tastes from the raleigh farmer's market

i went to the raleigh farmer's market this past monday. i was overwhelmed by the bounty of okra. i wish i had taken my camera with me to document it. instead, i offer a picture of the okra and tempeh i pan-fried.



also, here is a picture of the okra raita i made. raita is a cool yogurt side dish that can be eaten separately or mixed in to your food to help cool down the spice level. i had never had a raita with a warm component. the crispy, warm okra was amazing in the cool, spiced yogurt. i got the recipe from "5 Spices, 50 Dishes" by Ruta Kahate. i took a chaat class from Ruta a few years ago at her house in oakland. and, i helped test some of the recipes in "5 Spcies, 50 Dishes." i highly recommended this cookbook and her classes. the dishes are fun and easy to make.



while buying up all the okra i could, i realized peanuts (green raw peanuts to be exact) are in season!! if you have read my post on boiled peanuts (last year) you know i am a HUGE fan. my dad makes them for me every year and freezes them (after boiling) so i get to have some every time i go home. i like to make boiled peanuts too. i don't have a pressure cooker, which greatly reduces the total cook time, but i did take 3 hours to boil these the other day (boil with plenty of salt, to taste - yum.



coming soon, pictures of the veggies that are making appearances at the durham and raleigh farmer's markets.

back in the south

after five years of living in san francisco and being spoiled by the freshest produce possible and amazing restaurants, both cheap and pricey, we have returned home to durham; we've been here for 8 days now.

it's so good to be back in the heat and in the middle of a food awakening. there are tons of new places to eat at which is what i do best, besides cooking of course. we have hit all the old favorite spots. what did we start with you might wonder? well, the first night, we tried for a veggie sub at international delights but they were remodeling. so we actually hit up xiloah (which is a new spot for us) and each had the large, veggie, indian taco. it didn't quite meet our mission district standards (el metate & papalote how i miss you) but it did hit the spot. i had a passion fruit agua fresca and wondered if the passion fruit was fresh. the taco reminded me of a chalupa and it was gigantic! i'll go small next time. it was supposed to have salsa but if it did, i didn't taste it. there needed to be more kick. some hot chilies or a spicy salsa on the side to add, yes, one of those would have been nice would be nice. in case you haven't been here it's on ninth street right next to one of the best places ever, bahns.

here is a list of where we ate the following days. note, the moving truck finally arrived and we are taking a well deserved break from eating out.

Bruegger's (standard)
Elmo's Diner (I still despise it)
International Delights (best veggie sub in the triangle)
Banh's Cuisine (we went twice actually)
Tonali (more cilantro and spicier salsa please)
Thai Cafe (finally a decent thai place in durham)
Saladalia Cafe (not as good as i remembered)
Dale's Indian (the paneer tika masala was not creamy or spicy enough)
Madhatter (overpriced and not that good)
Loco pops (love the new downtown location and that i can walk to it)

that's about it. i am sure we ate some other place but it has obviously slipped my mind. it's a good thing i started my garden this week. i just ordered some seeds for it from france! i'll be attempting to plant Ficoide Glaciale (aka the ice plant, a al manresa) and Oreilles du Diable (ears of the devil). of course i am also growing more typical veggies like okra, peppers, cukes, and hopefully some more fall veggies including beets, fennel, onions, garlic, and various greens.

here's a picture of sara enjoying her hibiscus loco pop.

gardens grow the best treats

today was in my co-worker amy's office. she had the latest issue of the berkeley daily planet. i glanced down at it and realized, "hey i know that woman, rivka mason, on the cover." i worked closely with her a few years back when i volunteered in the malcolm x elementary school garden. i would go two days a week and spend 2 hours each time. my time overlapped with recess and lots of kids would come to the garden to play. we would pick and eat, compost, weed, and plant. i would also help out after recess, during a garden class. students would come and learn about healthy eating choices also gardening skills. i loved the spring when i could eat lots of yummy cherry tomatoes with the students and also when they would make me a "weedo." a weedo is like a burrito but it's a lettuce leaf, or other edible leaf, wrapped around what ever edible treats are available at that time of year.

pictures from my time in the garden 2 years ago
(i can't wait to have a garden in north carolina)

nasturtium and borage.






fresh fava beans


chard


a nice flower garden