Market report and sauce to hide flaws

Perfect day today at the Durham Farmers' Market. Cool, slightly overcast, and not crazy crowded. It's a perfect time to make stews and chili with ripe, colorful peppers. Freeze some to enjoy when peppers cost three times as much in the winter and are tired from a long journey. Hot-weather crops such as okra, basil, and cucumbers mingle with cool season favorites such as argula and kale. Peaches mix with apples and pears.Pine Knot Farm has the best green beans of the season: not a spot on them even though they are certified organic. With whole-wheat flour and a dozen eggs, I'm nearly set for a week of delicious eating.

Do you mean physical sauce or metaphorical sauce? That's what I asked Matt Clayton at the Wild Scallions Farm booth this morning. He was describing the benefit dinner the farm had thrown to support Durham Central Park: sixteen people in a tiny house. He said it all worked out well, but they'd learned a lot. "We didn't have the right kind of sauce to cover up the rough edges and any flaws." Having thrown many parties too large for my house, I was intrigued. What kind of sauce would do this? How could I get some, preferably a lot of it? Would it work for flaws and rough edges in general?

Turns out Matt meant enchilada sauce, which would have masked the effects of stacking the enchiladas as part of cooking for more people than usual. This year was fun; next year will go more smoothly. I hope I can make it to their next event. And I'm looking forward to turning some of his gorgeous peppers into flaw-covering sauce this afternoon.

Silky smooth & slightly stinky

Funny to see myself quoted as an unidentified customer in the great story on the Chapel Hill Creamery today.

At the Durham Farmers' Market on that same Saturday morning, McKnight bounces on her toes while chanting a slogan for the no-name cheese: "Soft and silky, slightly stinky." In response, a customer quips: "That's how I like my men." Laughter erupts.

I'm sure she said wasn't soft and silky, but silky smooth. She did introduce me to her brother who was standing right there in all his rough glory, a farmer heart-throb all ready for Sandra Bullock's next movie.

My "quip" was good for a laugh, but in reality, I like my man (singular, but married) super smart and dryly witty. But that new cheese from the Chapel Hill Creamery was very interesting and I adore their Pheta. Keep making that great cheese, Portia and Florence!

"Legs and eggs" at the Durham Farmers' Market

What a gorgeous first day of Spring here in North Carolina! My husband came with me to the Durham Farmers' Market this morning and summed it up nicely: legs and eggs. It's so warm that folks were wearing shorts and the chickens are all laying up a storm. Just a few weeks ago, only the earliest visitors to the market were able to score eggs.

Britney of Tiny Farm (in photo) introduced me to a new type of lettuce: Taiwan Sword-Leaf, which the sign described as a cooking lettuce. Britney tore off a bit of leaf for me to try, pointing out that this lettuce provides more chew than the other tender lettuces they grow. She recommended mixing it in at the last minute with cooked dishes that could use a little extra green.

The trick is to not go overboard. For lunch, I stir-fried garlic, spring onions (also from Tiny Farm), and half the head of Sword-Leaf Lettuce with some olive oil and served the result on penne, topped with a grating of Parmesan cheese and lime peel. The lettuce mixture was tasty, but slid right off the penne. I'm eager to try again with angel-hair pasta or with my spicy Thai noodle sauce. The peanut butter in the Thai noodle sauce is sure to keep a grip on the lettuce.

Happy spring, everyone!