Jakob's Bowl

Zebra & Tiger Galette Anyone?

I’ve long been on record about the decade-long infatuation over heirloom tomatoes – just because farmers can grow them, doesn’t mean they should grow them, especially if the soil and climate aren’t right to produce tasty tomatoes, or the farmer(s) aren’t prepared to wait until they’ve ripened to pick them. There is also the decade-long misunderstanding that if a tomato has a ‘name’ it must be an heirloom - this is not the case. And finally, there is the misunderstanding that all heirlooms are superior to all hybrids - remember, the “heirloom” designation is merely a convention, and most heirlooms started out as hybrids; indeed, there are many delicious, hybrid tomatoes out there that have been created over the last four or five decades. The Puget Sound is not the best place to grow tomatoes, given the variability of the weather, even during the best of summers, so I tend to stick with a few farms that are located in microclimates more suitable for tomatoes and whose farmers have a good feel for what to plant and when to pick.

Given all that, this has been a pretty good summer for tomatoes despite the atrocious weather up until early August here in Seattle. This past weekend there seemed to be a cornucopia of striped tomatoes in the Farmers’ Markets, and that’s where I got the inspiration for some Striped Tomato Galettes. I bought some Green Zebras and Red Zebras (hybrids), and some Striped Red Plum Tomatoes (aka, Tiger Striped Plum Tomatoes), and the even more rare Striped Yellow Plum Tomato (heirlooms). I used my favorite Cornmeal & Sour Cream Dough - with Ayers Creek Farm’s Roy’s Calais Flint coarse cornmeal. I also grated Black Sheep Creamery Pecorino on the dough before laying down the tomato slices, and then grated some Sardinian Pecorino on top after the galette came out of the oven. It made a marvelous starter for six.

Anselmo's Organic Farm: The Last Hurrah

About a month ago I bumped into Marie from Anselmo’s Organic Farm (now defunct) at the Sunday Farmer’s Market in Ballard. As part of the process of closing down the operation, they were in the process of pulling and drying all of the garlic they had planted early this year, and the Market officials were going to let her sell some at her husband’s doughnut booth. They brought in the first batch several weeks ago and it included two varieties that they had never brought to the market before, Polish Hardneck (left) and Thai Fire (right).

The Polish Hardneck is a very hearty and easy to grow Porcelain variety known for its pure white outer wrapper, large cloves and intense heat when raw. I can vouch for the heat and the ‘big’ garlicky flavor when raw - I let you know what happens when it’s cooked. The Thai Fire is a Turban variety has a head that almost looks like it’s ‘blooming’ when you peel away the outer wrapper - the brown skinned cloves spread out like petals from a flower instead of clinging to the central stem like most other varieties. It is supposed to have a complex flavor and a nice heat that slowly builds. I’ll be tasting and cooking with this one tomorrow, so I will let you know. Hopefully there will be more varieties to come.

To see more heirloom garlic varieties in the flesh just click Garlic Anyone.

The Misplaced Farmer's Market Tote

I'm not sure if it's simply carelessness or rapidly approaching senility, but over the last twelve months my supply of canvas Farmer’s Market totes has dwindled by two-thirds. Last August I managed to drop my bright yellow Ayer's Creek Farm tote during a visit to the Sunday Farmer’s Market on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, and about six weeks ago, I noticed that my Portland Farmer’s Market (PFM) canvas tote was missing...oh, bother. On my last trip to Portland as I waited for the bell to ring to open the market, I decided it was time to replace the latter. They had replaced their previous tote with a version that folded up into a neat bundle when not in use. I was ready to plunk down my $$$, when I read the inner tag: "Made In China." I passed on the tote.

Upon reflection, I find it very, very odd, downright offensive actually, that the PFM would source its promotional merchandise from thousands of miles away, especially given their "Mission" statement (as stated on the PFM "About Us" page):

PFM operates vibrant farmers markets that contribute to the success of local food growers and producers, strengthen our food economy and serve as community gathering places.

What’s wrong with this picture!!! Could it be that there is something fundamentally at odds between the high-minded façade and the economic realities of the current incantation of many of the Farmers Market organizations in this country…a few words to follow on Seattle’s Farmers Market turf wars.

Kirby Craze 2011

Based on the number of hits I've been getting every day on my post Will The Real Kirby Cucumber Please Stand Up from last year, I would say that people have gone Kirby crazy. My guess is that most people searching for them have heard the name but never actually seen or tasted them! Well in last year's post, I neglected to include a picture of the standard pickling cucumber often sold as a "Kirby." In the above left photo are some National Pickling Cucumbers (Not Kirby Cucumbers), and in the right photo are the real things (Kirby Cucumbers).

Looking For A Few Frills?

When I first spied these frilly bunches at the Local Roots booth at the Farmer's Market several Sundays back, I thought they were just another member of the curly endive family, but I was oh, so wrong. Siri informed me that thy were bunches of Golden Frill mustard, and this was the first year they planted it. Apparently it is a recent, 10 to 12 years ago that is, cross between a Violet Moss Curled kale and Green Wave mustard. It gets its lacy/frilly structure from the kale, along with a nice touch of sweetness. It gets its spicyness, a moderate level of heat and a 'bright' mustard burst from the mustard. This makes for a delicious flavor profile - I was stunned on my first taste - and leaves that are on one hand tender enough to be used in salads, and strong enough to withstand a very quick stir fry without turning to mush. I've used it in salads and pasta to date, and for my next experiment I intend on using it to wrap a piece of rich/oily fish before cooking. What a pleasant spring find.

Spring Trolling Nets A No Beak Salad

With a month-long craving for octopus pushing me, I finally decided the past Sunday to make the time to see if there was any to be had in the local fish markets. I’m not talking about the bright burgundy-colored stuff you find in Japanese markets, already cleaned and partially cooked. No, I wanted the slimy grey stuff that may have been tenderized a bit or maybe not. I was resigned to the fact I might only find it frozen. I visited the Ballard Farmers’ Market first to see what was available. I had planned to go the Mediterranean route, so I was definitely interested in some potatoes. I perused several booths when I ran across the perfect match, Purple Viking Potatoes. Unlike Peruvian Purple potatoes, Purple Vikings have snow white flesh and purple skin with red mottling, when sliced they have a color pattern similar to octopus that has been cooked and sliced…perfect. I also picked up some eggs, Wall Rocket - aka, Wild Arugula – and a spicy salad mix composed primarily of Mizuna, Tatsoi, and Baby Red Mustard leaves. I then headed to the Pike Place Market, and as luck would have it, one of the three fish vendors had frozen octopus. They sold it in frozen one-kilo blocks, so I bout two and headed home to cook.

As with squid, you have two options in cooking octopus, and that’s the long and short of it…I decided to take the long slow route. My two babies had been partially cleaned - guts and beak removed - and so things went pretty quickly after I thawed them. KATZ Chef’s Pick organic California olive oil, garlic, thyme, a dried red Ayers Creek organic Sivri Aci chile, a touch of white wine and my octopi went into my Le Creuset Dutch Oven and into the oven at 300 degrees. After about 1-1/2 hours I removed my shrunken babies to cool - I reduced the liquid for use later. Later that afternoon I cut up the octopi and marinated them in olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper and a few splashes of KATZ Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Agrodolce Vinegar.

The next day I sliced the potatoes and cooked them in a fry pan with water, olive oil, sea salt and pepper - you know the drill – just barely al dente with a touch of browning here and there. I dressed all of my greens with the KATZ Olive Oil and Agrodolce Vinegar, quartered a hard boiled egg, and voila, my take on a classic combination from the Mediterranean...Octopus and Potato Salad for two.