In which our plucky heroine woke up this morning feeling fairly chipper...
As we have had a brief respite from the heat and the smoky haze, it seemed like a good morning to head over to the farmers market...
Sadly, I had to forgo buying pounds and pounds of tomatoes, but next week I'll remember to bring my small wheelie-cart and hopefully bring home at least eight pounds or more! Even so, my daypack and tote bag were quite heavily laden, and my legs ached by the time I made it back to Acorn Cottage.
 |
| cultivated purslane |
In addition to four pounds of tomatillos, I did bring home several pounds of nectarines, a few ears of organic corn (yay! that is hard to find) new potatoes, haricots vert, tiny new zucchini, a small brandywine tomato, a big head of organic iceberg lettuce, and a bunch of cultivated purslane. I always like to try new-to-me things, and while I have nibbled the weedy purslane from the side yard here, cultivated purslane is HUGE. It is related to portulaca, has a mild green lemony flavor and is full of antioxidants.
I love shopping there, love that
my EBT money can be doubled, which allows me more healthy tasty produce, and I was fortunate this year as a senior to also receive 24 dollars in
"Oregon Farm Direct Nutrition Program" coupons (this is a lottery, as there is much more demand for food aid than money available) Using some of these extra resources to make several savory shelf-stable flavor-intensive condiments*, which I store in the pantry, and which add flavor to my meals all year long. (since I react badly to manufactured citric acid, I can't eat commercial processed condiments, but I still like tasty food!)
Every year I wait eagerly for the tomatillos to show up in the market, as they are the main component of salsa verde. Bought four pounds which will hopefully yield at least twenty small jars, and I guess part of my weekend is now spoken for...
In the interest of getting it done quickly, after a big green salad with the lettuce, tomato, and purslane from the market this morning... I cooked up the tomatillos and added all the additional greenery (onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice) that turns them into salsa verde.. now to run the stick blender, prep the jars and prepare to preserve... The refilling of the pantry shelves is about to commence!
*
salsa verde,
asian plum sauce, and
awesome sauce (aka british chili jam) are my three staples for making up and canning for the pantry
