Romantics wax poetic about slowly strolling through farmers’ markets for hours squeezing this tomato and smelling that loaf. In reality sometimes you need to skip the dumplings and buy the week’s groceries. I went to the Boulder County Farmers Market July 1 to see how much I could find about what’s interesting, fresh and local. Besides fava beans that could be cooked whole on the grill or smoked, and a ball-shaped zucchini that could be stuffed and roasted, here’s what I found in 60 minutes.
9:05 a.m.: Cinnamon Cap Mushrooms
Market stalwart Hazel Dell Mushrooms offered diverse fresh fungi and the small bunched variety called Cinnamon Cap (or Chestnut) caught my eye. The name refers to color, not taste. Cut the central stalk away on the bunch and leave the stems attached to the caps. Owner Jim Harrison recommended sautéing them simply in a good vegetable oil — try toasted sesame seed oil, and serve as a side dish. “The nice thing with these is that you can cook them and they’ll hold their shape and crunchiness,” he said.
9:15 a.m.: Purple Scallions
At the Ollin Farms booth the purple scallions stood out like a tasty sore thumb. The folks behind the vegetables suggested grilling the whole scallions after slicing the bulb in half. The sugar in the onion will come out and sweeten the strong-flavored onions. Serve them with grilled chicken with a fresh lime spritz. Don’t throw out the green tops. Chop them up and add to salsa or salads.
9:21 a.m.: Gold Bar Apricots
Skip the peaches for now and grab the Colorado apricots while you can. Despite a spring frost, Paonia’s First Fruits stand has a small supply of these sweet, golden apricots. The folks behind the counter said that they only get a good crop in one out of five years. The fruit is great fresh with a ripe cheese or sliced into a true rarity: fresh apricot pie.
9:30 a.m.: Mizugula
It started out as a mistake that became very popular. About seven years ago, seed from two greens, mizuna and arugula, were mixed together at Oxford Farms. The mix was planted and the resulting combination allows the spice of the arugula to balance mizuna’s mild sweetness. Mizugula was a two-leaf mixture that became so popular that regulars asked for the “mistake” to be repeated and local eateries including Blackbelly Market and Lucky Pie order it regularly. The greens can be served with a vinaigrette or a warm bacon dressing.
9:38 a.m.: Hinona Kabu Turnips
At the Black Cat Farm booth there were purplish, finger-thick vegetables that looked like baby turnips but tasted wonderfully mustard-y like a radish. Sliced fresh they add a definite brightness to salads. Some folks like to dip them in salt and eat them raw. I am not among them.
9:45 a.m.: Rainbow Chard
Crayon-colored rainbow chard at the Pastures of Plenty booth rated as the best looking good-for-you vegetable of the week. Owner/chef Lyle Davis suggested chopping the leaves and adding them raw to a lettuce salad. As a side dish he would chop the stalks, sauté them in a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, garlic and lemon juice and add the leaves at the very end.
9:55 a.m.: Fennel
Aspen Moon Farm displayed some beautiful whole fennel bulbs with the wispy fennel leaves attached. Trim and thin-slice the bulb and roast them for at least 30 minutes or until they get soft, brown and caramelized, ideal as a side dish with grilled fish or pork chops. The licorice-y greens can be minced and added to salads or mixed with nonfat yogurt to make a tzatziki-like dip.
Jack Johnson to Fromage Heaven
Colorado is the center of the American food universe this month. Sustainability-oriented Slow Food is expecting tens of thousands of attendees as well as surf folkie Jack Johnson, Chez Panisse chef Alice Waters and local notables including Hosea Rosenberg for the inaugural Slow Food Nations July 14-16 in Denver. The gathering includes seminars and some major public events. The free Taste Market July 15 and 16 in Larimer Square includes tastings, authors, cooking demos, information on sustainable food and organic gardening and cooking activities for kids. Ticketed events include the Colorado-Made Block Party on July 14. Details: slowfoodnations.org
If you truly lust for cheese get tickets now for the one-time-only Festival of Cheese July 29 at the Colorado Convention Center where you can sample more than 2,000 types of cheese and accoutrements. It’s part of the annual convention of the Denver-based American Cheese Society taking place in the city for the first time. If you volunteer for the event you get a cheese education and to stay for the final, bargain artisan cheese sale featuring fromages you can’t normally acquire in Colorado. tinyurl.com/cheese-with-altitude
Taste of the Week
The unassuming exterior of Jin Chan Zhang, 2835 28th St., hides a bastion of authentic Chinese cuisine, which is why I came back with my friend Laura Bloom, who may be the most seasoned and adventurous foodie I’ve ever met. She ignored the regular menu and pointed to the chalkboard specials written only in Chinese characters. “What’s that one?” she said. We were told that it wasn’t translated because it wasn’t something we would like. Right. Laura persisted. She insisted that she eats everything. She wasn’t bragging. That’s how we got to taste an exceptional braised ham hock with fatty fall-apart meat in a sweet soy glaze with steamed rice and bok choy that any pork lover would appreciate.
Words to Chew On
“I know the cracking sound it makes when a knife enters the end (of a watermelon). I can see the halves fall apart and display the rich red meat and the black seeds, and the heart standing up, a luxury fit for the elect.” — Mark Twain
John Lehndorff hosts Radio Nibbles at 8:25 a.m. Thursdays on KGNU, 88.5 FM. Podcasts: news.kgnu.org/category/radio-nibbles.
