes have changed since the last time I had a radish. (Probably around 8 years old, haha). And then, I watched a rerun of Anthony Bourdain and watched him gushing over the simple French tradition of
Radish Sandwiches on an episode of No Reservation in Provence. I thought I’d bring my fantasy of summering in the French countryside to reality by making some at home. I recently enjoyed a Saturday morning with my mom at the Waukesha Farmer’s Market. When I saw radishes I scooped them up along with some baguettes.
Turns out: crusty baguette + a healthy spread of butter + salted radishes = amazing!
I think this is something we’ll continue to eat as radishes are in season! It was a great light lunch on the weekend.
The other thing I tried with radishes, totally on a whim, was pesto using radish greens. I was just going to throw the greens down the garbage disposal, so I figured why not try it. I didn’t have high expectations at all. I was wrong in assuming that it would be overpoweringly bitter. I WAS WRONG! It was savory, peppery and delicious. I have been eating it everyday for lunch on my sandwich (see below). I used this recipe with just one exception. I used walnuts instead of almonds because I thought it would elevate it.
…just kidding that’s all I had in the house! haha
Scallions & Chives:
Scallions and chives are some of the other fresh veggies that are in season in Wisconsin right now. I made scallion and chive cream cheese to go with a Bagel Sandwich, which I’ve have been eating everyday for lunch. It’s really good and super easy to throw together. Here’s what I did:
- Spread Scallion & Chive cream cheese on an Everything Bagel. Admittedly, I used store bought bagels because…well because…LAZY. A fresh bagel would be so amazing though. If you’re in the Milwaukee area Ruby’s Bagels would be my go to. And if I ever make this again I will for sure used one of their delicious bagels.
- Layer on some arugula. Or whatever greens you want.
- Then add lunchmeat of your choice. I used honey turkey.
- Plop on a spread of Radish Green Pesto.
- Top with a tomato
Eggs, Eggs, Eggs!:
I am not a breakfast eater. But in an attempt to eat a more balanced healthy diet,
and have more energy, I have been making myself eat breakfast every day. I had
been eating avocado toast every morning, which I find to be a quick, healthy, and
filling breakfast. (And what kind of millennial would I be without splurging on
daily avocado toast!?) Then two things serendipitously happened:
- I keep seeing Soft Boiled eggs EVERYWHERE on my Instagram feed.
- My new co-worker happens to own Bon Vie Farm, a small production farm that, you guessed it, raises chickens!
The stars aligned to add a delicious jammy soft boiled egg to top the avocado toast!
Seriously, almost too pretty to eat eggs from Bon Vie Farm!
I was also so kindly gifted duck eggs from my co-worker. Something I had never tried before. I was excited to experiment! I made two things that were both great!
Duck Egg Brownies: I made a pan for my Mom and Mother in Law for a Mother’s Day gift. But here’s the thing: I SUCK AT BAKING. Precision? Attention to detail? Not my strong suits. And in true Steph style in forgot to add flour and had to try to salvage. They weren’t pretty but tasty pretty damn good even though I really screwed them up.
Curried Deviled Duck Eggs: Deviled eggs are HUGE in my family. We had them for almost all holidays and family get togethers. My beloved Papa was known to eat nearly a whole tray in a sitting. Funnily, my husband also was the designated deviled egg maker for parties with his family. So when I stumbled across a recipe for deviled duck eggs I knew I had to try. One plus is duck eggs are bigger than chicken eggs so more bang for your buck! They turned out great and I would definitely try them again and experiment with different flavors. One adjustment on the recipe: I used regular mayo vs. the paleo mayonnaise it calls for. Additionally, I used Smoked Sweet Paprika from The Spice House. When I make deviled eggs again (Duck or not) this will be a necessity!
That’s all for spring farmer’s market finds! Hope to try more throgh out spring and summer!
Trek with Steph 