This time I was able to go to the farmer's market the morning of the meeting for some super fresh produce. I went to a farmer's market which I had never been to, the Old Oakland Friday market. I believe it's from 8am to 2pm and it's right off of Broadway on 9th. It's a rather large market and definitely bigger than the Alameda Tuesday one. It's right near Chinatown, so there were many booths with asian greens which, I have to admit, I have no clue as to what a lot of them were. Some of the other things at the market were; asparagus, citrus (including some very large pomelos), apples, leeks, green garlic, and STRAWBERRIES! Yes, it's official. We are now moving into strawberry season. Of course I had to buy three baskets of organically grown, shiny, stunning red strawberries. I ate a few (yes, they tasted as good as they looked) and saved the rest for the meeting.
On to the meeting! The focus was risotto. I don't mean one type of risotto, we made three different types. Risotto seems like something fancy, or something that we eat in restaurants, and yet, it is incredibly simple to make at home. The basic idea is that you sauté an onion in butter until it is soft and translucent. Then you add the Arborio rice (this is the most commonly available variety for risotto) and cook for about 4 minutes (careful not to let it brown). Then you pour in some dry white wine and cook until the rice has absorbed it all. Next, pour in 1 cup of warm chicken broth and cook at a vigorous simmer, stirring fairly often. When the rice absorbs the broth, simply add more broth by the 1/2 cup until the rice is tender. It takes about 20-30 minutes in all and right when it's just about done you add in a bit more butter (or cream) and Parmesan cheese and stir vigorously to develop the starch.
We spent the first part of the meeting prepping vegetables and herbs for the three different types of risotto. You're probably wondering what the heck these three different types are! We made an Asparagus Lemon risotto, a Leek and Green Garlic Risotto, and a Parsley and Green Pea risotto. We split into three groups, with each group making one type of risotto.
When the risottos were done cooking we sat down to eat. Chester took a vote of which risotto everyone liked best... The Leek and Green Garlic came in first place, the Asparagus Lemon came in a close second, and the poor Parsley and Green Pea risotto came in last. Most people felt this one tasted much too strongly of parsley. I think my favorite was the Asparagus Lemon. It was delicious.
After we finished the risotto it was time for dessert. All three baskets of strawberries had been sliced and we had made whipped cream by hand. I think this is one of the best and easiest ways to enjoy fresh strawberries. Simply a dessert cup of strawberries with a dollop (or mountain if you like) of lightly sweetened whipped cream. Apparently everyone else thought this was a good way to eat strawberries as well, because there was not a single piece of strawberry left over and the bowl was scraped clean!
Now you might have noticed that there are not many pictures in this post and there is not a single one of the food. It is because we didn't take any! You must be thinking, what?!? How did she not take any pictures of all this good food? I confess that I was so caught up in the flurry of cooking that I forgot to take any, and I also forgot to have other people take pictures. I do apologize and I will make sure there are LOTS of picture from next month's meeting.
I enjoy reading about your class. Yes, I miss the food photos of the process but your well written description makes up for it. I also appreciate the details like going to the farmer's market and searching for what to make. Your square foot garden rocks!
ReplyDeleteYum. I'd love the lemon recipe, as I have some asparagus in the refrigerator (standing in water, of course) to make into risotto. There's something so soothing about stirring and watching, stirring and watching.
ReplyDeleteWe are happy about strawberry season, too, and ate our box up in about 15 minutes on Farmer's Market day.
Oh, speaking of Chinese greens, try growing TatSoi, my new favorite stir fry green. Pretty and easy. For next fall or winter, though.
What a cool adventure you are having with your group. What motivated or inspired you to do this group?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments everyone! It's nice to know people actually read this stuff. :-D
ReplyDeleteThe lemon-asparagus risotto recipe actually came from Alice Waters "The Art of Simple Food" cookbook. LOVE that book.
It's funny you mention Tatsoi because I saw some at the farmer's market last weekend and my mom asked me if I knew what it was... "Uh, it's a green mom..." Also known as, I don't really know what it is! So it's good for stir fries... Hmmm, I'll have to pick some up the next time I see it.
And, as far as what motivated me to do the group. Well, over the past couple years I went from being a teenager who literally hates cooking (yes, I admit, I really hated cooking) to becoming fascinated with preparing food. As I got older and became a more serious athlete, I was more aware of the healthiness of different foods. I became a vegetarian (no longer am). Plus, I've always loved the outdoors and I've been an avid little environmentalist since I was probably 8 or 9... And I began seeing the connection between environmental degradation and our current agriculture system. Also I attended some summer camps (Culinary Kids and Growing Youth Project out on the old Navy Base) and read a few books (particularly Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and The Omnivore's Dilemma). So throw all that together and suddenly I went from hating cooking, to realizing that I could cook with a purpose and loving it! That's kind of a brief but long explanation.
Starting the cooking club was just an extension of my passion for cooking good food. I really enjoy cooking with the younger teens and I hope that in the process they learn a thing or two about cooking and eating well, and maybe even take an interest in sustainable / local food.