Five Days - Countdown

Today's Market: Pike Place Market in Seattle

I visited this market some years ago, but only briefly and without a camera. It is a main ingredient in the Seattle experience, and everyone should take the opportunity to shop it.

It opened in 1907 and is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It overlooks Ellicott Bay and is spread over nine acres. Ten million visitors pass through the market every year. Considering its location, I imagine the fruits and vegetables are great, but I would think the fish/seafood selection would be extra-fresh.


Here are some pictures:







Here's an interesting fact -- the market is home to nearly 500 low income residents who live in eight different buildings. I'd be curious to know if they work at the market. Anyone know?

Another fact -- this market was home to the first Starbuck's.

Next time I make it to Seattle I'll plan on spending more time at Pike Place, as well as remember a camera.


In keeping with the seafood idea, today recipe: Super Simple Supper Fish

There is a theme to my recipes -- simple and easy, and easy and simple. Oh, and few ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 lb. or so fillet of salmon or halibut. I don't really cook any other kinds of fish, but it would probably work with just about anything.

Butter

Salt and pepper

Foil

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Put fillet on a piece of foil, skin side down. Place some tablespoon squares of butter evenly spaced over the fillet.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Cover with another sheet of foil. Seal the edges but leave a small opening for steam to escape.

Cook in oven for 45 minutes. Let sit about outside of oven with top foil removed for about ten minutes before serving.

Some people cook this on the grill, but I like the oven better. Some people add lemon slices, but I prefer just butter.

I serve this with some baby potatoes and whole green beans I get from the farmers' market -- I steam the beans.

It isn't always easy to find super-fresh fish in Salt Lake City, but when I do, we tend to have this for a few nights in a row.

Six Days - Countdown

Today's Farmers' Market is located in Des Moines, Iowa. So, considering it's Iowa and there are lots of farms everywhere, you'd think the Des Moines market would be spectacular, right? Well, you'd be correct -- it is spectacular.

I went to high school and college in Des Moines, but haven't been back, other than a quick drive-through, for about twenty years. Last summer, I met my best friend from high school there and spent a fabulous weekend with her and her family. One of the places we went to was the Des Moines market. Even though I was expecting a lot, I was still shocked. It is a huge and has so many different products.

Here's my friend, her mom, her sister and her adorable and super-smart daughter:



The market is located downtown at 300 Court Ave. and is open Saturdays, 7:00 am to noon, May 1 to October 30. It goes on for blocks in every direction. Some of the things we bought were mini-squashes (although I didn't know what these were at first -- they are adorable), German pastries, peppers, cherry tomatoes, a pie and Rainier cherries (big smile). As you can imagine, you'll find lots of fresh corn as well as any other fruit or vegetable you can think of. I will admit, though, one of my favorite things was the fresh kettle corn. Really, I've never had better.

Following are some pictures from the market. Tell me if your mouth doesn't water:










Here's the market's website:
http://www.desmoinesfarmersmarket.com/

Whether you live in Des Moines or plan to drive through for a summer vacation somewhere, don't miss the market. You will thank me.

Today's recipe is the easiest dessert you'll ever make -- plus, it's yummy.

Summer Strawberry -- I Don't Want to Work Hard But I Want Something Good -- pie

Ingredients:

1 graham cracker pie crust

2 pints of strawberries, hulled and cut in half

1 container strawberry glaze (I find it in the fruit section of my grocery store)

Directions:

Mix the strawberries with about 3/4 of the container of glaze.

Pour into pie crust -- pile high!!!!

This part is very important -- you need to let the pie sit in the refrigerator for a minimum of two hours. The glaze soaks into the strawberries.

Serve with some sort of whipped topping. I like Cool Whip, my husband and son like heavy whipping cream. Either way, you can't miss. How easy is that?

One Week

NOTE: For some reason that I'm not smart enough to figure out, the above date is for yesterday. Today is really TUESDAY, March 30. I'm sure of this because the calender in the bottom corner of my computer screen tells me so.

FARM FRESH MURDER, the first in the Farmers' Market Mystery Series, publishes one week from today. Yay! In celebration, for the next seven days, I'll highlight different farmers' markets throughout the country. At the end of each post, I'll also add a quick and easy recipe idea.

Today's market is the one I'm most familiar with -- the Salt Lake City Downtown Farmer's Market. This is the first market I shopped -- a number of years ago. It has grown and expanded over time but has kept its homey comfortable feel.

During the spring and summer and into the fall, every Saturday (and Tuesday evenings last year), Pioneer Park (400 W. 200 So.) hosts the market.

Since I moved to Salt Lake City a couple decades ago, this area of downtown has seen lots of renovation. Surrounding the park are newer businesses and living spaces. It's great to see the way the area comes alive with the farmers' market.

There are so many products at the market, but my favorite fruits are watermelon and Rainier cherries. I think I'm the only person on the planet who gains weight from eating so much fruit during the summer. I load up almost every Saturday. There's nothing like fresh farmers' market fruit.





Of course, there are some amazing artists at the market, too. I love the following bowls -- a few years ago I actually tried to make one of these. It wasn't pretty.





This guy sounded terrific. I was surprised at the different tones/notes he could reach.


BONUS EXTRA -- in Salt Lake City we also have something called The People's Market. This year it will run every Sunday from June 14 to October 24, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. It is located at the International Peace Gardens (1000 So. 900 W.) and is unique in that there is no set-up. Apparently, vendors can just show up to sell their crops/wares.



Fresh! Yum!





Utah has some great artists. It's probably difficult to see the detail in this picture, but this guy's work was breathtaking.



I love quick dinner ideas and one of my family's favorite dinners is (thankfully) easy and quick. Last summer, at the Salt Lake City Downtown Market, I picked up some mushrooms from this guy:

They were so good -- sadly, I got them up during my last visit to the market, and I didn't pay attention to what kind they were. They were something I'd never heard of, something exotic. I'll go back this year to buy more and memorize the name. Anyway, following is a recipe for our quick and easy (and healthy, by the way) dinner. Use whatever mushrooms you like, or experiment with different ones. Normally, we use a package of Baby Bellas. This recipe is for three people, one being a hungry-all-the-time teenager. Change ingredient amounts according to your needs.

Ingredients:
One roasted or baked chicken. Cook it yourself or pick one up a cooked one at Costco or your local grocery store, or your farmers' market, if they have them.

One large onion, chopped in big pieces (sometimes I use red, sometimes white)

One container of mushrooms

One package of noodles. For this meal, we like mostaccioli -- they're substantial but they aren't so thick that they overwhelm the other flavors.

Margarine or butter

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Salt and pepper, or a dash or Montreal Chicken Seasoning.

Okay, the ingredient list probably makes the meal pretty self-explanatory, but start by pulling the meat off the entire chicken and tearing it into medium-sized pieces. Set aside.

Prepare the noodles -- al dente, always al dente.

While the noodles are boiling, put the mushrooms and chopped onion pieces into a pan with some olive oil -- on medium heat. Saute until the onions are tender but not mushy. They get kind of sweet at this point. For the last couple minutes, put the chicken pieces in with the mushrooms and onions. Add some salt and pepper or Montreal seasoning. If you're lucky, your noodles and onions and mushrooms will all be done at the same time!

Drain the noodles, then mix into them a few tablespoons of butter or margarine. Immediately, serve the chicken, onions and mushrooms over the buttered noodles.

My son loves this dinner so much, I think I'm going to have to start buying double everything.

Good luck and let me know if you try it.

Paige

Yummy Salad

I was required to bring a salad to one of the dinners we attended over the last week. I'm not good at salad -- I never know which ingredients work well together. But I have recently discovered craisins -- dried cranberries. I love them! I ventured over to the Ocean Spray site to see if, by chance, they had a recipe I could use. And they did! In fact, they have lots of recipes. I made the following salad and it was a huge hit. I actually heard people asking for seconds. It was a rare salad moment for me. I used Newman's Own for the vinaigrette, and I made half of it with spinach and half of it with Romaine lettuce, just to mix it up a bit.

Effortless Spinach Salad
Ingredients:
8 ounces fresh spinach
1/2 cup feta or goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Craisins® Original Sweetened Dried Cranberries
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds, optional

DRESSING:
1/2 cup bottled balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest, optional

Directions:
Wash and clean spinach. Tear into bite size pieces and place in a serving bowl. Add half of the feta or goat cheese and onion; toss to combine.

Combine dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Top with sweetened dried cranberries and almonds. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Peppermint Bread

Here's a picture of some chocolate peppermint bread I recently made. I found the recipe on another site that I can't find anymore -- if I do, I'll pass on the info. Anyway, really yummy but I suspect there's a way to make it better. It has a very subtle mint flavor but that's not the issue. I think the best way to explain it is to say I think the peppermint flavor could be more consistent. The recipe follows but if anyone has any suggestions about the best way to add the peppermint flavor, I'd love to know. I made this a couple nights ago and it is still moist and good -- I just think it could be better. Thanks.

Recipe:
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten (I forgot to lightly beat the eggs but I don't think was a problem).
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup crunched up peppermint candy -- candy canes.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease and flour one bread pan

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Stir to blend. No electric mixers needed for this recipe.

Add eggs, milk and melted butter. Stir until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips and peppermint candies. Bake for about 55 minutes -- my oven seems to take a little longer than most. Bake it until the bread springs back when lightly touched.

Let cool in pan for ten minutes. Run knife around edge of pan and remove bread to wire rack to cool completely.

We've been eating it without any other spreads or toppings.

Again, really yummy, but I'd love suggestions on improvements. Thanks.

Darkness

About this time of year, it begins to get dark waaay too early for my tastes. Fortunately, my office has two windows that let in wonderful sunshine during the day -- or at least light if it's cloudy or snowing. I usually don't finish working until early evening, and somewhere along the way I close the blinds to the darkness. But this year they might not be closed as much. Across the street and out one of my windows, some very festive neighbors have decorated their house. I can't bring myself to close the blinds to the bright holiday lights. I even played Christmas music this evening. I've included a picture, but it doesn't do the scene justice. You can't really make out the lights at the bottom and slightly to the right of the middle. Those lights that look like they're in a wolf shape actually create a polar bear and make me think of winter and Coca-Cola commercials. Yep, the blinds will definitely be open -- at least through December. I wonder if they'd be kind enough to do something in January and February to keep me entertained?

Happy Holidays and because I think it's gets forgotten way too often, a special Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Reason #126 I Love Living in Utah

We took our annual leaves-changing-colors trip a little too early this year. We chose to drive up Millcreek Canyon this time, which though we used to cross-country ski up Millcreek (back before the blown out knee), we've never done a leaf trip that direction. Despite jumping the gun a bit, September 26 still proved to be a fine day to be outside, in Utah, in the mountains.

I often wonder if the light during fall reminds other people of my generation of the filmstrips (or films) that we watched in elementary school. There was something about the quality of the film that seemed to make the light somewhat softer and more shadowed.

Anyway, the light on September 26 in Millcreek Canyon reminded me of films from elementary school, and for some reason I found that very comforting.