Mid-May Greenmarket Bounty

Eat me.

Farmer’s Markets can be overwhelming.

Between wanting to buy 8 pounds of every available option, feeling guilty for forgetting my organic cotton tote bag and instead requesting (gasp!) plastic bags, and accepting strawberry samples from hot farmer-tanned rural-hipsters in farm t-shirts…it’s a lot to manage on a personal level. And it’s only May, so if the market conditions are a lot to handle now, then by August I could lose my mind.

Last week I picked up the above selection…spinach, asparagus, chives, leeks, garlic and shallots. Along with some seafood, frozen peas and pasta…the delicious dinner for my friend Morgan was whipped on on a rainy weeknight.

RECIPE:

Prepare pasta…al dente.

Sauté minced garlic and shallots in your oil of choice, with salt, pepper and a dash of red pepper flakes.  When soft, push to the outside of the pan and add a small pat of butter to the middle. Sauté shrimp until pink and scallops until slightly browned (seasoned with S & P). Remove and set aside. Add thinly sliced leeks and asparagus (1/4 in dice)…and allow to hang out for a few. Add about a cup of vegetable or chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Scrape the bits off the pan. After stock is cooked down, add spinach, frozen peas and sun dried tomatoes. Finish off by mixing in about 2 oz (half of small log) of herb goat cheese. Return sea creatures, pasta and top with chopped chives.

If you get irritated with the lack of detail in recipes posted…I apologize.  Everything is eyeballed and made up…which explains why I’m such a shitty baker. In the above recipe, I used 4-5 stalks of asparagus and probably 3/4 cup of peas…heavy on the veg and easy on the pasta. Opening weekend of flesh season is upon us, after all.