Dumpling Squash with T-Bone Steak

As time passes, we've been shopping more and more for our nutritional needs at the farmer's market. We now buy 99% of all our food from either the farmer's market or our local natural food store Corn Crib. This means that almost everything we eat is either 1) locally grown or produced; 2) organic or natural; or 3) both of these. By shopping in the manner and encouraging others to do so, I'm doing my part to stop GMOs, mass-produced food and all other nasty stuff associated with a globalized and industrialized food industry.

In the news I read that certain powdered milk products in China are seriously poisoning young infants. The reason? It's cheaper to produce the powdered milk with the toxin than it is to produce it without it. HOW FUCKING SICK IS THAT?! And don't get me going about battery farming, listeria, avian flu, etc. We're in a real mess if you ask me. So rebel. Eat organically and locally.

Following with my culinary acts of defiance, I've purchased an organic dumpling squash from my friends at Amarosia Organic Farm. They said that it was really sweet and delicious. So what I did was slice the squash in half, smear it with olive oil and apple butter which was already spiced with cinnamon and cloves. Had it not been, I would have gone with cardammom.

As I baked the the squash I fried up some locally raised t-bones in my cast iron skillet. I finished them off in the oven along with the squash. The problem was that my t-bones were well done before my squash was fully cooked. The meat was still very tender - which is one of the reasons I really love buying my meat from this local farmer - but the squash was pasty. If I'd mashed the squash it would have been better but seeing as my timing was already off and the t-bones were cooling down quickly I had to just eat the squash this way. 350 degrees for 45 minutes wasn't enough. Oh well, there's always another time. Hell, there surely are enough pumpkins and squashes at the market in this season to permit trial and error.

Ham Terrine with Organic Spring Garlic Salad

When I watch FoodTV the chef's are alway saying that you have to draw inspiration from fresh ingredients found on the tables of enthousiastic merchants at markets. Some times I think that that's only available to big city dwellers, sort of like to those who frequent the famous Green Market in New York. But our humble little farmer's market here in Moncton also has great things to offer. I've said it time and time again but right now, at the end of spring, we've got all of these young vegetables showing up. It's great.

I found on the table of the Market's organic farmer a selection of veggy treats. The first were the long stalks of spring garlic. It looks sort of like a gigantic green onion but has a mild garlic flavour. I also found these little radish looking things that the informed me were small young white turnips that his teenage apprentice was eating like candy. These beautiful little vegetables also had edible leaves that had little holes in them. Proof of the organic farming means of this farmer. A case of give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees, please!

I tossed the spring garlic and white turnips with organic mesclun, toasted pita chips and my balsamic honey dressing. The dressing is equal parts balsamic vinegar and olive oil, with about a quarter of that of honey, smashed garlic, salt and pepper. I first tasted this vinegrette at the Parker House in Sudbury and the owner wouldn't give me his recipe. Said that his recipe depended on propertions. Well I did it. So there!

Along with the salad, I served some delicious ham terrine I bought at the French charcutier La Ferme du Diamant. This is without a doubt the best ham I've ever eaten. It wasn't too salty like most hams so I assume it was cooked in flavoured stock or something. The terrine was built with big hung of ham with gelatine, loads of onions and some parsley. There might be something else in there but that sounds about right. I have to get some recipes from those guys before I move from Moncton in a few years. I certainly support them enough.

This supper was light, fresh and all about the farmer's market. It feels good to know the people who are making and growing the food I put in my mouth. That's how it should be in my opinion. Sometimes it really was better before the invention of globalisation and international production of goods.

Goose Eggs

When I go to the market, I have a hard time resisting unique or odd items. Like today I bought kimchi from these two Korean ladies. I’d made my own once but here it was, authentic and ready made. So when I saw the little sign that said “goose eggs $1.50” I really couldn’t resist.

The egg has a very thick shell. I really had to give it a good whack to be able to crack it. I then discovered that a goose egg equals about 3 or 4 large chicken eggs. Eating it was like eating a steak. The thing was massive. I had a girlfriend in high school who had an emu farm. Those eggs are at least the size of 4 or 5 goose eggs so it would make for a pretty hardy meal. A bit too hearty maybe.

What I really like about the goose egg was the colour of the yoke. It was a nice rich, almost creamy yellow colour. I find that chicken eggs, even supposedly free run eggs are getting to be of a highlighter yellow colour. It’s fishy. Especially when you get this nice goose egg from a local farmer whose yoke is the colour a yoke should be, it’s suspicious when you get a chicken egg that has no richness to it. I’m sure that there’s something going on with storebought eggs, either the hormones or the environment or something. But market bought eggs are definitely better. Market and therefore locally bought anything is better.