Pad Thai for a Crowd

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, held between 10 am - 2 pm on the corner of Agate and 19th Ave., you'll find plenty of summer produce from Camas Swale Farm and pastured meat and poultry from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm. Along with summer favorites of tomatoes and eggplants, you can pick up all your ingredients for a big batch of pad Thai, including scallions, leeks, carrots, and cabbage.

Here is our market haul before chopping (fortunately our cat is not easily scared by vegetables) and below is the resulting tasty plate of stir fried noodles, based loosely on this Bon Appetite recipe but with fried tofu and many more vegetables. I started with a whole head of chopped cabbage that filled a huge serving bowl, which miraculously as it always does cooked down to be contained in a wok. With all the noodles and additional vegetables, the resulting pad Thai filled back up the serving bowl, but miraculously as it always does, was mostly gone by the end of the meal.

Pad Thai for a Crowd

serves eight

vegetables
1 head cabbage
4 small leeks
4 large carrots
1 bunch scallions
2 Tbsp neutral oil like canola

tofu
14 ounce package of firm tofu
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Sriracha
2 Tbsp neutral oil like canola

noodles 
12 ounces wide rice noodles
3 Tbsp tamarind paste
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp chili garlic sauce such as sambal oelek (or more to taste)
4 eggs
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
lime wedges

1. Prepare the vegetables and soak the noodles. Core and chop the cabbage. Halve the leeks lengthwise, cut into 1/2 inch slices, and rinse. Cut the carrots into thin ovals. Cut the scallions into thin rounds. Soak the noodles submerged in boiling water until they are soft, about 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the noodles.

2. Prepare the tofu. Cut the tofu block into 8 1/2 inch thick slabs. In a large skillet, combine the soy sauce and Sriracha and mix well. Add the tofu and turn several times, then arrange flat in the skillet. Set the skillet over medium heat and when the sauce starts to bubble, in about two minutes, use a spatula to flip the tofu. Continue cooking to allow the seasonings to concentrate and stick to the tofu. When little liquid remains in the pan, drizzle 1 Tbsp oil over the tofu, shake the pan and flip the tofu again. Let the tofu sizzle for 3 to 4 minutes to dry out and brown.  Drizzle on the remaining 1 Tbsp oil and flip again. The finished tofu will have be orange-brown with some dark brown spots. Remove the pan from the heat and let the sizzling subside. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

3. Prepare the sauce. Mix together the tamarind paste, brown sugar, fish sauce, and sambal oelek.

4. Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil and stir fry the carrots until they start to soften. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt and continue to cook until charred in parts. Transfer to a large serving bowl. Add another Tbsp oil to the pan and stir fry the cabbage until most pieces have acquired some charred edges and it has reduce in volume by about half. Add the scallions and the return the carrots and leeks to the pan. Add 1/3 of the pad Thai sauce and toss to coat the vegetables. Transfer back to the serving bowl. 

5. Turn the temperature of the pan to medium. Whisk the eggs together with a pinch of salt. Add the remaining 1 Tbp oil to the pan and pour in the eggs. Use a fork or spatula to mix and scramble them. When they are still a bit runny, add the strained noodles to the pan and toss. Add the remaining pad Thai sauce to the pan and toss the noodles until well coated. Add the cubed tofu and toss to heat. Transfer the noodle mixture to the serving bowl and toss well to mix with the vegetables. Serve with roasted peanuts and lime wedges. 

Yogurt Basted Roast Chicken with Turnips and Onions

This Sunday come to the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market between 10 am - 2 pm at the corner of Agate and 19th Ave for all your summer produce from Camas Swale Farm and pastured meat and poultry from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm.

Last weekend I made an Indian-inspired feast with our farmers market bounty. I marinated four Fog Hollow Farm chicken legs in a spiced yogurt baste and then roasted them above a layer of magenta and white baby turnips and green onions.  

The turnips and onions were extra rich and flavorful from their long dousing in chicken juices and yogurt sauce. We devoured them along with saffron rice, this Instant Pot lentil dal, cucumber raita, and homemade naan. 

Yogurt Basted Roast Chicken with Turnips and Onions

4 chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks) on 1 whole chicken cut into pieces
1 bunch green onions, root ends trimmed
~18 baby turnips, stem and root ends trimmed

marinade
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 inch nob ginger root, peeled and minced
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala

1. Mix together all of the ingredients of the marinade. In a large bowl, coat the chicken pieces in the marinade and allow to sit for at least two hours or overnight, refrigerated.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line the bottom of a large baking pan with the green onions and baby turnips. Place a baking rack over the vegetables and place the chicken pieces on top. Bake for about 35 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (with an internal temperature of 165 degrees). Baste the chicken pieces with some of the remaining marinade in the bowl halfway through the cooking.

3. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and turn on the broiler. Set the chicken and the roasting rack off to the side and remove the roasted vegetables to a serving bowl. Return the roasting rack and chicken to the pan and baste the chicken with the remaining yogurt marinade. Transfer under the broiler and cook for a few minutes until the skin becomes nicely charred. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve with the roasted vegetables.

Turkey and Zucchini Burgers

This Sunday, visit the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market from 10 am - 2 pm at the corner of Agate and 19th Ave for a wide selection of fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm and pastured meat and poultry from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm. 

With our haul of Camas Swale zucchini and green onions I finally tried a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's Jerusalem that I'd heard has a cult following. I'd avoided it until now because of my kids' lukewarm feelings about zucchinis. Miraculously this summer they have suddenly become zucchini enthusiasts, for example eating zucchini flatbreads with gusto. These burgers were a similar hit, especially with the spiced yogurt sauce that doubled as a creamy dressing for a salad with lentils and roasted baby turnips.

Turkey and Zucchini Burgers with Green Onions and Cumin

from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's Jerusalem

makes about 18 small burgers  

for the burgers
1 lb ground turkey
1 large or 2 medium zucchini, grated (2 cups grated)
3 green onions, sliced
1 large egg, beaten
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
oil for browning

for the sour cream and sumac sauce
2/3 cup yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sumac
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
2. Make the sumac sauce by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing well. Refrigerate until needed. 
3. Put all the burger ingredients, except the oil, in a large bowl. Mix well, using your hands, making sure to get all the ingredients are well incorporated, and shape into about 18 burgers.
4. Coat the bottom of a skillet lightly with oil and heat until it is nice and hot. You should hear a good sizzle when the patties hit the pan, If not, let the oil heat more. Working in batches, brown the patties on both sides, for about 2 minutes per side, and add more oil as needed.
5. Carefully transfer the burgers to a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet and bake for about 7 to 10 minutes, just until done inside.
6. Serve the burgers warm or room temperature with the sauce.

Seared Corn and Scallion Quesadillas

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you'll find pastured meats from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including tomatoes, eggplants, summer squash, peppers, and corn on the cob.

If you are exhausted from the first week back to school, plan to treat yourself to an easy supper of seared corn and scallion quesadillas, which are so simple that they don't need a formal recipe. Just heat a griddle or big skillet over medium high heat, give it a slick of oil, and throw on a husked corn cob and some whole scallions to sear. Meanwhile slice some cheddar cheese, rinse some cherry tomatoes, locate some tortillas and perhaps some other vegetables (above I had some leftover roasted radishes handy). When your vegetables have charred, slice the scallion and cut off the kernels into a bowl. Turn the heat to medium low. Toast a tortilla on one side until it starts to brown, then flip and cover with slices of cheese and the seared vegetables. Cook on the second side until the cheese has melted. Serve with cherry tomatoes and your favorite hot sauce. 

Baked Zucchini with Mozzarella and Breadcrumbs

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market stock up on pastured meats and eggs from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm.

Now that summer is in full swing, we've been having a lot of salads for dinner, inspired by our farmers market finds. For this meal, I made a quick pan of baked zucchini topped with mozzarella and a sprinkle of scallion-spiked bread crumbs. We ate this gratin alongside butter lettuce, snap peas, roasted broccoli, buttery radishes, lentils, and hard boiled eggs. Not only are dinner salads a great way to enjoy fresh farm produce, but they lend themselves to relaxed summer meals when everyone can compose a personalized dinner plate masterpiece.

Baked Zucchini with Mozzarella and Breadcrumbs

4 small zucchini
1 punch green onions
1 ball mozzarella
1/2 cup breadcrumbs from stale bread
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place in a baking pan. Trim the zucchini ends and then slice lengthwise into 1/4 inch wide strips. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and let sweat in a colander for a few minutes. Trim the roots of the green onions. Cut the white parts of the onions into 1/4 inch rounds and reserve. Cut the green parts of the onions into 1 inch lengths and reserve. Slice the mozzarella.

2. When the oven is hot, remove the baking pan, drizzle in some olive oil and spread with a brush to coat the bottom. Pat the zucchini strips dry and spread them over the bottom of the pan in a single layer. Sprinkle on the onion whites and a generous grinding of fresh pepper. Bake for about 7 minutes until the bottoms of the zucchinis start to brown. 

3. In the meantime, heat a skillet over high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and sear the green onions, stirring occasionally until they start to char. Add the breadcrumbs and a little more olive oil if needed and cook another minute until the breads smell toasted. 

4. Remove the zucchini from the oven and turn on the broiler. Flip the zucchini strips. Layer on the mozzarella and sprinkle over the green onion breadcrumbs. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. Serve.

Soba Noodles with Seared Scallions and Shishito Peppers

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you will find fresh eggs and pastured chicken, beef, pork, and lamb from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, as well as fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company. 

Camas Swale Farm will have lots of fresh produce: melons and watermelons, strawberries, garlic, salad greens, pardon peppers, carrots, and tomatoes, including heirloom, cherry, and paste (time to start stockpiling sauce for the winter).  

There are certain items one should pick up at the market regardless of your shopping list or menu plans. Our policy is to purchase padron peppers whenever available because they are always a special treat. Similar logic applies to Camas Swale's perfect melons, which don't require a recipe, beyond "eat." Less intuitive might be a bunch of scallions, although pretty purple ones like these are hard to resist.

Lately I've been making a habit of buying a big bunch of scallions and immediately cooking them down in oil into a couple of tablespoons of crisp, sweet, intense flavor. We first tasted these in Shanghai and then recaptured them with the help of Fuchsia Dunlop. It doesn't matter if you have a plan for these at the time, you will simply thank yourself later for having made them. This week we gobbled them up right away as a topping for some soba noodles along with some seared padron peppers, which are essentially the same as shishito peppers so I'm calling them by their Asian name for this dish. 

Soba Noodles with Seared Scallions and Shishito Peppers

serves four

seared scallions
1 large or 2 small bunched of scallions
1/4 cup neutral oil such as canola
Trim the roots off the scallions. Wack the whites with the side of a large chef's knife to split. Cut into 1 inch lengths. Heat the oil in a skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add the scallions and cook, stirring frequently. Keep cooking the scallions until they are quite browned, but avoid burning them. This will take patience and some nerve, but you will be rewarded with intense flavor. Transfer the scallions and oil to a small bowl.

seared peppers
1 pint padron or shishito peppers
2 Tbsp neutral oil such as canola
sea salt
In the same skillet or wok you used for the scallions, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the peppers and allow to sear until well browned and blistered on one side. Use tongs to flip and brown the second side. Remove to a bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.

noodles
300 g (3 circular packets) of soba noodles
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil

Cook the noodles in salted boiling water until barely cooked through (about 5 minutes). In the meantime, mix the soy sauce and sesame oil in a serving bowl. When the noodles are done, immediately rinse them under cold water and then toss them in the serving bowl. Serve the noodles and top with the seared scallions and scallion oil and the seared peppers. Enjoy.

Roasted Rice Cakes with Scallion Oil

 

Last November my husband and I visited Shanghai, the fastest growing city in the world. In the midst of this mind bogglingly immensity, we nibbled a bowl of noodle that had an arresting, deep flavor that I thought must have come from with some exotic mushrooms, but was merely caramelized green onions.  

Back home, the taste of those noodles lingered with me. I consulted Fuchsia Dunlap's Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking, and found her Shanghai Noodles with Dried Shrimp and Spring Onion Oil, which she describes as "a southern Chinese equivalent of the Italian spaghetti all'aglio, olio e peperoncino." As I read more, I realized that caramelized onions of all types are an integral condiment in many Asian cuisines, adding a deep umami layer of flavor. Thus started my obsession with crispy fried alliums. 

These spring onions and their fragrant oil make a wonderful topping for a bowl of noodles, but they can also transform Korean rice cakes, which I recently found fresh, rather than frozen, at the Sunrise Asian Market in Eugene. 

I'd read about fried, rather than braised rice cake in David Chang's recipe from Momofuku, and indeed this method of cooking them makes the cakes puff up into delectable treats with a toasty exterior and soft, chewy inside. These are delicious as a snack (perfect for an Oscars party) topped with sriracha sauce and the fried scallions.

These roasted rice cakes also make a wonderful base for a riff on kimichi fried rice, tossed with kimchi (my latest batch was made with red cabbage) and topped with a fried egg. And of course, sprinkled with the fried scallions.

Roasted Rice Cakes with Scallion Oil

1 bunch scallions
1/4 cup canola oil
1 lb fresh rice cakes

serving suggestions
sriracha sauce
kimchi
fried egg

1. Trim the scallions. With the flat side of a chef's knife, smash the white parts of the onions and then cut them into 2 inch sections. 

2. Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add the scallions, lower the heat slightly, and cook, stirring off and on, until they turn a deep golden brown, but be careful not to burn them. When they are done, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and reserve in a bowl.

3. Return the wok with the oil to a medium high heat and add the rice cakes. Cook, stirring off and on, until they become browned and puff up in size. You can eat them like this, sprinkled with a pinch of salt, a drizzle of sriracha sauce, and the crispy scallions. Or, stir in a couple of spoonfuls of kimchi into the wok and cook until heated through. Serve with a fried egg on top, along with the fried scallions.

Market Start and Collard Leaf Presents

Time to celebrate: the fourth season of the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market starts up this Sunday June 9 from 10 AM - 2 PM on the corner of Agate St. and 19th Ave. You can look forward to fresh produce from Sweetwater Farm and pasture-raised meat and poultry from Fair Valley Farm including:

strawberries!

zucchini and pattypan squash (delicious grilled)

sugar snap peas and fava beans (serve with fresh pasta)

spring onions, spring garlic, and fennel bulbs (try pickled)

kale, chard, collards (try these collard leaf presents)

braising greens mix, lettuce, and salad mix 

Italian green cauliflower and broccoli

potatoes and beets (try this quinoa and beet salad)

and a few early cukes - they won't last long!

also new: salsa and pickles from Sweet Creek Foods

and pastured chicken (try spatchcocked)

A celebration isn't complete without presents, so for the Farmers Market start, I encourage you to wrap up these delicious collard green packets, inspired by a recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy. Hers is a delicately balanced mix of coconut-flavored black rice in collard leaves simmered in ginger-flavored coconut broth, but I employed her approach as an appealing way to repackage leftovers. For the filling, I mixed up black rice with leftover grilled peppers, scallions, and cherry tomatoes, and served them nestled in some leftover Thai sweet meat winter squash curry from the freezer. Unwrapping a side of rice from a brilliant green package made the whole meal feel very festive. In that festive spirit, please come out and celebrate a new season of the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market June 9th!

Collard Leaf Presents

adapted from Deborah Madison

for the stuffed collard packets
2 cups cooked black rice
1 cup chopped grilled vegetables, such as spring onions, summer squash, peppers, and tomatoes
1 handful cilantro leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
8 collard leaves 

for the broth
3 cups water
1 large carrot, scrubbed and chopped
1 celery stalk, rinsed and chopped
2 star anise
3 slices of fresh ginger
salt to taste
1/2 cup or more coconut milk

1. To make the filling, combine the rice, grilled vegetables, cilantro leaves, and salt and pepper.

2. Prepare the collard leaves by cutting away the tough base portion of each stem. Bring a large, shallow pan of water to a simmer, add the collards, and cook until tender, about five minutes. Lift them out and set them on the counter with the base of the leaves facing you. 

3. Place about 1/3 cup of the filling on the center of each leaf. Fold the bottom portion of the leaf over the rice, bring the sides tightly over the rice, then tuck the farthest end of the leaf over snuggly to make a package.

4. Prepare the follow broth (or use your favorite coconut curry) for simmering you collard packets. For the broth, combine the water, carrot, celery, star anise, ginger, and salt and simmer, partly covered, for about 30 to 40 minutes until reduced to 1 cup. Strain the broth through a sieve, transfer to a wide pan, and add coconut milk to taste. Set the collard packets, seam sides down, in the pan, cover, and simmer for about five minutes. Serve the collard packets in shallow bowls with the broth.

Kimchi and Bo Ssam

It's official: the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market is over for the season. You can catch some culinary action on the corner of Agate and 19th this evening at the Dia de los Muertos Festival from 4 to 9 PM. If you are suffering from a sense of loss over the end of your summer Sunday routine and the passing of the sunny days, here is my prescription: be sure to preserve some of the last of fall's harvest for the rainy days ahead.

With a final collection of Sweetwater Farm's produce -- arrowhead cabbage, kohlrabi, carrots, celery, green onions, and garlic -- I made a delicious version of this kimchi. 

We turned on the oven for the slow roasting of a sweet and salty slathered pork shoulder, following this Bo Ssam recipe from David Chang's Momofuku. 

And we enjoyed these delicious lettuce leaf packets of tender pork and rice topped with a little bit of preserved harvest.

Kimchi and Bo Ssam

Kimchi
follow this recipe from Momofuku, using the following vegetables:
1/2 small cabbage, cored and chopped into small strips
1 kohlrabi, peeled generously and cut into matchsticks
2 big or 4 small carrots, scrubbed and cut into matchsticks
2 big or 4 small celery stalks, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

Bo Ssam
follow this recipe from Momofuku. We used a smaller pork shoulder, but cooked it for almost as long to achieve the "souffle effect" when the meat is falling apart and the fat starts to bubble.

Serve on tender lettuce leaves with a scoop of white rice, a couple forkfuls of pork, and a generous dollop of kimchi.

Scallion Pancakes

I wanted to share this recipe for scallion pancakes, which falls under the category of amazing things you can make with just flour and water, including farinata and corn tortillas. I made these pancakes earlier this spring with some lovely shallot scapes from Open Oak Farm, but now you could make them with Sweetwater Farm's scallions, which are amazingly flavorful and hefty, and deserve a starring role on your table. 

I remember when I sampled scallion pancakes as a teenager on my first visit to a Korean restaurant and I was intoxicated by their chewy, flaky texture. At the time, I thought these delicacies must involve many exotic ingredients, but now I realize that they are just flour and water and some special tricks for processing the dough. First, you use boiling water, which denatures the proteins in the flour and gives the dough a tougher, chewy consistency. Then to achieve the flakiness, you roll the dough flat, slick it with sesame oil, wind it into a snail shape, and flatten it again. You do this several times, incorporating the scallions in the last round. 

Finally you fry the pancakes until crispy. These were a big hit with the whole family eaten piping hot with a soy dipping sauce. I was happy to introduce my kids to this Korean delicacy, demystified and delicious. 

Scallion Pancakes

adapted from Serious Eats (makes 2 large pancakes)

For the dipping sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely sliced scallion greens
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sugar

To prepare the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients and set aside.

For the pancake dough:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup boiling water
about 2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 cup chopped scallion greens
about 2 Tbsp vegetable oil for frying
salt to taste

1. Place the flour in the bowl of a food processor. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in about 3/4 of boiling water. Process for 15 seconds. If the dough does not come together and ride around the blade, drizzle in more water a tablespoon at a time until it just comes together. Transfer to a floured work surface and knead a few times to form a smooth ball. You can also mix the dough by hand and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap, and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to overnight in the fridge.

2. Divide the dough into two even pieces and roll each into a smooth ball. Working one ball at a time, roll out into a disk roughly 8-inches in diameter on a lightly floured surface. Using a pastry brush, paint a very thin layer of sesame oil over the top of the disk. Roll the disk up like a jelly roll, then twist roll into a tight spiral, tucking the end underneath. Flatten gently with your hand, then re-roll into an 8-inch disk. Paint with another layer of sesame oil, twist into a spiral, flatten gently, and re-roll into a 8-inch disc. Repeat the oiling, rolling, and flattening process a third time. 

3. Now for the final rolling step, paint on the sesame oil and sprinkle the dough with 1/2 cup scallions, roll and twist again, flatten and re-roll into a 8-inch disk. Your first pancake is formed. Repeat the whole process with the second ball of dough to form the second pancake.

4. Heat oil in an 8-inch nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering and carefully slip pancake into the hot oil. Cook, shaking the pan gently until first side is an even golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip with a spatula or tongs (be careful not to splash the oil), and continue to cook, shaking pan gently, until second side is even golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Season with salt, cut into 8 wedges. Serve immediately with sauce for dipping. Cook the remaining pancake in the same way.

Ma Po Doufo

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm and Fair Valley Farm:

• lots of peppers both sweet (Anthohi Romanian, Carmen, Italia, Numex Joe Parker, and anaheim) and spicy (long red cayenne, Czech black, jalapeno, serrano)
• peaches and plums (bake a plum cake)
• many kinds of tomatoes, including plenty of romas (cook up tomato sauce)
• lettuce and lots of greens (top with salmon cakes in honor of Julia's birthday)
• eggplants, zucchini, and summer squash (make ratatouille)
• green and yellow beans (make a school spirit salad) 
• cucumbers (garnish a rice noodle salad)
• a variety of new potatoes (fry potato wedges)
• fennel and fresh herbs, including basil and parsley
• beets, carrots, and cabbage (make a crunchy slaw)
• broccoli, cauliflower, and possibly sweet corn
• garlic, scallions, onions, and possibly ginger 
• tomato sauce and pesto
• homemade jams
• fresh eggs
• Scottish oats (try this oatmeal with teff and flaxseeds)
• a selection of dried beans and grains from Camas Country Mill
• pastured chicken
• pastured pork: bacon, ground pork, pork chops, shoulder roasts, ham roasts, spare ribs, and the best sausage for hash
• pastured lamb: ground, stew meat, leg roast, rib chops, loin chops

This week past we feasted on Fair Valley Farm's fresh ground pork and Sweetwater Farm's hot peppers, fresh garlic, and scallions in my husband's specialty dish Ma po doufu. I've asked Eric to do another guest post to share his recipe.

This is Eric again, with one of my favorite dishes. Ma po doufu (or "pock-marked Grandma's tofu") is easy to make, and yet is a delight of contrasting textures and tastes. It is also remarkably resilient to subtractions and additions, so go for it even if you lack some of the ingredients. The only key is sichuan peppercorns, which impart the numbing heat that gives this its defining flavor. 

Ma Po Doufo

1 pound ground pork (the more authentic style would be less than 1/2 pound but since we had a pound of this tasty pork, I used it all)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (coat the bottom of pan or wok, swirl)
2 teaspoons sichuan peppercorn, ground with mortar and pestle (also can be found in stores as dried prickly ash)
3 cloves garlic, chopped 
1-2 inch cube of ginger, chopped
1 hot pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1 block soft tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I'm a stickler for soft tofu, as regular or firm tofu doesn't give the same contrast in texture)
2 scallions, green part chopped

Marinade
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon chili oil

1 teaspoon low salt soy sauce

1 teaspoon black pepper

Sauce
1/2 cup rice wine
2 teaspoons low salt soy sauce
2 teaspoons black bean chili sauce (also fermented black bean, broad bean chili sauce, red bean sauce are good to include)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon corn starch to thicken if desired

Cooking ma po doufu can go quickly, but the overall strategy is to bring the heat up to very high and then reduce the heat as you add the different parts. 15 minutes later it is all done!

1. Marinate the pork in a bowl while you chop and prepare the other ingredients.

2. Then, heat a large wok or pan (I often use a large paella pan). As it is heating, toast some Sichuan peppercorns in the pan until they start to smoke.

3. Remove most (but not all) of the peppercorn, and add oil. The oil will get infused with the leftover peppercorn. When the oil is hot, put in the ground pork. I usually let it sit for a minute to get the crispy edges of pork that provide a nice contrast to the soft tofu. Once the bottom side is browned, start breaking up the pork and stirring it around so it cooks through. Once the pork starts cooking, it is time to start rice going so it will be cooked when the ma po doufo is done.

4. When most of the pork is cooked and a noticeable fraction has browned, crispy edges, add the garlic, ginger and hot pepper. Stir. Once I start stirring I reduce the heat to medium so the garlic doesn't burn and the pork doesn't overcook.

5. Once the garlic starts to soften, add rice wine, soy sauce, chili bean sauce and/or paste, a little sesame oil and most of the toasted sichuan peppercorn. The sauce should start to gently simmer, at which point reduce the heat a bit more.

6. Add the soft tofu. You want to retain the integrity of the tofu, but also give it a chance to soak up all the flavors in the dish, so stir it and coat it with sauce gently with a motion similar to folding in egg whites. Simmer for a few minutes. Sometimes I'll push aside the ingredients and stir in (slowly) a teaspoon of corn starch to thicken the sauce.

7. As it simmers, add the sliced green onion greens. Serve over rice and sprinkle extra sichuan peppercorn as desired. Eat with a strong IPA to drink.