Beaverton Farmer's Market Part 3

Although I missed the farmer's market last week due to being at the LP national convention in Denver, I was able to go this morning. Taking a week off must have helped ;-). There was a greater selection of fruits and vegetables than the past weeks combined. I took a walk through to see what everyone had first then made my way back around to get what I needed.

First I bought two large stalks of rhubarb which I made into a pie, recipe to follow in this post. I pick up more asparagus from where I got some two weeks ago, as well as some onions. Made my way over to another stand and got a bunch of carrots and some butter ball potatoes. I found out that these potatoes are good for baking or mashing, but have a heavy starch content so they don't work when cooked too long. I picked up two Yukon golds to use in a curry later in the week.

I didn't get seafood this week, but the snapper I got the last time was delicious. I just fried it up in a pan in olive oil and put some dill and pepper on it, a little bit of homemade cocktail sauce (ketchup, grated horseradish, granulated garlic) and a shot of lemon juice. Before I left I got some strawberries, mainly for my wife who loves them.

I wanted to try and cook the rhubarb again and decided to try and make a pie for a house warming party my wife and I were going to later in the evening. I cut off the ends of the rhubarb to make sure there was no trace of the leaves (They are poisonous!) and ran the stalks through the food processor to get a even thin cut. I put about a half a cup of sugar, cut up some of the strawberries and a few apricots and mixed them together. After making a basic crust I made a small sample pie, turned out good but too bitter/sour. So I added another half cup of sugar, baked the pie and hoped for the best.

After dinner I waited to see if people would be smiling or if their faces were puckering up. Turned out perfect, everyone loved the pie. So here is the recipe including the crust.

Rhubarb Fruit Pie
2 discs of basic pie crust (see recipe below)
2 large stalks of rhubarb
8 strawberries
4 apricots
1 cup sugar
1 Tbs corn starch

Basic Pie Crust
2 cups flour
2/3 cups shorting (cream cheese can be substituted for shorting)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup ice water

To make crust mix flour, salt and shorting using a pastry cutter or two knives. Slowly add water and stir with a fork until pastry sticks together. Add as much water until pastry is moist but not too wet. Break off into two lumps, one slightly larger than the other. Put balls into saran wrap and press down to flatten. Refrigerate for one hour minimum or up to twenty four hours.

Cut up rhubarb and any other fruits (I used strawberries and apricots), add sugar and corn starch and stir. Roll out larger pastry ball and put filling inside shell, cover with smaller shell or cut into a lattice pattern. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 375F. Cool pie after cooking for about 30 minutes to one hour, serve and enjoy.

I'll use the asparagus in a stir fry, curry and just plainly grilled or fried. The carrots came with the tops on. The person selling me the carrots asked if I wanted the tops cut off. I asked if you can cook them, like beet greens. He told me that this is debatable, some say you can other say that they are too bitter. A woman who worked at the booth mentioned that rabbits do eat the greens, so they are edible. I tried some with the guy I was talking to and realized that they are very bitter. I'm going to try and see if I can cook them up so I can go back and give them a recipe.

I may try cooking the potatoes like I did with the blue potatoes I got the last time. They were very small so I sauteed them with onions and garlic in olive oil. They turned out tasty but not much flavor. My wife suggested that they would go better with eggs, such as a side dish for breakfast. I'm thinking of using them when I make chicken breasts later in the week.