Last Two Weeks at the Market

I have much to report about the last two weeks of scouring the Farmer's Market. Somehow, though, posting on this blog has been beyond me since dealing with the loss of the Divine Miss Hannah. This five year old little girl was scientist, artist, and inquisitor extraordinare. Had I ever been fortunate enough to have a little girl, I would have wanted her to be just like Hannah. We will miss her terribly and as I write these next few posts about our new "family members" at 303 Williams Street...three Buff Orpington pullets, I write with the knowledge that Hannah and her baby sister, Lily, would be as fascinated with these gorgeous creatures as their cousin, Ella has been! Here is a much loved shot of Hannah in front of one of her "satellite art galleries"...our refrigerator.

Last weekend at the Farmer's Market, the organic vendor known for his luscious Sungold tomatoes made his appearance shortly before we arrived. I bought THREE POUNDS...all he had left, which meant that I needed an incredible recipe featuring tomatoes on our weekend menu. The prior week, I had saved one of Fred Thompson's recipes from his Weekend Gourmet column in The News and Observer. I went home and reviewed the recipe and knew that while I could find no local cilantro (much too hot here...we have tried again and again) that most of the ingredients could be bought locally. I used some of the Sungolds, all of the tomatoes that we could gather from our own garden, and a few other local tomatoes bought at the market. The flavor was amazing and I must agree with Fred Thompson who said, "Shed the shock of a cold soup and enjoy the flavor. You'll have a cooling and intense taste experience." You'll find his column about cold soups, entitled The Shock of the Cool fascinating. Below you will find my version of his Gazpacho with Crabmeat recipe. Stephen, John Alexander, Melissa, Jess, Ella, and I ALL TRULY ENJOYED IT! It will be on our table again this summer while local tomatoes are available!

Gazpacho with Crabmeat

INGREDIENTS:
Soup
3 pounds ripe local tomatoes
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 local red pepper, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced (more if you like more heat)
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more if you like more heat)
1 clove minced garlic
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Juice and zest of one lime
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro sprigs to garnish each soup bowl

Crabmeat salad
1 pound lump crabmeat
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 Teaspoons fish sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Soup-Core tomatoes and cut into quarters. Process in food processor until large chunks of tomato disappear and soup is consistently smooth. Pour into separate bowl. Add red onion, red pepper, jalapeno, garlic, crushed red pepper, and cilantro to food processor bowl and process until mixture is finely chopped. Add tomatoes again and process until gazpacho is of the consistency that you like (smooth vs. chunky). Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl or pitcher. Add lime zest and juice, both vinegars, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Stir and sample for taste. Adjust salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper/jalapeno to suit your “heat index.” Cover and refrigerate several hours…overnight, if possible.

Crabmeat salad and serving directions-Right before serving, mix crabmeat, cilantro, lemon juice, and fish sauce. Divide the crabmeat among six soup bowls and ladle chilled gazpacho over crabmeat salad. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and serve.

-adapted from The Shock of the Cool by Fred Thompson, The News & Observer, Friday, July 13, 2007