Veggie boom
What to make with tomatoes, corn and more summer farmers market produce
It’s a grand time to be a vegetable lover. Local supermarkets highlight fresh, crisp greens and slender summer squashes from nearby farms. Signs advertise weekend farmers markets selling heirloom tomatoes, baskets of rainbow carrots, peppers and farm-fresh eggs. Come August, enterprising teens sell sweet corn from makeshift stands.
Overflowing stalls at farmers markets create the illusion that folks in the United States have always enjoyed maitake mushrooms, leeks and fingerling potatoes; older cookbooks tell a different story.
A 1997 community cookbook tucked on a shelf in our cabin near Galena, Illinois, offers a glimpse into vegetable cooking of the era. “Cooking With A’ Peal” features mostly frozen vegetables flavored with tinned soup and shredded cheese. Only a few recipes call for fresh vegetables, mostly cucumbers and carrots. No doubt there’s
“a’ peal” in the readiness of bags of shucked peas and frozen broccoli florets.
To lure cooks away from frozen vegetables, fresh vegetable recipes need to deliver big taste and texture.
A post-market sandwich can set the tone. The simplest is butter-slathered bread topped with sliced radishes and salt. When the leaf lettuce and tomatoes peak, a slightly more complex ELT sandwich beckons. I stir fresh basil into mayonnaise before slathering it on toasted bread. Then layers
of fresh lettuces and vine-ripened tomato are ready for a fried egg.
A sheet pan of colorful curried carrots and potatoes lends itself to a celebratory vegetable-based dinner. The whole tray can be cooked in advance and served warm or at room temperature as a main course accompanied by a cheese platter and good bread. Or, grill a couple of lamb or pork chops for a meat side.
Sweet corn pudding, with its soufflé-like lightness, will stand out at a barbecue. I make it with fresh eggs purchased from the farmers market or the honor stand near our cabin. Cold leftovers taste delightful at lunch with sliced ripe tomato.
Assorted fresh mushrooms, sautéed with the sweetest onions, make a fine accompaniment to almost anything from the grill. I save a few spoonfuls to stir into softly scrambled eggs the next morning. Same with a skillet full of sautéed chard!
Fresh herbs boost the flavor of everything they touch, even those retro frozen veggie-based dishes. Shower your hash brown casseroles and frozen vegetable soups with fresh chives and basil for a real taste of summer farm stand goodness. After all, cooking with the season is one of the 50 foodie things you need to do this summer.