(y)our food choices™

August piles the farm’s colorful bounty on tables that look as though they can barely contain the massive tangles of green beans, the heaps of fresh new potatoes and more stone fruit than you can imagine. I love these images and the promise they hold of bright, fresh flavors at the table.

At this point in the season, the tomatoes and squash are threatening to overtake the farm stalls. Prices are coming down and so the time has come for home canning and freezing in preparation for winter.

Market Wonder

As we scouted around the market this morning, we noticed that a few of our favorites are making their fall debut including firm white fennel bulbs and Gravenstein apples. The Brussels sprouts showed up this week, but they looked like medium sized cabbages. They just weren’t right.

So Much Color

So much of the pleasure we take in the farmer’s market is tied to the visuals of flower and fruit, veggie and pastry. In our little market you can buy brown, cage free eggs, a cactus, a loaf of fresh bread and a package of smoked tofu. We have access to fresh octopus, French plums and Chinese spinach. The corn is now in but we didn’t see much of it selling. People flocked to the melons and peaches.

Sunny Flowers, Cloudy Day

Our Buys

We grabbed fresh lobster ravioli and egg fettucini from our favorite pasta vendor. To supplement our weekly produce box, we bought potatoes, an egg plant, fresh herbs, a tomato and a big red onion. We wanted to buy a little of everything, but our fridge is full and we have a box coming from Capay Farms on Tuesday.

Images

The produce is perfect right now. This is THE time of year to visit a farmer’s market. Farm fresh fruits and veggies taste better than the grocery store stuff so why not enjoy them while they’re in season and so accessible? To inspire you, we’re posting the pictures from today’s foray. We hope they inspire you!

The Real Deal!

Ah, Sunday! Sleep in, wake up to a steaming cup of coffee and J’s unbelievable muesli pancakes. We’ve developed our own muesli blend and we think it puts all others to shame. This wonder mix acts as the base of the pancake batter. The resultant pancakes are rich, moist, fluffy yet substantial, full of flavor and extraordinarily nutritious. Think whole grains, dried berries, a variety of raw nuts and a couple of nut meals, flax seed and flax meal … you get the picture (below). We’ve been eating this muesli for a couple of years now. Our typical consumption is fairly straight forward: a half cup of the muesli mix and enough kefir to make it soupy goes into the fridge the night before. By morning, the mix has thickened and the rolled grains have softened. With a little chopped fresh fruit of whatever variety, this breakfast is complete.

J adapted a great America’s Test Kitchen whole grain pancake recipe to include our homemade muesli. The adapted recipe calls for some of the muesli mix to be ground fine in a food processor. The batter includes the ground muesli as well as a bit of whole muesli mix, some whole wheat flour, butter and eggs, milk and yogurt. After the batter rests a while, the pancakes are cooked on our griddle and topped with fruit compote, a little maple syrup or yogurt.

This well-tested pancake recipe never disappoints. The time from prep to table is shorter than you might guess and reminds us that packaged pancake mixes are for the very confused. If you have a box of pancake mix in your pantry, throw it out. Now, clear that space in the cupboard and fill it with a nice hand-mixed batch of muesli. You’ll use it for more than just pancakes, but this breakfast treat is a perfect place to start!

– Steve

Muesli Pancakes

[Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, by Matthew Card. The official recipe is only available to premium subscribers.]

I usually hate pancakes. And don’t even get me started on Bisquick® pancake mix or the kind that you find at Denny’s or any of the chain diners. They’re usually gummy and bland and soaked in artificial “maple” syrup leaving you needing to brush your teeth and feeling a bit queasy after you eat them.

I found this recipe when I was subscribed to Cook’s Illustrated and I had just discovered my muesli recipe. I now can recite the recipe by heart, that’s how many times I’ve made it. And even though I’ve never made the original Cook’s Illustrated version I think my version is just as good if not better.

1 ½ cups kefir
½ cup whole milk
2 eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups (8 ounces) original muesli mix
¾ cup (3 ¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup (2 ¾ ounces) whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Mix the kefir and milk together with the eggs, butter, and vanilla. Set aside. Finely grind the muesli in a food processor, add to a large bowl with the flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix dry ingredients together then add the wet ingredients. Mix until fully incorporated. Let the batter sit while you heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a little vegetable oil to the skillet and a small amount of the batter to test the pan. If it’s too hot reduce the heat, not hot enough, raise the heat. After the heat is sufficient and consistent, add a ladle full of batter 2-3 ounces into the oiled pan. Cook for a few minutes on the first side before flipping them over.

If you have made pancakes before you know the routine. If you’re new to making them it might take a few tries before you get the hang of it. Trust me, its not that hard. The worst thing that can happen is that the pancakes get smooched together or fall on the floor. If they fall on the floor, pick them up and brush them off, if your floor is clean, or throw them away if you have a dirty floor. These pancakes freeze wonderfully and make a great weekday breakfast that’s just as quick as a bowl of cereal and milk. Give them a try and let us know what you think of them.

– Jason