Susquehanna Valley Growers' Market
September 23rd, 2011
In this week's email:
- News From The Market
- Seasonal Recipe
- On The Website
News From The Market
Autumn is here at the Growers' Market, with the days growing cooler and shorter as we move into the last few weeks of the 2011 season. We'll be out at Ard's every Friday afternoon through the end of October, which no longer seems all that far away! The colors of summer are disappearing, as the tomatoes and peppers give their last gasps before the first frosts end it all until next year.
Though the weather and changing seasons are taking their toll on summer's vegetables, now's the time to start enjoying the reappearance of cold-weather crops. Lettuce and other salad greens are happier now than in the summer's heat, and now the broccoli plants are bursting forth with giant green heads. When the weather turns cold, they turn sweet; it's something those California-grown brassicas in the grocery store never do. Turn some of those florets into a hearty and filling Wheat Berry and Broccoli Salad, as a fine side dish for an autumn meal. Or, should the weather turn gray and chilly, as it's bound to again, cook it up with a bit of cheddar and creaminess in a Broccoli Gratin with Cheddar Cheese.
Pass the newsletter along! If you've received a copy from a friend, and would like to get one each week during the market season, send an email to: svgmarket@gmail.com
Susquehanna Valley Growers' Market
September 23rd, 2011
2pm - 6pm
Ard's Farm Market
4803 Old Turnpike Rd, Lewisburg
(Between Lewisburg and Mifflinburg, on PA 45)
Visit our website at http://growersmarket.blogspot.com/
Check us out on Facebook
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Seasonal Recipe
Wheat Berry and Broccoli Salad
Adapted from How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman (Wiley, 2007)
Serves 4
Salads don't need to be lettuce-based; hearty grain salads, which can accommodate a wide range of ingredients, make for excellent main or side dishes. Here, it's wheat berries with broccoli and walnuts, but a range of alternatives work as well. Cauliflower's especially good here, and the addition of a little extra sweetness or savory punch, like plumped raisins, shredded cheddar cheese, or crisp, crumbled bacon, would be welcome, too.
Wheat berries can take a while to cook, but there are ways to speed up the process. Soaking the grains overnight drastically reduces the cooking time, just like when cooking up dried beans. You can also cook them in a pressure cooker, which is a fantastic time-saver if you have one.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked wheat berries
- 3 cups broccoli, finely chopped
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- In a large, dry skillet over medium heat, toast the walnuts until just fragrant. Remove the nuts from the pan, wipe out any bits of walnut skin, and put the pan back on the heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, and when hot, add the onion. Cook, stirring, until softened.
- Add the broccoli to the pan, and stir frequently, until it begins to brown at the edges and is tender. Add the wheat berries, and stir to combine, just a minute or two, and turn out into a bowl. Stir in the parsley, and adjust the seasoning. Serve warm or at room temperature.
On The Website
A gratin is a wonderful thing, a simple casserole that's got a bit of creaminess, a bit of crunch, and makes for a wonderful dinner side dish. Turn some of this week's fine, fresh broccoli into a Broccoli Gratin with Cheddar Cheese, which turns the old-fashioned version of cheddar cheese melted on top of broccoli into something a little fancier - but still ooey, gooey, and wonderful.
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