Bellingham’s Saturday Farmers Market opened last Saturday (April 2)! The weather was daunting, but we here in Whatcom County rarely let that stop us, so there was an enthusiastic crowd. I arrived early in the afternoon, and most farmers I talked with had been doing a brisk business all day. Continue Reading
Category : April, Menu Ideas
Hot new finds in the local foods department this week were beautiful fresh English cucumbers and fresh pasta made in Bellingham. I found both in Terra Organica at the Public Market on the corner of Flora and Cornwall in Bellingham.
The English cucumbers were so green and beautiful that I asked the produce person to make sure that these were in fact locally grown. She smiled and said indeed they were, grown in the greenhouse of Dominion Organics in Ferndale. She also pointed out that the individual wrappers around the cucumbers were biodegradable. Continue Reading
Category : April, Menu Ideas
I was really excited this week to find some local green garlic in Terra Organica (Flora & Cornwall, Bellingham). Green garlic (also called “garlic greens,” “spring garlic,” or “baby garlic”) is a good example of a food item you don’t often see in grocery stores except when it’s locally produced.
Garlic is usually planted in the fall for harvest midsummer of the following year when the tops begin to turn brown and dry up. That’s a signal that the plant is sending all its energy into growing the bulb just below the ground. However, in early spring, before the garlic begins to form a bulb, it grows a stalk and leaves that look much like scallions, or green onions. If harvested then, it’s called green garlic. Continue Reading
Category : April, Menu Ideas, Vegetarian
How can a locavore tell when it’s spring? The most sure sign is when the first batch of asparagus in the garden is tall enough to harvest. There is nothing that stimulates the appetite like the crispy snap of an early spring asparagus stalk when you pick it.
It takes several years for asparagus plants to grow large enough to produce edible stalks. Stalks start to appear as soon as the soil warms a little, but it takes several warmish days to grow enough for a meal. My friend Nancy has a well established asparagus patch, and I was delighted she was willing to share some of it with me this week. Continue Reading
Category : April, Menu Ideas, Vegetarian
How can a menu be both light and hearty? When it includes a fluffy cheese soufflé!
I had hoped to have some fresh asparagus this week, but the weather was cold and the asparagus decided to wait a little longer. Instead, I decided to try to adapt a classic cheese soufflé recipe to see if I could make a locavore version.
Soufflés get a bad rap sometimes for being a difficult dish to prepare. In my experience it’s exactly the opposite. Soufflés can make a quick, easy and fun meal. There’s always a bit of drama when you take it out of the oven to see if it “poofed” over the top of the dish as it’s supposed to, but the reality is it tastes good no matter what. Continue Reading
