MEAL AND MENU INSPIRATIONS

Meal Inspirations

            “I cook mostly out of magazines these days” my friend exclaimed recently in her kitchen, as she was putting the finishing touches to a delicious looking dinner. My husband and I were visiting friends in Vermont and were the beneficiaries of her hospitality. I thought of her comment on a Friday morning standing in the Damariscotta Farmers market. A farmers market is my idea of visual meal inspirations by what is abundant and fresh in front of me.

It was cold!  The sunny morning air whipped around by the blustery wind belied the fact that fall was officially a week away. The woman selling goat cheese from Appleton Creamery had a Norwegian cap to cover her ears and a wool scarf around her neck. This goat cheese was going to go well with roasted beets in a salad next week.  Most of the stands this morning were in the open and their proprietors had jacket collars turned up against the wind. The tomatoes, carrots, greens, squash, potatoes and flowers though seemed not to mind and simply shone with the success of having produced a bountiful organic crop in every stand representing each farm. The boxes of blackberries looked plump and mouthwatering for desert.

The cold influenced my choice of roast chicken from Maine-Ly Poultry for dinner to be served with some new potatoes. I would have the rest of the roasted chicken in a cream sauce with mushrooms from my favorite Damariscotta Oyster Creek Mushroom Company. My own garden is still producing green beans and the end of the season tomatoes would be served with sliced red onion, black olives and feta cheese, lightly dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The dinner menu and ingredients practically leaped at me as I made the rounds on the grassy hillside.

And then there are unplanned benefits from overheard conversations as you stand in line waiting for your turn at the Hahn’s End cheese company. A customer was inquiring about a cheese for a grilled sandwich, commenting on a previous encounter with a mushroom–melted cheese focaccia. Cheese is a particular weakness at our house and aged cheeses find their way to our table with great regularity. I thought of the fall vegetable soup I had made just yesterday and could instantly conjure a no fuss lunch with Eleanor Buttercup cheese melted on French bread as accompaniment to that soup. A few grape and yellow pear tomatoes and a fresh pickle slice would accompany the open-faced melted cheese sandwich to give it some eye appeal. 

                        Fall vegetable soup

This soup can be hearty or light, depending on the amount and types of vegetables used, but it is essentially ready to serve in about 30 minutes. For basic soup: chop and sauté in 2 Tblsp, olive oil 1 onion, 1 large stalk of celery and 2 cloves garlic for 5 minutes. Add 26 oz beef or chicken or vegetable stock, 2 cups water, 1 tsp. dried oregano and thyme each. ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Bring to boil and add the following in bite size pieces: 2 carrots, 1 large potato, 1 medium zucchini or small eggplant, 1-2 cups chopped tomatoes, 1 cup coarsely chopped cabbage, 1 cup sliced string beans or Swiss chard, ¼ cup parsley, ¼ cup basil. Cook for 25 minutes, stir in 1 Tblsp. balsamic vinegar and serve with additional chopped parsley and/or Parmesan cheese.  Addition of a can of rinsed garbanzos or beans will make this an even heartier soup.

As demonstrated, meal inspirations at a farmers market are almost too easy. Other times I have taken the really easy way by coming home with an already made chicken pie or some of the Oriental specialties from Jyang-Lee Kitchens. Although the Damariscotta Farmers’ Market is available only until October 28, apples, root vegetables and an incredible variety of winter squashes will continue to be available at Beth’s in Warren until Christmas. I will have to go back to my cookbooks from then until spring. 

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)