Farmer's Market Extravaganza!

I made a deal with myself at the Farmer's Market yesterday -- I knew that I had a couple of things in mind that I wanted to pick up, but I took out plenty of cash and told myself I was allowed to buy whatever looked good, and I'd deal with the (positive) "consequences" later. :) I only ended up spending $23, but I don't think I could have carried more home if I had tried! Look at what I got:

Two big bunches of basil, "candy-stripe" beets, baby zucchini and summer squash, kale, bananas, lemons, broccoli, baby new potatoes, and two cartons of strawberries! Everything was local, except for the bananas and lemons, of course. :)

When I arrived back home from the farmer's market, I got busy.

Pesto:

I have big plans for this all week long!

Homemade pizza for lunch:

I made a crust from some unbleached all-purpose flour, some spelt flour, and a touch of gluten, topped it all with homemade marinara, smoked mozzarella, zucchini, red onion, kalamata olives, artichokes, mushrooms, and dabs of homemade pesto!! YUUUUUUUMMMMM. A very satisfying lunch yesterday, with watermelon on the side. (Dan and I laughed about how triangular our lunch was!)

Strawberry Galette:

I had planned on making a strawberry pie, but decided I didn't want to fuss around with pastry quite so much, so I made a free-form, rustic galette. Next time, I won't brush the top of the pastry with lemon juice and sprinkle it with sugar, since it browned WAY too much. But this was so damn tasty, I'll give you the recipe -- I based it loosely on the pastry and blueberry pie recipes from Betty Crocker.

PASTRY:
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
13 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery sticks, chilled and cut into small pieces
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water
Combine the flour and salt, and cut in the Earth Balance, leaving some larger pieces of the marg still in tact. Toss in the water with a fork until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill.
FILLING:
6 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Toss the above together. Roll out the pastry into a large circle, and transfer the circle to a large baking sheet or pizza pan. Pile the filling into the middle of the circle, spreading evenly. Dot the top of the filling with an additional 1 tablespoon of margarine. Fold up the edges of the pastry, overlapping around the filling. Bake the galette at 425 degrees Farenheight for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden brown!

I also made a jar of strawberry jam with the strawberries that were left after making the galette:

(I only made a half-recipe, since I had just over two cups of strawberries left.) So easy, and so delicious! I've made this jam with raspberries and blackberries before, and I think it would work well with blueberries, also. I can't wait to experiment more! I see strawberry-rhubarb jam in my future, I think. :)

I didn't actually make this yesterday, but I did thaw and bake it!

I had made a double-batch of homemade bread a while ago, and had parked most of it in the freezer for later consumption. After taking almost all day to thaw and rise, this loaf baked beautifully, and make excellent toast for breakfast this morning. :)

Dinner last night:

Brown rice, cucumber, avocado, and sesame seed nori rolls with a side of steamed edamame. 1 1/2 rolls each seems to be just the right amount for both Dan and I!

And lastly, Dan had to work yesterday morning for only a couple of hours, and after the farm tour he gave, he decided to walk through the woods and gather a surprise for me:

Black raspberries! These were SO good, and a very fun treat. We ate them as is over the course of the afternoon yesterday.

Less cooking planned for today, but I still have a few recipes up my sleeve. Until then . . .