Winter Park, FL Farmers Market

National Geographic recently posted a list of 10 world "food markets." I've only been to two (New York City's Union Square and London's Borough Market) -- time to make some vacation plans! Seriously though, many vacation destinations have great markets, if you only stop to look.

A few months ago, I was in the Orlando area (yes, to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter) but the true highlight of the trip was an afternoon spent in Winter Park, FL.

A small town north of Orlando, Winter Park has several great tourist sites, including the Morse Museum of American Art, a scenic boat tour and of course, the Saturday farmers market.

Set in an old train depot, literally across active Amtrak train tracks, the market was packed with people and produce.

But not all the produce was local. Oh sure, there were boxes of local citrus - but alongside were kiwi from Italy, beets from Michigan and artichokes from California. From what I've read, this situation - a mix of local and non-local items - is the case with markets across Florida.  

So I browsed and ended up getting:
-Two kiwis, imported from Italy
-Three heirloom tomatoes, grown locally
-A box of strawberries, also local
-A bag of the most amazing kettle corn (and I generally hate kettle corn)

The kettle corn was made fresh in front of me (I guess that makes it local?!) and was just the right combination of sweet and salt.

 

My biggest regret is that I couldn't justify buying an orchid and taking it home with me. There were at least three vendors across the market selling beautiful orchids at all price points. Maybe next time.

The Winter Park Farmers market is open on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is worth a visit if you're in the area.

Fall in the Finger Lakes: Part One

Fall is here, but rather than being SAD (or suffering from season affective disorder), I'm actually quite happy about it. Fall is my favorite season. And I was lucky enough to spend the first true "fall-like" weekend wandering among the vineyards and farm stands of the Finger Lakes. It's harvest season. Around one corner, row upon row of grape vines dripping with purple-black fruit. Around the next corner, row upon row of corn stalks, some still featuring corn, others drying out in the sun. And around the next, an honor-system farm stand featuring the last of the season's tomatoes next to the first of the season's apples. And while the local grape traditions -- from stomping and pie -- abound, when it comes to baking, I have to say I prefer apples. The first-of-the-season apples were super crisp and just a little tart. I attempted to make a riff on the Dutch apple tart served at Winkel in Amsterdam, where a thick pie dough rises to encase the apples. I followed this recipe but unfortunately was a bit stingy on the dough (stretched one recipe to fit two pie plates), so the end result was more pie than cake. But luckily, apple season, like the fall, is young. So there is lots of time left to get it just right.

Summer nostalgia: Rehoboth Beach Farmers Market

Where has the time gone? Late October already, the foliage in the lower Hudson Valley is at peak and Halloween is around the corner. In other words, a perfect time to share what I did on my late summer vacations. Unlike most people, I tend to take more vacation in September than any other time of the year. Last month, I went from the sandy shores of Delaware to the bustling (yet mostly protest free) streets of Paris to the lazy canals of Amsterdam. First up was the beach, which is an annual event. After Labor Day, the crowds dwindle but the bounty of summer is still to be had, especially at the farmers market. The Rehoboth Beach market is not huge, but seems like it's getting bigger every year. Offering a mix of prepared treats and local produce, it's the ideal place to shop to stock your beach rental kitchen. The first week of September, peaches and corn shared table space with eggplant and pumpkin. But the find of the day were multi-colored heirloom plum tomatoes. When the weather cools off a bit, or when I am staying in a fully air conditioned beach rental, I love to crank the oven to 225 and slowly roast plum tomatoes for five or six hours or so. Just halve the tomatoes lengthwise, place cut side up on a sheet pan, cover with a glug of olive oil and sprinkle of salt and you're good to go. Luckily, I've been able to find plum tomatoes at my local market, even as recent as last week, but I know the season is ending (kind of like summer). The good news is that any plum tomato, even the sad grocery store specimens of January, taste great after a few hours in the sauna/oven. Meaning slow roasted tomatoes provide taste of summer that you can enjoy all year.

Seneca Lake: U-Pick Raspberries

In late August, I had another opportunity to go up to Seneca Lake for the day (and yes, passed that cute honey stand again). But this visit, I got to do something I had been waiting to do all summer: pick raspberries. I have been known to shell out big bucks for raspberries from the farmers market. So when I passed a small field with a sign saying "U-Pick -- $3 a quart" how could I resist? Little did I know that it had not been a banner year for this particular field. What berries there were were tiny. The farmers, who came out into the late afternoon sun to pick alongside me (they sell most of their berries at auction) said the weather had been terrible. It took me, and my two helpers (thanks mom and dad!) about 20 minutes to fill the quart-size container with little berries, dodging BIG bees the whole time. After some post-picking cleaning, I still had a nice quantity of raspberries to use in my morning oatmeal, top a scoop of frozen yogurt and just eat plain. Here's hoping for better weather and a better crop next year (I'll be back).

Peach Upsidedown Cake (inspired by Alton Brown)

I baked these in a 6-count, 6 oz. jumbo muffin pan but you can also use ramekins. And no, the berries pictured below are not the ones I picked in New York, but are their California cousins.

Ingredients 5 T. Butter 1/4 C. Brown sugar 3 Peaches, peeled and chopped 1 oz. Crystallized ginger, chopped as finely as you can 3/4 C. Flour 1 1/2 t Baking powder 1/4 t. Baking soda Dash of salt Dash of cinnamon 1/3 C. Sugar ¼ C. Plain yogurt ½ C. Milk 1/2 T. Vanilla Method Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the muffin pan or ramekins with non-stick spray. Add a small pat (approximately 1/2 T.) of butter to each tin and cover with about a 1/2 T. of brown sugar, 1/6 of the peaches and a sprinkling of the crystallized ginger. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a smaller bowl, melt the remaining butter and combine with the sugar, yogurt, milk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just incorporated. Pour the batter over the peach ginger mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool slightly and then invert and serve.

Local Honey on Seneca Lake

I was upstate over the weekend -- this time on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake. The Finger Lakes are a great place to visit in the summer. There's a roadside stand around every corner, be it someone selling corn right out of the field or a small table loaded with squash, tomatoes and a small cash box (got to love the honor system)! But this visit, I found something I'd never seen -- a small roadside honey house. Local honey is in. And honey, let me tell you: this stand was literally golden. Surrounded by wildflowers, the little "lean to" looked like something out of the pages of a magazine (MSL - take note). Inside was a small table with a cash box, a few bottles of honey and a price list. For $5.50, I grabbed two 1/2 pound jars of honey: one pale and golden and one a dark, rich amber. Inside the small cash box was a little pad where people noted the dates of their visit and what they took ("third year visiting!" one entry read). Honey, especially local honey, is supposed to have a lot of benefits (helps with allergies?). I don't use honey very often, but nothing beats the combination of honey with banana and peanut butter. And during hot summer mornings, the combination mixed with a little milk and ice makes a great smoothie. Plus, it's a sweet way to enjoy summer (and the bounty of bees) while it lasts.

Peanut Butter Honey Banana Smoothie

Ingredients

1 Banana, peeled and cut into chunks*

1 T. Peanut butter (preferably natural)

1 t. Honey

.5-1 C. Skim milk (depending on desired thickness)

Ice cubes

Method Add first four ingredients to blender and puree until combined.

Add ice cubes a few at a time or extra milk until smoothie is desired thickness.

*This smoothie recipe works great with frozen banana chunks if you have them/have time to freeze them.

Beach Rental Cooking: Hilton Head Island

Just back from the beach, and boy do I have the vacation blues. I spent the past week on Hilton Head Island, and six days never went so fast. Despite it being early in the season, my visit coincided with spring break. And while the wide, sandy beaches provided plenty of space for everyone, sadly, the local restaurants did not. It seemed like hour-long waits for a table and overtaxed kitchens were the rule rather than the exception. A local pizza joint stopped answering its phone (walk-in orders welcome, 90 minute wait for a pie). So we ended up doing a lot of cooking. And discovered that while Hilton Head has a huge assortment of grocery stores (I hit the Fresh Market, Piggly Wiggly and Harris Teeter during my stay), there are really few produce stands. Maybe it was the season, but I only spotted one -- just off island before the bridge. Calling it a "stand" may be slightly generous (series of tables in a dusty parking lot?) but I gamely stopped and spent about $9 on tomatoes, red skin potatoes, green and yellow squash and a bunch of Vidalia onions (based on the conditions, I suggest skipping the "fresh local jumbo shrimp"). The challenge of beach rental cooking is to make the most of what you have, including limited ingredients and sub-standard kitchen equipment (e.g., dull knives). Since we had already purchased such staples as eggs, celery, mayo, baby spinach, feta, bow tie pasta and bruschetta topping, it was easy to turn the potatoes into potato salad, to toss roasted squash and onion with pasta, and to serve sliced tomato in sandwiches or with baked eggs.

Cooking while on vacation may not be everyone's first choice, but when you focus on simple, easy dishes, it's a heck of a lot better than fighting hunger pangs or loud patrons at the local tourist traps!

Beach Vacation Baked Eggs

If you're making breakfast for a crowd, or if your rental doesn't have large ramekins, you can also bake these in a metal muffin tin. Just reduce the quantity of ingredients slightly (don't overfill the tins) and cooking time (15 minutes or until set) accordingly.

Ingredients (for a single serving)

Cooking spray or olive oil

2 Slices of tomato

.25 C. Baby spinach leaves

1 Egg, lightly beaten

1 T. Crumbled feta

Method

Preheat oven to 400.

Lightly grease a large ramekin or muffin tin.

Layer tomato on bottom of ramekin or tin; top with baby spinach, beaten egg and feta crumbles.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until egg has set.

London: Market to Market

After a hectic holiday, work took me to London the second weekend of January. It was a quick trip, and I literally had 36 hours of free time. But I made good use of the time, seeing a show ("An Inspector Calls"), dining in two of my favorite quick casual restaurants, attending evensong services at Westminster Abby (I think I prefer St. Paul's, but still worth checking out) and of course, visiting two of my favorite markets: Greenwich and Borough. Greenwich, just down the Thames from London, is a really cute college town I got to check out on my last visit (in October). Back in late October, the weather was still nice enough to take the river cruise to Greenwich. However, with the bitter January weather, I decide to take the train. And the one hour journey (tube to DLR) was worth it for the shopping and food. Greenwich market has a ton of stalls selling everything from handcrafts to fashion to accessories. And many offer unique items at reasonable prices. The market is also lined with really interesting stores specializing in clothing, jewelry or home goods, so you could spend the whole day there. On this visit, I picked up two makeup purses at Afxentiou. I discovered the stall on my last visit, the bright graphic prints (one could say almost Orla-Kiely-esque) catching my attention straight away. And since it's a small, London-based company with prices that are most definitely not Orla-Kiely-esque, the purses make great gifts too. I also couldn't resist buying a funky chicken doorstop from refab (despite not really having a door to prop up!). And then there's the food. From Portuguese to crepes to "Louisiana sausages," you could eat around the world from the food stalls. I decided to try a lahmacun wrap. The flatbread was crisped on the griddle and then stuffed with salad, hummus and a yogurt sauce. Nice and compact for eating on the go. Later that day (after training back to London, meandering through Soho and attending services at Westminster), I walked across the London Bridge to Borough Market. Sadly, I arrived a bit too late. By 30 minutes before closing, most stalls had gone or were breaking down for the day, including Kappacasein. With no cheese toastie for me this visit, I followed my nose (and the scent of grilling meat) to a new stand -- Northfield Farm. Northfield operates in the market as both a butcher and food stall. On one side, you can get your raw meat product and the other, cooked meat product. The "cooked side" had quite a menu -- from beef to pork to lamb. Although I was hoping for a sausage, by the time I made it to the front of the line, all they had left was lamb, lamb or lamb. So I opted for a lamb burger with mature cheddar and a sweet curry mustard. Once I peeled off the top bun (too much bread!), I actually enjoyed the burger. The lamb patty had been seared a deep brown on the outside but was still moist inside. And the cheese, although cold and not melty, was a nice touch. The burger really couldn't compare to a cheese toastie, but was a good substitute, especially since I was cold and hungry! The moral of the story is, when visiting either market, go early, go hungry and go to the ATM, as there's a lot of temptation at London's food, bric-a-brac and antique markets! Greenwich Market is open Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Take the DLR to "Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich" station. For more information, visit http://www.greenwichmarket.net/. Borough Market is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday but most of the food stalls are only open Friday and Saturday. Although the market closes at 6:00 p.m. on Fridays and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays, many stalls begin breaking down much earlier. Take the tube to London Bridge. For more information, visit http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/.

London Calling: Kappacasein at Borough Market

I've been doing a lot of traveling lately, which is why I have been doing less cooking (and less blogging!). In fact, I just returned from a big trip -- across the pond to London. I first visited London as a recent high school grad and have been back several times since. It was great to visit old favorites as well as make new discoveries. And for me, no trip to London is complete without a stop at Borough Market. Tucked under London Bridge, on the South Bank, Borough Market is foodie paradise. With a 50-50 mix of whole and prepared foods, even tourists without access to cooking facilities can eat their way through the market. But for me, there's only one stand to hit -- the "Raclette Guy." Originally affiliated with Neal's Yard Dairy, this visit, I noticed a new name on the stand -- Kappacasein (which Google tells me is a protein that is key to the cheese-making process). A recent Serious Eats post makes it sound like Kappacasein is still associated with the famous cheese shop, which is a relief. Despite the new name (and new prices), the stand still sells two dishes, both featuring gooey, melted cheese: raclette (which I have attempted to make before) and luscious cheese toasties, otherwise know as THE BEST TOASTED CHEESE SANDWICH IN THE WORLD. In my opinion, the key to their success is not the sourdough bread (although I think that is really the only kind of bread one should use for toasted cheese). Nor is it the nice mix of scallion, red onion and garlic sandwiched between the bread. No, it's the cheese. This time, I am pretty sure the cheese was a cows milk variety called Ogleshield and it was delicious, mild and melty. I must find some here in the States. If you visit, once you're done with your sandwich, resist the urge to go back for seconds, and instead wander west along the Thames River and hit the Tate Modern or cool home design stores (including Joseph Joseph and Black + Blum) at the Oxo Tower. Then, retrace your steps back to the market for seconds! After all, you'll have walked off the first sandwich no problem. Look for Kappacasein near the London Bridge side of the green market, directly opposite Southwark Cathedral (which has some stone walls and benches for you to sit and enjoy your sandwich).

The Wetlands of Amsterdam

It's been quite a hectic September between travel for fun, travel for work (and fun), getting socked with a triple whammy of a ear infection, eye infection and upper respiratory infection, and, if that wasn't enough, packing up and moving out of New York City (more on that later).

Needless to say, I haven't been doing a lot of cooking. So while I get my new place set up, and plan for my first trip to the local farmers market, here are pictures from my canoe tour of the countryside around Amsterdam a few weeks ago.

After watching a segment on 60 Minutes featuring Rick Steves paddling through the canals around Amsterdam, I knew I wanted to do the Wetlands Safari tour. The 60 Minutes segment aired in 2005, right after my first trip to the city and right before my second visit. I tried to make a booking back then, the trips were filled, so I ended up waiting four and a half years to get my chance.

On a cool and cloudy Sunday morning, I met a group of tourists from Australia, Austria, California, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland and yes, Holland, at the local TI and boarded a bus a few minutes outside the city limits for what turned out to be a five-hour tour through small villages, part of a major canal, and then a nature preserve.

And despite a little rain and wind mixed in with sunshine, it was worth it for the combination of scenery, wildlife and sound of the water. During the lunchtime pit stop, I even picked some wild blackberries.

So if you've already hit the Rijks Museum, toured the cramped Anne Frank House, bought your van Gogh Starry Nights poster and gawked your way through the Red Lights District, a canoe trip is not a bad way to spend an afternoon in Holland.