Vegetable economics

Last week we talked about the overflowing bounty now on display 

at our farm and all the farmers markets stands, and indeed this is that time 

of summer when we get almost giddy about fresh produce.

You can so easily go to the farmers market (or your backyard farm) 

without a specific plan of what you will cook and as you gather what's available, 

your meal will start coming together in your mind. 

(Check out this video from Zagat shopping a Farmers Market with a chef):

All good tips–that is, if you can make it home 

with your treasures before stealing some bites. 

Recently at the Tuesday Farmers Market in Sonoma, a customer 

was inquiring how to store the raspberries he was buying. 

The farmer smiled and said, "Who knows? Most everyone just 

eats them before they get home." 

We know what he means, as our raspberries from the farm 

often don't survive the trip to the restaurant and not because 

they are too delicate to travel, just too delicious to resist!

these managed to make it to the restaurant
and you can enjoy the Summer Crisp of local berries with lemon verbena ice cream
now on the menu at the girl & the fig

Considering how irresistible all the fresh vegetables are this time of year 

and even though we know you are  getting creative, we wanted to share 

some great tips for freezing produce (yes, you can). 

Ok, it's true it may seem like blasphemy to talk about freezing produce 

now when everything is so fresh, but it's a good solution to 

the "I couldn't stop myself from buying everything in sight" affliction 

(or when you can't keep up with what you are growing), 

and later in the year, you'll be glad you did. 

This step-by-step process from what to select, how to cut, blanch and freeze 

is courtesy of Kenji Lopez-Alt, Chief Creative Officer at seriouseats.com 

where he "unravels the science of home cooking" at the Food Lab.

hard to resist buying it all, right?

On the subject of "vegetable economics," there's also the idea 

of using all the parts of the vegetables you have.

San Francisco Chronicle food writer Tara Duggan has a new book, 

Root to Stalk Cooking: The Art of Using the Whole Vegetable.

An introduction to the concept by San Francisco Chronicle Food Editor 

Miriam Morgan explains it this way: "Head-to-tail cooking, the term 

for using every part of the animal, is the mantra of 

sustainably conscious chefs these days. 

Now, a new book translates that into the vegetable realm...

Celery leaves? They go into slaw. Apple peels and cores? 

Make a jelly and flavor bourbon. Too many lemons? Here's how to freeze the zest.

Along with the recipes, the book weighs in on how to 

evaluate organic versus conventional produce; store and prepare produce easily; 

and add meat, fish and chicken into the picture."

There are more good tips on how to use all of a vegetable, including a few recipes.

radish leaf salad with corn, tomatoes & salted cucumbers
photo by Clay McLachlan for San Francisco Chronicle

Our chefs know all these tricks and continue to be creative 

all the time with the bounty we bring them from the farm.

They know all about what to do with lots of cucumbers and tomatoes, 

including the current salad of the season: cucumber vinaigrette, summer herbs, 

lemon cucumber, snap peas, a recent soup special and this week's Plats du Jour entree.

 tomato cucumber gazpacho at the girl & the fig

this week's Plats du Jour features a tomato tart

And they are always inspired by what is currently growing at the farm.

Now, our popular Panisse Cake, which at other times of the year 

is presented with chickpea purée, sautéed garden chard 

and marinated sheep's milk feta is now served 

as basil panisse cake~ tomato coulis, cherry tomatoes, 

marinated feta, mizuna, featuring our current garden stars.

Our panisse cake this past winter

current version of Panisse cake using the farm's
basil and tomato 

What are you growing at your farm or finding at the farmers market

that is inspiring you right now?

And do you have any tips for what you do when you have too much?