Farmers’ Market and Dinner

My #1 son’s school, Flora Vista Elementary in Encinitas, started hosting a Farmers’ Market a couple of weeks ago. It’s on Sunday from 2pm – 5pm. More information on San Diego County Farmers’ Markets here. Dr. Steve, his lovely wife and adorable son came over and we set out to shop. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera. We’ll take some pictures next time.

The market was pretty well populated, maybe just a little too heavy on prepared food and crafts. There were two barbecue stands, Indian food, kettle corn, smoothies, a juice stand, prepared garlic spreads, flavored hummus (about 15 variations), jewelry, walking sticks, and some other stuff I’m forgetting. Oh yeah, and some produce, too.

They had all the stuff that’s in season, tomatoes, avocados, asparagus, oranges, etc. We bought green beans, asparagus, avocados, oranges, and strawberries. No one was selling heads of garlic, but the nice lady at the garlic spread place gave me one from her display. We headed for home.

On the menu tonight: chips with salsa and guacamole, London broil (with yogurt dressing, tomatoes and red onion, wrapped in flatbread), grilled asparagus with garlic, and shaved fennel and citrus salad.

I don’t use a recipe for guacamole, quantities are estimated. I started with 3 perfectly ripe avocados. We got lucky that the farmer had some that were ready to eat. I cut them in half and cut the flesh into 1/2″ cubes. I added 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion, 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro, juice of one plump lime, 1 clove of garlic run through the microplane, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and salt a pepper to taste. Stir with a fork until well mixed, taking care not to smash the avocado to paste. Enjoy with chips and salsa.

I had started marinating the London broil the night before. In the past, I’ve just marinated this cut of meat in Worcestershire sauce for an hour or two before cooking. It was pretty good, but I find the following marinade is much more flavorful and tenderizes the meat a lot more. For 2 large pieces of London broil, about 2 lbs. each, I mixed together the following:

• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, flattened with a large knife
• 4 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbs. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Mix well. Place each London broil in a Ziploc bag and pour 1/2 the marinade into each bag. Make sure 2 cloves of garlic get into each bag. Seal and place the bags in a tray or large bowl to prevent any leaks from spreading all over your fridge. Marinate overnight, up to 24 hours.

For the fennel and citrus salad, we started with:

• 1 bulb fennel
• 1 – 2 large orange
• 1/3 cup Kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup tender fennel fronds
• olive oil
• salt

Take the fennel bulb and slice it very thinly. If you have a mandoline, use it. The fennel is very tender if sliced thin. Place in a bowl. Take the orange and cut off the top and bottom. Place it on the cutting board and cut down the side of the fruit, removing the skin. Take the peeled orange in one hand. hold over a bowl and cut the segments away from the membrane to release a wedge. Repeat until all segments are removed. Squeeze the juice out of the core. Place oranges and juice in a second bowl with the olives and the fennel fronds.

In a sauté pan, heat 2-3 Tbs olive oil and add the fennel. Season with salt and sauté for 2 minutes until fennel is warm. Toss with remaining ingredients and serve immediately.

We grilled the London broil on a hot grill until rare to medium rare, about 120 – 130º F. Don’t overcook it, it will get terribly tough.

Take the meat off the grill, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. In the meantime, cut off the tough bottoms of the asparagus and toss with minced garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill for 2 to 4 minutes on the grill, or until just tender.

Slice the beef. It’s very important to cut a London broil on an angle (against the grain) and very thinly. Use a long slicing knife and take your time. If you’ve let it rest long enough, the meat will retain its juices during slicing. Any juices produced during slicing should be poured onto the serving platter with the beef.

The salad looked good tossed…

Serve the asparagus and salad with the beef, toppings, and lightly grilled flatbread.

We enjoyed this meal with the Ivory Label Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon. Delicious. Be sure to check out your local Farmers’ Markets for local and season produce. Enjoy!