A Crisp Fall Day at the Tigard Farmers Market

The Market

This fall day called for an extra Columbia Sportswear layer in order to stay warm at the Tigard Farmers Market. It was dry though, and the market was open for business. We really notice the change in a market's atmosphere based on the season and weather. How different would the Tigard farmer's market be in early July when everyone is just getting excited about the warm weather and fresh strawberries. Pulling out the shorts for the first time that you really need them and pulling on the fleece for the first time just put you in two completely different frames of mind. And as you have read, hopefully, in our earlier posts, the atmosphere and attitude of the people, both buyers and sellers, have a huge impact on any market's feel. Regardless of the colder weather, the Tigard Farmers Market was full of hardy souls determined to find the perfect Pumpkin and, still to be had, fresh fall produce. Even this late in the season, there were still fresh strawberries available. I tried one and was disappointed. The Hoods are long gone and we can only dream about them until next year. Even the berries I froze don't quite cut it. The Tigard Farmers Market has a unique layout based in a couple of parking lots right on 99e. It seemed centrally located and easy for people to get to. We enjoyed the assortment of vendors and noticed that some regulars were probably already finished for the season. Notable, was a rock polisher/jewelry maker who was drawing a lot of attention. He had some very nice pieces. So, what did we buy this time. Keeping with my fall cooking theme, we bought some parsnips and yukon gold potatoes for....Smashed Parsnips and Potatoes with Thyme to go along with a modified Cabernet braised short ribs recipe I planned to make that evening. We also bought some pears to be baked into a dessert with roasted hazelnuts. Fall food for sure. I like to cook with roasted hazelnuts. It is really convenient to buy a bag, roasted, at a farmers market, stick them in the freezer where they are ready for use. Roasting and skinning hazelnuts is a tedious and messy job.

The Table

Smashed Parsnips and Potatoes with Thyme (Martha Stewart)
1 part parsnips to 3 parts potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces keep separate
1 Tablespoon thyme
Olive oil

1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the parsnips with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, a little more salt; just cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 12 to 14 minutes.
2. Drain parsnips and potatoes. Return the empty suacepan to high heat and let the remaining water evaporate. Add another tablespoon or so of oil and the thyme. Cook about 1 minute. Add back the parsnips and potatoes and smash. Season with salt and pepper. Optionally drizzle with more olive oil.

Note the following recipe is a modified braised short beef rib recipe. Sometimes the short ribs are a little fatty for us. I substituted a pot roast like cut of beef and cut the roast into 2 1/2 to 3 inch pieces. You may use short ribs if you prefer.

Cabernet-Braised Beef

2 - 3  pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 2 1/2- to 3-inch pieces

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

About 1 tablespoon salt

About 1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion (about 10 oz.), chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

2 1/2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1. Rinse beef and pat dry. In a paper bag, combine flour with 1 tablespoon each salt and pepper. Drop beef into bag and shake to coat. Lift beef out, shaking off excess flour mixture.

2. In a heavy 6-quart pan over medium-high heat, melt butter with olive oil. Working in batches, add beef in a single layer and turn to brown on all sides, about 5 minutes total per batch. With tongs, transfer beef to a bowl. Discard all but about 2 tablespoons fat in pan.

3. Reduce heat to medium and add onions and garlic to pan; stir often until onions are limp, about 6 minutes. Stir in wine, mustard, then return short ribs to pan. Cover and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to maintain a low simmer and cook, turning beef once or twice to submerge meat, until very tender when pierced, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.



Cabernet-Braised Beef served over Smashed Parsnip and Potatoes with Thyme



4. With tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer beef to individual wide, shallow bowls. Skim off and discard any fat from pan juices. Boil juices over high heat until reduced to about 3 cups. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Pour juices over beef.

Baked Pear and Hazelnut dessert

Pear dessert was a simple: 2 sliced pears, 1 tablespoon flour, sugar to taste, a pinch of cinnimon, 2 tablespoons butter and roasted hazelnuts coarsley chopped. Mix all but the butter and nuts in a bowl. Pour pear mixture into individual tart ramekins and cut the butter into small cubes and distribute evenly into ramekins. Distribute the hazelnuts the same way.

Place ramekins in the oven on a cookiesheet. Bake bake at 350 until soft. Note this recipe has no pie crust. You acan optionally add a crust top or bottom.

See ya,

ST. John's Farmers Market



Click on pictures for a larger view.



The Market

The farmers markets in general are starting to look a little bit like my garden. Some of them have shut down for the season. A few hardy ones are determined to squeeze out one or two more rounds of fruit. St. John's Farmers Market was alive and well on our visit. Located a few blocks east of the beautiful St. John's bridge in St. John's square. I thought parking was a bit difficult, but that may have been me being unfamiliar with the area. St. John's square is a very cool and welcoming meeting place feeling kinda small community even though the surrounding area is substantially populated and bustling. Another plus for this market is the proximity to Sauvie's Island with easy access to the bountiful crops grown there. The market itself was well attended and well represented by a rounded vendor set. The square where the market lives is very inviting and a lot of people were just hanging out. There was a lot of fresh produce still to be had and fresh food for purchase. The local coffee roasters and the very locally grown produce made you feel that this was truly the neighborhood's marketplace. We ended up buying some fresh spinach and and a fresh baguette. The other products at the bakery were really intriguing, but we were able to avoid temptation.

The Table

Lori did the cooking with the spinach. She made a wonderful fall dish called Cheesy Shells & Greens.

12 oz. medium shell pasta shells (I used whole wheat pasta)*

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Pinch Cayenne

6 oz. extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (1 1/2 cups)

Kosher salt and pepper

1 bunch spinach, thick stems discarded, leaves roughly chopped

*I cooked a 13.5 oz. box of pasta shells and had more pasta than needed. I felt that the casserole was somewhat dry so I added additional milk prior to broiling. Afterthought, maybe recipe should have read 12 oz. of cooked pasta. Hmm......

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes; whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.

Whisk the mustard, nutmeg, cayenne, 1 cup Cheddar, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Add the pasta and spinach and toss to combine.

Heat broiler. Transfer the mixture to a 1 1/2 qt. broiler-proof baking dish or 4 12oz. ramekins. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar and broil until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes.