This past weekend marked the outdoor opening of the North Union Farmers Market at Shaker Square for the 2010 season. With summer-like weather for the first weekend in April, there was no excuse not to stroll among the market’s vendors and see what kind of goodies we could bring home.

There were only a few fresh fruits and vegetables, but there were plenty of cheeses, grains, baked goods, and meats to make up for it. We bought some fresh eggs from Rolling Meadows Farm in Millersburg, sweet Italian sausage, ground beef patties, beef short ribs from Millgate Farm, and a fresh pecan pie from Gray House Pies that we took to Erie for Easter.

The sausage was the first thing cooked on the grill this season. Served along side a freshly made macaroni salad, it made me feel like it was already summer even though we could still see a flurry or two before we’re completely finished with winter.

Rib Cage Match: Beef vs. Pork

Compared to pork spare ribs, beef short ribs tend to be bigger, more tender and meatier. Short ribs come from the rib, plate, and a small corner of the chuck, with a full slab being about 10 inches square  and from 3-5 inches thick. Each slab has three or four ribs with a layer of boneless meat and fat which is thicker on one end of the slab than on the other.

Most rib cook-off events have pork and beef categories with purists on both sides. Barbecued and/or smoked ribs can take 6-8 hours to cook properly but it’s well worth the time. Many people have only cooked one or the other. Geography and availability have a little to do with it as well. I say choose what you like or what you can get, and most of all, choose to experiment a little. With so many good ways to cook ribs, try them all until you hit on something that you like. I like them both, but tonight, it was time for the short ribs.

In Praise of the Braise

Done properly, braising is one of the easiest and most flavorful ways to prepare meats and vegetables. Dry cooking methods like grilling, roasting, and frying are great at browning. Wet methods like boiling and steaming are best at softening tough food fibers. Braising is the best of wet and dry cooking methods in one. First you brown with dry heat, then you add liquid and simmer until tender. The long, slow simmer enables the tough collagen proteins to dissolve into tender morsels. Braised meats are cooked through; there is no such thing as a medium-rare pot roast, so don’t bother with thermometers or charts of cooking times. The only test for doneness is tenderness, which is why most most recipes give general time guidelines but also stress to cook “until fork tender”. When you can easily stick a fork into the meat, it’s done.

Braising can be done on the stove top or in the oven. Oven braising will take a bit longer, but you don’t have to worry about turning the meat because the heat is coming from all around instead of just the bottom. Best of all, braising enables you to get first class flavor from a less expensive cut of meat.

Braise the Beef and Pass the Tomatoes

Braising is one of the most popular ways to prepare beef short ribs and for good reason. The fat makes for an unctuous, wonderful sauce and the wide, flat bones help carry low, slow heat throughout.  There are many variations to the herbs and vegetables you can add. I chose to modify a recipe from my trusty Beard’s American Cookery. Chef Beard’s recipes are straight-forward yet layered with textures and flavors. No matter what I’m cooking, I find you just can’t go wrong with Chef Beard as a starting point.

Beard recommends browning meats under the broiler before braising instead of pan searing to draw out much of the fat. Broiling also gives you more visual control because you can clearly see the meat’s surface to monitor the browning process. The braise is finished in the oven for even cooking and one-pot convenience.

Here’s the recipe:

First I brined the ribs overnight using 1-1-1/2 ratio of 1/2 gallon of water, 1 /2 cup of salt, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar.  To that I added a little ground red pepper, coriander, and a bay leaf. After removing the ribs from the brine I let them rest in the refrigerator for about 8 hours. The brine isn’t essential, but I’m too in love with the flavor it adds to not do it.

Place the ribs fat side up on a broiler rack and pan, and sprinkle with half the herbs and garlic. Broil about 6 inches from the heat until brown and crisp, flip and sprinkle with the remaining herbs and garlic and brown the opposite side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. When browned, drain the ribs on paper towels and reserve 2 or 3 tablespoons of the drippings from the broiling pan. Set your oven for 300 degrees.

In the meantime, heat the butter and oil in a heavy, deep-sided pan with a tight fitting lid or a dutch oven and sauté the onions and carrots. Add the ribs to the pan and spoon the reserved drippings over them. Pour the tomatoes over the ribs and sprinkle with basil to taste. Add enough stock to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, cover tightly and braise in the oven until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours. Skim the fat from the pan juices and serve with the vegetables and the juices.

The sauce will be rich and layered with the tomato and vegetable flavors and the beef drippings. The carrots are soft, yet have a nice bite and are as sweet as can be. The best part? It tastes even better the next day.

When Renée suggested that I sign up for a Greenhouse Tavern Chef School Series class on butchering a whole pig, I jumped at the chance for several reasons. I love taking classes that have anything to do with food. I’ve taken classes on sauces, pasta making, and Italian cooking among others, and I always come away learning something that I can use in my cooking. I also want to learn more about charcuterie by making sausages, bacon, and other dry and salt cured meats, as well as learning confit techniques, and there’s no better place to begin than with pork. But ultimately, I was most excited about this class because it involved a locally farm-raised animal and because of the great respect I have for what Chefs  Jonathon Sawyer and Jonathan Seeholzer are doing at The Greenhouse Tavern.

If you didn’t know anything about The Greenhouse Tavern, you could, as Yogi Berra once said, “learn a lot just by watching.” Although not quite a year old, this unassuming eatery has quickly become another feather in Cleveland’s culinary cap, having been named one of Bon Apetit’s Top Ten Best New Restaurants in America, and is a popular spot along the rejuvenated East 4th Street. The food, of course, is fantastic, and the atmosphere is low-key, friendly, and casual. The name has significance beyond the first glance definition. The team at The Greenhouse Tavern are guided by two principles: “the idea that the proximity of the farm and soil to a restaurant correlates to the quality of its food and that environmentally conscious or green business practices are fundamental.” Collaborating with the Green Restaurant Association, The Greenhouse Tavern became the first certified green restaurant in Ohio. This approach resonates with me, not only in a business sense, but in a food and community sense as well. It’s meaningful, and that makes The Greenhouse Tavern the kind of restaurant at which I’m happy to spend my money.

Going Whole Hog

It’s one thing to see a nice, neat diagram of where different cuts of meat come from on an animal, but it’s no substitute for the real thing. If you’ve ever boned a chicken, carved a turkey, filleted a fish, or dressed a rabbit or a deer, you know how important it is to make the most of what the animal gives you. In the case of the pig, it gives a lot. Nearly every part of a pig can be made into something edible and I was excited to see the butchering process first-hand.

One of the best known Yorkshire pigs in popular culture is Arnold Ziffel, a long-running character in the 1960s rural sitcom Green Acres

Our farm-raised friend came from the Miller Livestock Company in Kinsman, Ohio. Miller produces cheese, grass-fed beef and lamb, and pastured chicken, turkey, and pork, and as been doing so without using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, hormones or antibiotics for over ten years. He regularly provides pigs, lamb, and beef to The Greenhouse Tavern and other restaurants in Northeast Ohio. Owner Aaron Miller was on hand to tell us a little about his farm and the pig about to be butchered. It was a 300 pound, 5 1/2 month old Yorkshire pig. The Yorkshire breed was developed in England and is thought to have first come to the US in Ohio in about 1830. Yorkshires are now found in nearly every US state, with the largest populations in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Ohio. Yorkshires are muscular with a high proportion of lean meat. Miller’s hogs are pasture-raised and feed on fresh grass with grain supplements. Miller also takes great care to minimize stress for his animals. This is not only part of the humane treatment they receive, it produces a better quality of meat.

No Pig In A Poke

The class began with some Dino Torti Sparkling Bonardo, which paired nicely with the pork appetizers laid out for the class to sample while we waited for the chefs to begin. This terrific array showcased some of the ways a pig can be used and included cured pork, Devils on Horseback, and prosciutto, along with cheese on The Greenhouse’s signature grilled bread. The Bonardo is similar to a Lambrusco, although not as sweet, and Chef Sawyer explained that sparkling wines like these are sold in most Italian butcher shops because of their great pairing qualities with pork.

As Chef Seeholzer began explaining the process of breaking down the animal, it was interesting to note the tools that were laid out. Sturdy, stiff knives, a traditional butcher knife that Chef Sawyer preferred, several cleavers, and a few thinner, more flexible boning knives. Chef Sawyer also explained his preference for a Japanese style blade that is dull toward the heel so it can be used to separate bones and cartilage without damaging the cutting surface of the edge and tip.

Different grips must be used as well depending on what and how you need to make a cut. The usual pinch grip used when holding a chef’s knife changes to a four finger warp around the handle for general cutting, and an index finger extended along the spine for stability and control in making precise cuts.

When breaking down any animal it’s important to understand as much as you can about the animal’s anatomy. Knowing the bone structure helps you make cuts that separate the animal more easily and give you the most desirable cuts of meat. Simple techniques like moving the limbs to see the natural points of movement and the seams that movement creates tell you where you should cut.

Chef Sawyer talked about how the different parts could be used, including how the cuts are used in other parts of the world, and gave us many useful pointers that come in handy when buying pork. For example, when a recipe calls for belly you can substitute shoulder for about 1/2 the cost without sacrificing quality or taste. Chef Sawyer also talked about rillettes, Zampone, and various ways to confit different parts of the pig. Both confit of pork and rillettes are on my list to do at home as I continue to explore charcuterie.

This fine animal produced some wonderful butt, hams, chops, and of course, bacon. What was most interesting was the relative size of the tenderloin compared to the size of the animal. It’s small size and difficult location explain why it is so expensive when you buy it in the store. Chefs Sawyer and Seeholzer explained that this animal would serve the restaurants needs for the coming week. So if you want to be sure to get some good pork, dine early in the week before it’s all gone!

As Chef Seeholzer finished his butchering workout, Chef Sawyer demonstrated how he uses cures and brines to create terrific flavors, textures, and to preserve the moisture content of the meat. I’ve written before about my love of brining, but the great thing about brines and rubs is that although the recipes usually contain salt, sugar, herbs, and seasoning, the combination and variety of ingredients you can use allows you to experiment with many ways to  create terrific flavors.

Chef Sawyer’s Dry Cure Recipe:

The use of Muscovado in this recipe is an example of exactly what I mean about combination and variety. During the sugar making process, the juices extracted from the sugar cane are boiled and the crystals are removed to make refined white sugar; what’s left is molasses.  Most brown sugar is made by adding the molasses back to white sugar. Muscovado sugar is minimally refined and gets its flavor and color directly from the sugarcane juice. It is more moist than other brown sugars and is commonly used in baking and whiskey making.  It is dark, strongly flavored, and very sticky with large, rough, uneven crystals. The high moisture content and strong flavor adds a lot to this dry cure.

The head of the pig was submerged whole in a brine consisting of the following. You could use this brine for any part of the pig:

Traditional head cheese is made by boiling the head until the meat falls off the bone, but some chefs will de-bone the brined head, season it, then braise it in a sous vide bag low and slow for hours, then chill it for several days before slicing. Either way, it’s going to make for some good eats later.

In Hog Heaven

In addition to the wine pairings, the class included tasting courses prepared to highlight the pork cuts we saw being butchered. This was like a bonus, not only because we got to eat some really good food, but because Chef Sawyer was around to answer questions and discuss what we learned in the class. Here’s what we had:

Firsts: Local Pork (not) Belly En Papier with beluga lentils, fregola sarda pasta and confited onion – I’ve used this cooking method before and it’s easy and adds tons of flavor and this dish proves it wonderfully

Seconds: Spring Pasta with morel mushrooms, fiddlehead ferns, and crispy pork – I could eat this every day for the rest of my life and not get tired of it

Thirds: Pan Fried Pork Chop Saltimbocca with sage, country ham, pommes puree and red eye gravy – Fantastic chop, wonderful prosciutto, and the pommes purée and gravy were silky smooth and flavorful

Chef’s Dessert Selection: Hazelnut Brownie with Jeni’s Bourbon Buttered Pecan ice cream and caramel – I love hazelnut and the ice cream and caramel were rich and delicious

I anticipated the dishes so much that I neglected to take good pictures of them when they arrived. You’ll just have to go the the Greenhouse and experience them for yourselves.

Thanks to Chef Sawyer, Chef Seeholzer, and the rest of the team at The Greenhouse Tavern for putting on a terrific class and serving us so well. You’ll see me at one of the classes in the future!  Upcoming classes include Best of The Greenhouse Tavern on 4/18, Foraging Forest Food on 5/16, Roof Top Grilling on 6/20, and Sustainable Seafood on 7/18. Stay tuned to the Greenhouse Tavern blog for more info.

“I like pigs.
Dogs look up to us.
Cats look down on us.
Pigs treat us as equals.”

~Winston Churchill

November 7th & 8th, 2008, Hiram College, Hiram, OH

The Northeast Ohio Food Congress invites you to join colleagues from 14 counties throughout the region as we explore the future of Northeast Ohio’s local food system.  Hosted by Hiram College, this two-day networking and educational event will feature contemporary local perspectives, informative presentations, tasty local eats, and inspiring field trips.  The Food Congress brings together urban and rural stakeholders from non-profits, governments, and businesses to identify opportunities for food system development, share best practices, and set goals for the local food economy.  Northeast Ohio is setting national trends in progressive food policy, and The Food Congress is our chance to assess, set priorities, and inspire action within the local food system.

Major Policy Areas of Focus will include:

• Supporting local producers and increasing productive capacity
• Enhancing critical food infrastructure
• Improving access to healthy food by under-served communities
• Strengthening linkages between farm and city
• Forming of county-level Food Policy Councils

Elements of a Sustainable Food System:

• Healthy – part of a balanced diet and not containing harmful biological or chemical contaminants;
• Proximate – originating from the closest practicable source or the minimization of energy use;
• Fairly or cooperatively traded between producers, processors, retailers, and consumers;
• Non-exploiting of employees in the food sector in terms of rights, pay and conditions;
• Environmentally beneficial environmentally or benign in its production (e.g. organic);
• Accessible both in terms of geographic access and affordability;
• High animal welfare standards in both production and transport;
• Socially inclusive of all people in society;
• Encouraging knowledge and understanding of food and food culture.

Last weekend, the farmer’s market yielded some beautiful pattypan squash. I hadn’t eaten them before but the way they were described to me, they sounded like something I would like; zucchini-like but with a nuttier flavor. I’m all for nuttier food.

Pattypan are easy to cook. They can be roasted, baked, sauteed, steamed, or stuffed.

I trimmed the ends, cubed them and sauteed them in some butter and garlic until browned, then added a few cubes of frozen stock for a little additional flavoring. A little coriander, a little salt and pepper, a sprinkle of fresh parsley and a dash of soy sauce later and we had ourselves a tasty treat!

It’s a sunny early fall day with just a hint of crispness and the beginnings of familiar fall aromas in the air. This time of year we usually get out to Patterson’s Fruit Farm to load up on fresh local apples and cider (the fresh grape juice is unbelievable, too!), but today Renée and Ali made a quick run to pick up some fixin’s for chili and grabbed a bag of apples while they were out, just for eating.

As luck would have it, the bagged apples were less than fresh, which is always a bummer, but it wasn’t worth returning to the store to get another bag. So, what to do? Applesauce, of course.

Applesauce is one of the easiest things you’ll ever make, so don’t expect to find much culinary enlightenment on the topic here.

Pare the apples, put them in a pot with a little water and a dash of salt, and cook them over medium heat until soft.

Use a mixer or hand masher to reduce the pieces to a fine consistency. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar, cook a few minutes longer and remove from the heat. Push through a strainer to remove peel if desired. Serve warm or cold.

Storing fresh made applesauce in the freezer is easy. Get some good quality freezer bags, fill them with applesauce and lay flat on a cookie sheet in your freezer. Once they are frozen, rebag them in larger bags, and voila, flat packages to store nicely in your freezer.

You can also take some fresh peeled apples, throw them in a big pot, add the juice from a few lemons, toss and freeze the same way. You’ll have perfectly white apples for crisps, crumbles, pies,  or whatever your heart desires anytime of the year.

Other things applesauce:

• Applesauce Polish – Remove scratches and blemishes and restore the shine to your iPod withApplesauce’s special two-part system. It can safely and easily restore your iPod’s original finish.

• Rain Makes Applesauce – This strange, weird and fascinating work by Julian Scheer and Marvin Bileck dates back to 1964. The book consists of very strange and nonsensical sentences like “Salmon slide down a Hippo’s hide, and rain makes applesauce,” and “Monkeys mumble in a jelly bean jungle, and rain makes applesauce.” The book also has some interesting illustrations.

• Project Applesauce

• Applesauce T-shirts

• Applesauce Inc. – The parent company of Applebee’s

• Applesauce Inn B & B – Bellaire, Michigan

• Sir Isaac Newton’s Theory of Gravity and the Falling Apple
  

• Did Jimmy Durante coin the phrase pork chops and apple sauce? No, it was Jimmy Cagney. Years later, it was also the center of a Brady Bunch episode, where Peter Brady imitates Jimmy Cagney after his mom tells Peter what they are having for dinner.

Oh, and if Ali spies your applesauce…

This is what happens to it…

I was lucky to get any at all!

“Someone has observed that a pig resembles a saint in that he is more honored after death than during his lifetime.” – The Joy of Cooking, 1975

The events of the last several weeks notwithstanding, a pig is a pig, lipstick or not, and personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Pork is one of the most versatile meats available to man having been domesticated as early as 5000 BC and is the most widely eaten meat in the world. It’s said that you can eat everything but the oink.

When I was growing up, my parents used to pickle pigs feet (we didn’t call them trotters) and make big batches of sweet or spicy Italian sausage. I also remember going to a farm where livestock was slaughtered, yielding fresh meats, some of which would end up in the big chest freezer down in the basement, lying in wait for use in some future culinary treat.

I’ve written before about shopping at our local farmer’s markets; we’re fortunate to have so much good, fresh food available to us in our community. This past weekend was no exception as Renée and I made our way to South Russell to see what could be had. To me, half the fun of going to the farmer’s market is seeing what’s available and making up menus as you go. You just have to be careful you don’t arrive at the market too hungry.

Here’s what we brought home:

I wanted to try something different with the roast and found a recipe for Cuban Roast Pork Shoulder in my Dean & DeLuca cookbook. I adapted the recipe based what I had in the house and my time frame, which brings me to the thing I most enjoy about cooking: you can take a recipe and play with it–kind of like interpreting a piece of music–to make it your own.

Two things make recipes like this so flavorful: the rub and the marinade. The key is to Infuse the roast with flavors that compliment but don’t overpower the taste of the meat. Marinating with acid-based liquids can also help to break down the structure of the meat to produce tenderness, but as Shirley Corriher points out, you have to choose your marinade ingredients wisely depending upon what it is you’re marinating. This recipe has a terrific mixture of herbs and spices that marry well with the citrus and the garlic to fill your home with delicious aromas and fill your plate with a delectable treat.

Here’s the ingredient list:

Here’s what I modified:

I began by combining the garlic, orange juice, onions, and vermouth and let it sit while I prepared the roast for the oven. Make small slits all over the roast with a paring knife and let it rest to come to room temperature. Combine the oregano, cumin, salt, and black pepper with a little OJ to make a paste. Strain the garlic and onions from the marinade, remove and set aside the onions and add the garlic to the paste, then smear it all over the roast. Next, I placed the pasted roast in a large Ziploc bag along with the onions and the marinade, sealed it and let it sit for about an hour. Normally, you’d want to do this in the refrigerator overnight and baste it several times. We wanted to eat at halftime of the football game, so no overnight for you my little pork shoulder!

After removing the shoulder from the marinade, pat dry and strain the marinade. I set the onions aside for sautéing later. Place in a roasting pan and roast at 325 basting every 30 minutes with the marinade until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees. Cuban roasts are traditionally well-done, so don’t worry if it seems to be taking a long time to get to 170. After removing the roast from the oven, be sure to let it rest for 15 minutes before carving. Mine was served with fresh sweet corn, a fresh tomato salad with balsamic vinegar, a little oil, and fresh basil, 7-grain bread for dipping in the salad juices, the sautéed onions, and fresh peach shortcake for dessert. Yum.

By the way, the crusty texture you see in the pic is from the garlic; they were good sized bits, but weren’t overpowering. Even though I didn’t have time to marinate the roast the way I would have liked, it still turned out juicy, nicely flavored from the paste while still tasting like good pork, and was delicious cold on sandwiches the next day.

No lipstick needed!

Next to fresh tomatoes, fresh peaches are something I could eat every day.

pig photo by Brent and MariLynn

Sonny and Cher aside, the drum that keeps poundin’ a rhythm to my brain isn’t in the grocery store or supermart, uh, uh, it’s fresh fruits and vegetables from local sources. As I mentioned in my first Fresh & Local post, there were several roadside stands that my family used to frequent to pick up fresh, local fruits and vegetables. We also had neighbors who always had a very large garden. The kids in the family would go door-to-door selling corn, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, beans, and other just-picked items as they came into season. It was a real treat to have fresh produce like that for dinner on a regular basis. It’s a great summer memory for me and really had an influence on developing and maintaining my love of fresh fruits and vegetables.

For roasting, choose smaller beets that are about the same size so they cook evenly

Renée and I recently ventured to the Shaker Square Farmer’s Market and picked up some fresh beets. If you’ve never had fresh beets, I know what you’re saying, I know what you’re thinking, don’t worry. Beets may rank up there with spinach as one of the most dreaded vegetables that your mother made you eat as a kid because they were “good for you.” You probably had them pickled or from a can. (Pickled beets are a tradition in the South. In Australia and New Zealand it’s common for pickled beetroot to be eaten on burgers.) And if you grew up in Pennsylvania like I did, you may be familiar with traditional Pennyslvania German dish: Red Beet Eggs. Hard-boiled eggs are refrigerated in the cooking liquid of pickled beets and allowed to marinate until the eggs turn a deep pink-red color. Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!

But that stuff your mom told you about beets being good for you wasn’t just an old wives tale. Beets have been used medicinally since Roman times to treat everything from fevers to constipation to lowering blood pressure. Current researchers are discovering that the red pigments in beets, known as betalains, are powerful anitioxidants. Beets also provide potassium, vitamins A and C, magnesium, riboflavin, iron, copper, calcium and zinc.

What kind of beets you buy has a lot to do with how you plan on serving them. For grated beet slaw, choose for the largest ones you can find. For roasting them whole, choose smaller beets that are all about the same size so they cook evenly. If plan to serve the greens, cut them off the beets as soon as you get them home, and serve them within a few days. The greens have a Swiss chard-like flavor and are very tasty sautéed with garlic and olive oil. The beets themselves can be stored in the refrigerator loosely wrapped for a few weeks.

To prepare beets for roasting, simply scrub the skin; no need to peel them or trim off the little tails on the bottom. Remove the greens, leaving an inch or two of the stems to insure that the pigments stay inside the beet. Once the beets are cooked and cooled, you can easily pull the skins off with your hands.

Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Scrub the beets and place on a large sheet of foil, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fold the sides up to make a sealed pouch.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes, until they are tender when pierced with a knife. You can put the sliced almonds in the over right along with the beets. Just spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. They’ll be done in about 15 minutes, so keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn.

Once the beets are done, slice them into sections, sprinkle with a little more olive oil, some kosher salt, a little pepper, the roasted almonds, and some delicious Maytag Blue Cheese, and you’ve got a simple, healthy dish that will surely change your mind about eating this much maligned vegetable. Beets can also be eaten raw, steamed, boiled, or juiced, but no matter how you eat them, they are a delicious and healthy addition to your diet! Just remember, buy ‘em fresh and local!

When I was growing up, we didn’t go to a farmer’s market, but there were many local farms that had roadside stands for produce. We’d pick some, too: strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, cherries, peaches, pears. (And we’d pick grapes in the fall to make wine!) My mom canned whole tomatoes and sauce along with peaches and pears and still makes fresh strawberry jam. Canned fresh peaches taste unbelievably good in the dead of winter and there’s nothing better than that strawberry jam! I have strong taste memories of these rich, fresh flavors. That’s why I love being able to buy fresh, just picked items at a farmer’s market.

In support of my increasing desire to patronize local, sustainable agriculture, and my Michael Pollan-inspired motivations to improve my family’s health by eating real food, I’m creating a new topical category on this blog: Fresh & Local. Here, I’ll cover food, agriculture, and nutritional topics in an effort to promote the consumption of fresh, local foods that will help you wrestle control of your diet away from the food industry and improve your health.

First up, the grand opening of the new Chagrin Falls Farmers Market, which will take place on Sunday, July 20 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm along North Franklin Street in downtown Chagrin Falls. The market will feature produce, plants, meats, cheese and baked goods from local Ohio farms and producers. Two of the anchor farms are Red Wagon Farm of Columbia Station and Walnut Driven Gardens of Mogadore. Local favorite Jean Mackenzie will be in attendance with Mackenzie Creamery goat cheese and goat meat and there will also be beef from a grassfed beef farm. The products and produce will vary with the season as farmers harvest their crops. Not sure what’s in season when? Check out the Ohio fresh fruits and vegetables harvest calendar.

We’re always excited to find more places to buy fresh, local food, and this one, being so close to home, will hopefully be a great addition to our list. This market will be managed by North Union Farmers Market, a non-profit organization, currently administering seven other markets in Northeast Ohio. Chef Parker Bosley, former owner of Parker’s American Bistro, works as a consultant to NUFM by recruiting farmers with top-quality farms that complement other vendors at the markets. He works with them to select customer-driven crops and to build their farm’s long-term business potential. I once interviewed Bosley when he was a guest on Cleveland Business Radio. He’s passionate, intelligent, and draws from personal experience as a consumer and a chef in promoting sustainable agriculture. You couldn’t ask for a better advocate. NUFM’s other market locations are: Shaker Square, Crocker Park, Parma, Lakewood, Eton, Bath and the Cleveland Clinic.

As with other North Union Farmers Markets, plans are in the works for a guest chef to kick-off the Chagrin Markets’ opening day, preparing food with the ingredients from the farmers.  There will also be a community booth staffed by Chagrin Valley non-profit organizations as an out-reach program to promote their various projects and events.

The first market shoppers will be entertained by Panic Steel Ensemble, a steel drum band that is the product of a project developed by the Department of Community Arts at the Cleveland Museum of Art as a training program for new pannists in preparation for the annual Parade the Circle.

Hopefully, the new Chagrin Falls market will be a nice complement to the six-year-old Geauga Fresh Farmers’ Market, which has become a community asset by providing an opportunity to buy the freshest seasonal produce. The Geauga Fresh Farmer’s Market is open each Saturday from 9am to 1pm from late June to late October. The market, located at the corner of Bell Street and Chillicothe Road in South Russell, sells everything from produce to beeswax candles to annual bedding plants. Most of the 25 or so vendors come from Geauga County. Events include the popular Tomato Tasting Contest on August 23 and the Salsa Tasting Contest on September 6. Market members and customers are encouraged to enter. Renée and I frequent this market often, along with the North Union Shaker Square market.

For further information on the Chagrin Falls market, call the Chagrin Falls Visitors Center at 440-247-1895 or visit the community calendar at www.chagrinfalls.net.

Summer time is grilling time, and even though you may use your grill year round, you just can’t beat the sizzle and aroma coming from a hot grill while enjoying an icy cold adult beverage! I’m a George Hirsch/Bobby Flay kind of griller–I’m not afraid to try anything on the grill–so when our dinner club gang decided to do an “Everything Grilled” edition, I knew it would be fun and delicious.

We began with an appetizer of grilled prosciutto-wrapped figs, stuffed with smoked mozzarella. A terrific start indeed!

The main course was barbecued ribs with a selection of sauces. The ribs were started two days ahead with a 24-hour marinade in pineapple juice followed by another 24-hours bathed in Willingham’s Original Mild Spice Rub before being finished on the grill. The ribs were absolutely delicious; tender, sweet and spicy all at once, especially with a variety of sweet, spicy, and smoky sauces to choose from.

Dessert was grilled pound cake with pineapple jalapeno and mint chutney and tequila whipped cream. It was the perfect finish to a great meal!

Renée and I drew salad as our assigned course and settled on a recipe by Stefanie Paganini for Grilled Peach, Almond and Arugula Salad:

Toss all ingredients together in large bowl with Balsamic Vinaigrette. The proportions above will serve 8.

We really liked the combination of flavors in this recipe. The spicy bitterness of the arugula, the sweetness of the grilled peaches, and toasted almonds and ginger topped with balsamic vinaigrette just sounded really terrific.

This recipe calls for freestone peaches which  is a peach which has a ‘free’ stone, meaning that the flesh of the fruit can easily be removed from the stone, with little to none remaining attached to the stone. Other varieties are clingstone and semi-freestone, which perform as the names imply. US-grown peaches are available from May to mid-October. Any you may find from October to May are generally imported from Chile.

Selection and storage are important if you want truly delicious peaches. Tree ripened peaches have reached their maturity before being picked, which means they will be juicy and sweet without a meaty texture to the flesh. Don’t buy peaches stored in the cold section, those that are rock hard, green, mushy or have shriveled skins. Look for well-rounded fruit with deep yellow coloring under a blush of red. Ripe peaches will be fragrantly sweet and will be firm, but will yield to gentle pressure. These will ripen in two to three days at room temperature.

At home, store your peaches on the counter at room temperature until they ripen completely. Ripening can be helped along by placing the peaches in a paper bag. To move it along even faster, add a banana or an apple to the bag. Ripe peaches can then be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day or two before eating or they will lose their juice and flavor. Wash them in cool water and dry with a paper towel to remove any remaining fuzz.

To pit freestone peaches, cut along the seam all the way around and through the fruit to the pit. Twist each half in opposite directions and they will come off cleanly. Clingstone peaches are best pitted by cutting them into sections and removing the sections one at a time. Peeling is easy; simply blanch the peaches for 30 to 60 seconds and peel with a paring knife.

Grilling fruit caramelizes the natural sugars, softens the flesh and releases juices. The flavors of the fruit become concentrated and the smokiness of grilling adds an element that enhances the taste of fresh fruit.

The best way to grill fruits or vegetables is to begin by brushing the grill clean and spraying the grates with cooking spray or brush them with salad oil before lighting the grill. This enhances the flavors and keeps foods from sticking to the surface. Pre-heat your grill to medium heat.  Place the fruit, cut-side down on the grill and cook, uncovered, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Turn over and continue grilling until the fruit is tender but not mushy, about 5 minutes longer.

Making your own Balsamic Vinaigrette is simple and enables you to add an additional level of freshness to your salad.

The key is to slowly add oil to create an emulsion. Done properly, the emulsion will not separate and you won’t have to shake up your dressing to remix the ingredients. You can do this with a whisk, but the power and speed of the food processor not only creates a strong emulsion, it also aerates the dressing to make it slightly thicker.

The finished salad!