Our move to Falls Church is finally over, our boxes and bags are unpacked (well, mostly), and we are settling into our new neighborhood. I spent my weekend exploring my new farmers market, and grilling up some fresh vegetables in an Asian marinade. Read on to hear about the market trip, or scroll down for the recipe.
After many busy Saturdays of hosting friends and relatives at our home, I finally took some time for myself and visited the Saturday morning Falls Church City Farmers Market.
Nothing quite makes me feel at home like discovering my neighborhood farmers market. And lucky for me, the Fall Church Farmers Market is a real gem. Set near a quaint park and historic buildings on Park Street, the market is open year-round and hosts around forty vendors during the summer season (dropping to about fifteen vendors during the winter). The variety and quality of products available is outstanding, with many of my favorite farmers and producers participating.
Strolling through the market, here are some of the things I found:
Locally grown and milled flour from Moutoux Orchards in Loudon County
Locally grown wheat is very difficult to find in our area. Moutoux Orchard is now selling rye flour, wheat flour, wheat berries, oats, and barley at the Falls Church Farmers Market, the Arlington Farmers Market, and the DuPont Circle Farmers Market. I bought a bag of the rye flour, and am looking forward to making some homemade rye bread soon.
I was delighted to find seckel pears, each pear fitting snugly in the palm of my hand.
Tree and Leaf, a farm utilizing sustainable and organic farming practices, had a wonderful variety of produce including these late summer tomatoes . . .
and these interesting long purple beans called "asparagus beans."
Sunnyside Farm and Orchard had these adorable Hungarian eggplants, which I would have mistook for tomatoes, had I not read the sign.
Toigo Orchards still had some of their delicious peaches. I snagged several with the hopes of introducing them to my grill, a little butter, and some rum.
And finally, to make the boys in my household happy, Cibola Farms was at my service with their buffalo meat products. As fate would have it, a few buffalo patties would also be making their introduction to my grill in the form of a family burger night.
In fact, the grill seems to be the main method of food prep in our new house. Perhaps after years of living in an apartment where grilling produced more hassle than pleasure, we are catching up on lost time.
One of our friends gave us a vegetable grilling basket as a housewarming present. After picking up a load of fresh veggies, I wanted to try grilling vegetables in a sauce I would usually use for stir-frying. For the stir fry, I selected two skinny Japanese eggplants with pale green skin. I know these to be particularly mild, absent of the bitter flavor eggplants sometimes have, and possessing a flesh which becomes very creamy when cooked. I tossed the eggplant with long purple asparagus beans, some red onion, and a large cupful of shitake mushrooms.
While the grill was heating up, I sliced the vegetables and then tossed them in a marinade of garlic, ginger, lime juice, fresh basil, chile paste, soy sauce, and sesame oil. They marinated for about thirty minutes, then sizzled in the grill basket, transforming into a tasty concoction perfect over a bit of Jasmine rice. We prepared this as a vegetarian dish, but it would also be delicious with chicken or shrimp.
Grilled eggplant, beans, and shitake mushrooms in Asian Marinade
Serves 2 as a main course
Vegetables:
1 Cup beans (I used asparagus beans, but green beans or sugar snap peas would work well)
2 small eggplant, preferably Japanese
1/2 red onion, sliced
8 ounces shitake mushrooms, sliced in half
Marinade:
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced chiffonade
1 TB fresh basil, cut into a
1/4 tsp red chili paste
2 tsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
zest and juice of one lime
1 tsp mirin or rice wine vinegar
3 TB canola oil
For serving:
soy sauce
lime wedges
fresh basil
Directions:
Prep the vegetables and set aside.
Prepare your gas or charcoal grill.
In a large bowl combine all ingredients for the marinade, except the oil. Slowly whisk in the oil until the mixture is well combined. Add the vegetables to the bowl, and toss thoroughly with the marinade. Allow to marinate for 30-60 minutes, mixing often.
Place the vegetables in a lightly oiled grill basket, or on a grill grate lined with aluminum foil. Grill for 10-15 minutes, tossing often. Vegetables should be slightly blackened and beginning to soften.
Serve over rice with soy sauce, lime wedges, and fresh basil.
As you can see, we were a bit anxious and did not wait for the grill to cool down before throwing the veggies on. Some of our vegetables were more than adequately blackened. Fortunately, they still tasted delicious, and we finished every last bite.
