Salad Days

Earth laughs in flower… Ralph Waldo Emerson

Two farm markets in two days. Now that’s my idea of a great weekend.

Yesterday was a kitchen-extravaganza: First, chicken stock with the leftover carcass from the brick chicken and a triple batch of tomato sauce (actually, here in Philly we call it “gravy”) so that I have some extra in the freezer for when the busy school season gets underway… but that was just the warm-up.

I had it in my mind to make fresh ricotta cheese for home-made ravioli… it turns out that making ricotta is easier than you could possibly imagine, and with fresh raw milk from the farmer’s market, more delicious too! Topped with a no-cook tomato/herb sauce, it was quite a treat.

I’ll post details and recipes in the next day or so, but for now, it’s out for a walk with the dog and a little peace + quiet with the Sunday Times.

So in the meantime, here’s a quickie lunch cobbled together from my garden and the markets…

 Arugula, heirloom tomatoes and basil tossed with lemon and walnut oil… shavings of goat gouda… and a roasted onion ciabatta roll from Wild Flour Bakery.

Simple, seasonal, divine.

Comments

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Hi Denise, you can also use buttermilk instead of vinegar-gives it a great flavor. Same recipe can be used to make paneer-after its drained you hang the cheese cloth from your faucet, then let it sit in a colander with something heavy on it to extract the liquid. Again, delicious!