fresh feast

One of my favorite things about late spring and early summer in Texas is the Dallas Farmer's Market. It's open year round, but at this time of the year the weather is warmer, vegetables are crisper and fruits sweeter. I don't only love it for the fresh produce, but for the experience. It's a nice change of pace from the freezing over-crowded grocery stores that I usually frequent. When you're at the Farmer's Market you start to forget your in Dallas (minus the skyline views) and think you're at the food market in Italy, except everyone is speaking English. Oh well, I can pretend can't I?

We arrived at the DFM at 11 and cruised the aisles with our "green bag" in hand, sampling each stands produce before purchasing the one with the best flavor. That's the best part- at the grocery, you look at a tomato and HOPE that it tastes good, here I probably tried 6 different vendor's tomatoes before picking the one with incredible flavor that only vine-ripening can produce.

Side note, for my birthday I got some fresh basil garlic angel hair pasta and Texas olive oil from my parents that they had bought at the Farmer's Market, so I wanted to stick to the theme and see if I could make a meal solely (well, almost) from FM food. After our walk through we eventually bought tomatoes, squash, zucchini, asparagus, red and orange bell peppers, garlic, onions and peaches.

And a feast it was! Light, fresh, satisfying - perfect for a warm spring night. We had an appetizer of tomato bruschetta, pasta primavera for dinner and homemade sorbet and peaches for dessert.
Bruschetta

• 1 loaf ciabatta bread, sliced
• 2-3 medium tomatoes
• 3-4 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
• 1- 2 tsp fresh minced garlic, 1 clove for rubbing bread
• S & P
• Olive oil

Chop tomatoes into a small dice and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt, stir and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Drain off excess liquid. Stir in basil, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil (we used Tuscan herb flavored olive oil).

Brush ciabatta slices with olive oil and toast in oven or on grill, rub the toasted/grilled bread with the cut end of a garlic clove. Serve alongside bruschetta.

Pasta Primavera

• 1 lb. angel hair pasta
• 2 small yellow squash, sliced into rounds and then in half
• 1 large zucchini, sliced into rounds and then in half
• 3/4 bunch asparagus, tough ends removed, cut on the diagonal in 1/2-in pieces
• 2 bell peppers, roasted
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 white onion, sliced
• 3 tomatoes, quartered and grilled, or coarsely chopped (uncooked)
• large handful of arugula
• 1.5 cups chicken broth, reduced sodium
• 1/4 cup white wine
• S & P
• 3 Tbsp fresh chopped Italian parsley
• 3 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
• parmesan, garnish

To roast peppers, place under the broiler or directly on the gas stove and roast until blackened (yes, they will look and probably smell burnt, but the inside tastes delicious). After they’re blackened, place in a plastic bag and zip closed. Let sit for 20-30 minutes until cool enough to handle. Then peel, seed and slice into ½ pieces.

In a large skillet add chicken broth, white wine, garlic and 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper to a simmer- reduce by half. In another skillet sauté onion, zucchini, squash and asparagus until tender crisp, season with salt & pepper. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season water with salt. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to instructions. Once sauce is reduced by half, add cooked pasta, vegetables, peppers, herbs, and arugula and turn heat to medium high, toss together until sauce is mostly absorbed. Season with S & P and serve with fresh Parmesan.

Don't have all these vegetables? That's okay! Just use what you have, it’s a great way to use up leftover veggies in the frig!