Tag Archives: tomatoes

Farmers Market on Saturday, Whole Wheat Pancakes on Sunday

Dear Sunday mornings: I love you.

I’m excited to share the recipe for these whole wheat strawberry-banana pancakes, but first I want to tell you about Saturday.  Saturday mornings have quickly become my favorite time of the week.  Now that the sun is rising early (yay!) I wake up on my own around 5:45 am.  I grab a quick snack like a banana, make my bed, do a little quick cleaning up, and head out for a crisp 7 AM run at the trail.

After a solid 4-6 miles, I wipe of my face and start driving to Starbucks.  Usually the line is a bit long but it’s worth the wait.  ”Yes, hi!  I’ll have my double tall soy latte today please, Thank you!”  At about 9:00 am I arrive at Merchant’s Square, between the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg.  I grab my re-usable tote, my half-full latte and make my way through the crowd to the Farmers Market.  The market isn’t for everyone, it’s busy, people bring their dogs, there’s live music.  I feel right at home.  Here are my top 3 tips for making the best of a trip to the Farmers Market:

  1. Arrive Early – beat the crowd, get the good stuff!
  2. Be Friendly - get to know your venders, be a preferred customer
  3. Ask Questions – wondering where the strawberries are coming from? How to cook brocollini? What that funny looking vegetable is? Ask!
Here’s what I managed to bring home this weekend: Asparagus, spring onions, fresh spinach, 2 quarts of first-of-the-season strawberries, hydroponic tomatoes, and local eggs.
Anyway, all of this inspired me to make today’s breakfast: fried eggs, whole wheat pancakes topped with strawberries.  I’ve expirementd with whole wheat pancakes in the past, and these are my favorite so far.  Have at it!
Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes
recipe adapted from: No Fear Entertaining 
Dry Ingredients:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon (optional)
Wet Ingredients:
1 medium/small mashed banana
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
Directions:
In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.  In a medium bowl whisk together the wet ingredients.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients until just moist.  Cook on a griddle or non-stick frying pan.  Serve with sliced fresh strawberries, maple syrup, fried eggs, or whatever sounds great to you.
Don’t Forget: Mother’s Day is just around the corner :)

Goodbye Michigan

Since I last wrote about my experiments with spinach in a smoothie I have been keeping very busy!  I’d like to update you on some of the things I’ve been up to.  I’ve even got a killer recipe for you!

When I wrote about that green smoothie I was trying to use up some frozen spinach before my big move from Mount Pleasant, Michigan to Williamsburg, Virginia.  In the following weeks I continued to try to use up my food supply which resulted in some interesting meals.

I also picked up a free squash and some cucumbers from the break room at work.  I was pretty excited about that.  But not quite as excited as I was when I picked this…

Thats right, my tomato plant produced a tomato! Actually, it produced two tomatoes.  A while back I posted an update on how I had 3 small green tomatoes on the plant.  Well, things weren’t going so great.  I kept watering and watering that darn plant but the little green tomatoes stayed that way, very little and very green.

After about 3 weeks of this I just gave up.  I figured, we were moving soon and I would just toss the plant.  I didn’t want to bring it with me and couldn’t wait for the tomatoes to grow any bigger.    But the boyfriend Jacob didn’t like this idea and decided the tomato plant was now his.  He continued to water it everyday.

And of course, it worked.  The little green tomatoes turned into little red tomatoes.

The whole time this was going on I was continuing to care for my bell pepper plants.  The plant wasn’t doing that great, but I did get two smaller sized green peppers from it.  This was my most successful container garden yet!

My last day of work in Mount Pleasant was August 4th, and I took advantage of the few days I had off before moving to visit some family in Kalamazoo, MI.  The food we had was incredible.  August is such a great time for fresh local food in Michigan!  There was fresh corn on the cob, peaches, blueberries, watermelon, fresh homemade salsa and peach pie.

Husted's Market Michigan Produce (HustedFarmMarket.com)

My favorite dish was something called Cowboy Caviar.  It has avocado in it.  I’ll eat anything with avocado in it.  (see recipe below).  Unfortunately, there wasn’t any left to take home, but I did snag some corn off the cob.

Once back in Mount Pleasant, I got a little creative with the corn.  I added some leftover salsa from the fridge, 1/2 a can of black beans, my chopped up homegrown green bell peppers, and my little red tomatoes.  Perfection!

The next few days were spent packing and preparing for the move.  Who knew I had so much stuff!  We left Michigan August 11th and arrived in Virginia late Thursday August 12.   It was a long, but beautiful drive.

I’ll be posting soon about what life is like in Williamsburg, including some pic’s of my sweet new kitchen!  For now though, enjoy some Cowboy Caviar…

Aunt Mary’s Cowboy Caviar

1 can black beans

1 can corn (or use fresh or frozen)

4 Avocados, pitted peeled and chunked

6 large Roma Tomatoes

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

2 limes, juiced

3 tsp Tabasco

4 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper to taste (it is great without too!)

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and gently toss.  Serve with unsalted tortilla chips for a delicious snack (or if your like me, meal)!

Panzanella Salad

Happy Thursday! I’m having a lazy morning and don’t feel one bit guilty about it!

For an early lunch, I’m eating the rest of my Panzanella Salad.  Do you love tomatoes?  I sure do.  Pair them with garlic, toasty bread, basil, red onion and a balsamic vinaigrette and I’m in food heaven.  If you want to make this ahead of time, keep the bread stored separately.

See you tomorrow for Farm Fresh Friday! I have some sugar snap peas to serve!