Living, Lite

by Judy Wurtman

Latest blog entry: 7/12/2010 2:29:00 PM

Satisfy your carb craving at the Farmer's Market

Farmers markets are one of the joys of the summer. For those of us who typically buy our produce from supermarkets, and are happy if the vegetables and fruits did not have to travel more than several thousand miles to the display bins, being able to buy locally grown fruits and vegetables is a special treat. Pulling together tasty low-calorie carbohydrate main or side dishes, with only a few items from the farmers market, is easy and doesn’t require spending time in a hot kitchen. Newly picked corn is already appearing in the markets and as we go into August more will be available. Because the carbohydrate in corn kernels turns from sweet to starchy as the corn ages, we tend to think of this yellow vegetable as densely starchy, particularly as cornstarch, corn meal and grits. Young corn is just the opposite. It needs only a few minutes of cooking and doesn’t require butter or salt for flavoring. It has a delicate sweet taste and the kernels are juicy, not dry. A dinner of cold soup, salad and new corn is a perfect way to dine on a hot evening. If lack of teeth, braces or dental floss requirements make eating directly off of the cob impossible, remove the kernels with a sharp knife before serving. Peas still in the pod always jar me into remembering that they do not grow in frozen bags on the vine. And like corn, before eating, they have to be removed from their container or pod. Peas are another starchy vegetable that, when old, lose their sweetness. But fresh off the vine, they taste sweet with a flavor not found in the frozen or canned versions. Shelling them is fun and a task enjoyed by young children. They require only brief steaming or simmering or, if added raw to hot rice or pasta, no additional cooking. They also taste good as a snack, sprinkled with a little salt after a brief steaming. Tiny potatoes called fingerlings are now available and along with red-skinned potatoes and Yukon Gold, become the basis for a variety of potato salads. These salads are not the typical mayonnaise-drenched potato salads with bits of green pickle. Instead they use mustard, lemon juice, small amounts of olive oil and fresh herbs as seasoning. By adding various vegetables from the farmers’ market such as new onions, halved cherry tomatoes, diced zucchini or yellow squash, fresh corn kernels, new peas, and diced new carrots, the salad is not only colorful but packed with vitamins and fiber from all these vegetables. Make sure the potatoes are not overcooked; otherwise they will turn mushy. Test them for doneness with the tip of a paring knife. Remove them from the heat just before they are done, as they will continue cooking for a few minutes until they are cooled. The trick to enhance the flavor is something that I learned from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Pour the dressing over them while they are still warm. Julia Child’s recipe calls for homemade beef or chicken stock and white wine but a contemporary version made from apple cider vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard and chopped fresh basil leaves works just as well. (Don’t use balsamic vinegar. Doing so will make the potatoes look like beets.) Because crusty fresh bread makes any carbohydrate craver happy, buy some from the local bakery stand at the farmer’s market. If you are lucky enough to shop where locally made goat cheese is also for sale, purchase some to eat along with the bread or add it to a salad. Because the cheese has such a robust taste, a small amount will satisfy you. Don’t overlook the local fruit for sale either. Even though the carbohydrate in fruit does not make the comfort brain chemical, serotonin, the blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries that are being picked now make even the hottest days of summer endurable.

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