IDEAS IN FOOD

Rack of Pork

We were lucky enough to get our hands on some unexpected Porcelet. We divided the center portion of the pig into three separate portions. The belly was slow cooked in fat that was flavored with citrus, herbs and garlic. The short loin of pork was scored on the skin, crisped in garlic oil and then flipped into a pot with butter, white wine, soy sauce and yuzu kosho to poach the meat. Unfortunately this was consumed before we thought to take any pictures. The final combination of crispy skin and butter poached meat was incredible. The final portion is the rack. It produced two smaller racks (one pictured above), which we trimmed down to two long bones for each piece of meat. The plan is to cold smoke the racks, crisp the skin and then roast them on a bed of corn husks, garlic chives and lovage from the garden. We will serve it with a ragout of cornbread gnocchi and Dr. Pepper glazed carrots. Stay tuned to see what happens.

Nasturtium Blossoms, Buds, Leaves and Stems

The whole plant offers possibilities. Whether it is utilized in one dish or in a variety is up to the cook. These flavors and textures provide endless variations on a theme.

Cooking with Carrot Tops

carrots and their tops

cleaning carrot tops

cooked carrot tops

carrot top salt crust

carrot top ice cream

creamed carrot tops

Corn Omelet

The idea was to make what looked like an omelet, made with corn instead of eggs. We started out with a corn puree thickened with iota carrageenan which we spread thin on a dehydrator mat. We dried it partway to form a light skin on top while preserving the tender texture of the sheet. Then we put the dehydrator tray in the freezer so that we could solidify the puree and flip it on the teflon paper. When the corn was frozen solid, we removed it from the teflon paper, flipped it over again and put it back in the dehydrator to form a thin skin on the other side of the corn puree. Once the corn puree was dry to the touch and still tender in the center we put it into the refrigerator to set. We then trimmed the omelet into sheets and when we were ready to eat we filled them with warm morels, nasturtium leaves, basil blossoms, smoked salt and black pepper. The hot filling gently warmed the corn omelet so that everything was warm and sweet when we began to eat.

We have since revised our method to make a slightly firmer and easier omelet to handle with a few less steps.

Rice Noodles and Sauce

The noodles were sparked by a lack of good chow fun (or chinese restaurants) near us. Rice noodles in the pasta machine were a challenge but this ziti worked out nicely.

The sauce is a blend of seared sweet sausage blended with a puree of onion and jalapeno and topped with minced kimchi. To balance the sauce we added some red wine and a splash of half and half. It may not be traditional chow fun but it definitely satsified the craving.

 

 

Sample Yourself

 

It turns out we are very good at remixing ourselves. The combination of rhubarb, asparagus and peanuts has been done before. By us. When we were working on the dish blending peanuts and white asparagus and then looking to rhubarb for acidity it felt all too familiar. And so I googled white asparagus-peanut-rhubarb. And low and behold, a dish came up, one of ours.  Well time and maturity can be seen through our evolution. The ingredients, while the same, are now composed more fluidly and the arrangement shows refinement. It is really quite exciting to realize that we are sampling, remixing our own work years later without consciously knowing it.

  

In the new version of the dish we have white asparagus that is cooked sous vide in a thickened peanut milk. The rhubarb is shaved thin, seasoned with salt and sugar and vacuum sealed to marinate. We dress it with olive oil and roll it up like a fruit roll up. We added a few other forms of rhubarb in a puree and a chip to add some textural and flavor contrasts. The chervil and black violas add anise notes and visual contrast to the dish.

Seaweed Shake

As it gets hotter we think of grilling more and more. The idea of spice rubs, shakes and seasonings is an ongoing topic of discussion. Recently we were looking for another medium to carry flavors and in noodling around we came up with the term seaweed shake. And the creation began. We took nori, wakame, hijiki, dulse and smoked kombu and ground them into a fine powder. We added dried and candied lemon and ginger left over from one of Aki’s cordial preparations. Finally we added smoked paprika, grains of paradise, nutmeg and salt. We ground everything together in our Vita-Prep. The result was a wonderful blend of seasonings with layers of flavor and evolving aromas.

Initially I had hoped to use the shake with seafood, we happened to have giant rib-eye steaks on hand and given that first application. The results were incredible. Now we are exploring other uses for the seaweed shake, from the obvious seafood choices to the not so obvious fish ribs. And of course pasta will be made, because everything seems to taste good in a pasta dough. Also the seafood shake will add intense flavor to a seafood based baked bean dish, risotto and marinated sea urchin. And let's not forget the vegetables, from corn on the cob to sunchokes. And as I write and think about our shake I realize that it is not a far stretch from the blended rice seasonings with seaweed, seseame, salt, sugar and dried seafood that are available in any Aisan market, only better because we made it ourselves.

 

Time for Chocolate Covered Pretzels

There are afternoons when I simply crave chocolate covered pretzels. This is not a recipe post. I buy my pretzels, thank you very much, because on the days when I crave chocolate covered pretzels I am definitely not in the right state of mind to deal with tempering chocolate. I don't even care if the pretzels I buy are no longer perfectly tempered because it was 90+ degrees in the car on the ride home and they melted a little and stuck together. What matters is that the pretzels are fresh, salted and thickly coated in quality milk chocolate.

It's important to find a moment alone to enjoy them. My husband and daughter are the lights of my life but I am one of those people who appreciates a little bit of solitude, and not just when I'm working. I find that a little time to myself recharges the batteries. It's hard to come by these days and I've adjusted to embracing those moments wherever I can find them, usually when the two of them are playing in the backyard. Hearing them enjoy themselves frees me to do the same. Although there is a laundry list of work projects, emails and other miscellanea that require my attention I ignore them. It's not easy, as my conscience nags quietly in the background. but I persevere. Arranging a couple of pretzels on a pretty plate and taking them off to a quiet spot to enjoy, I consciously force myself to relax.

Why do I love chocolate covered pretzels? That first bite explains everything. Teeth sinking through the creamy chocolate and encountering the sudden salty crunch of pretzel. It shatters against my teeth, crunchy and crumbly before melting into a velvet wash of chocolate bliss. Because of the shape of the pretzels and the random scattering of salt, every bite is different. It lets you focus on the experience and enjoy each different, fleeting sensation. And before you know it the pretzel is gone. I rarely get to finish two, there are interruptions, I get full or distracted. But that first pretzel is delicious. It's a few moments stolen in time that are all about me. A small luxury that is easily attainable when I really need it to be.

Catching Up

We've had a lot going on lately and that's a good thing. In case you missed it we have a piece up over at Gilt Taste about cooking with carrot greens. Earlier this month we were also featured in the Sites We Love section over at Saveur. Finally we were excited to have the omelette souffle recipe from our book included in the July Trendspotting section of Food and Wine Magazine both in print and online. It's been a good month for us and our book. And our first book, Ideas in Food the photographs, a compilation of 170+ photographs of dishes is now available through ibooks for only $8.99.

We found this cool set of videos that we had to share. It's Everything is a Remix, it will be a four part series although there are only three videos available now. The idea is that everything out there is a remix of something that came before. Creativity is actually copying, combining and extrapolating. even though we may think we have original ideas they are grown from the seeds planted by everything we see or do in life. Pretty cool stuff.

Over at Gaping Void, Hugh wrote about How To Really Use the Internet. It's a thought provoking piece that led us to Austin Kleon and his post about How to Steal Like an Artist. Not about food, per se, but we're all creatives at heart.

And a late addition which I came across this morning, being 2 hours early for my flight to San Francisco ,is from David Lebovitz's brilliant blog. In an older post on making apple jelly he points us to the the University of Georgia's National Center For Home Preservation, a fountain of information.

 

Blistered Pea Pods

We were reminded of the idea of blistered peas when we saw this post on Simply Recipes. While we had seared sugar snap peas in the past it hadn't occurred to us to do the same with English peas. We were quick to remedy the lapse. Of course we were unable to resist tinkering a bit to try and maximize our pea flavor. In our version we used a syringe to inject the clean pea pods with our pea pistachio water. We then seasoned the exterior of the pods with olive oil and smoked Maldon salt. We put a cast iron skillet on the stove and when it was smoking hot we added the peas. When the first side of the pods were charred we flipped them over and cooked the other side. When both sides of the pea pods were cooked we returned them to the plate where we seasoned them to rest.

After 2-3 minutes we used a pair of scissors to cut the top of the pea pod off, exposing the peas cooked in broth cradled in the bottom. We spooned up some of the pea drippings and olive oil from the resting plate and drizzled them over the peas. We added a bit more salt and a few tangy, heart-shaped oxalis leaves. We put a dollop of Greek yogurt on the side, lightly sweetened with sugar and a few drops of linden blossom essential oil. We the peas are eaten out of hand, slurped from the pods with their juices, much like slurping oysters from their shells. They are still firm and slightly toothsome, juicy and utterly delicious. Pea soup in a pod.

 

Peas and Pistachios

The combination of peas and pistachios began with the alliteration, which rolled off my tongue. Then I wanted to figure out a few ways to combine the flavors because they taste really good together. I started off by soaking shelled pistachios in water flavored with honey, salt and lovage. After 24 hours we drained the pistachios and peeled off the skin, and there was more than you think, trust me on that. We pureed the pistachio water with frozen peas and spun the mixture in our centrifuge. The result was pea-pistachio water (which we thickened with xanthan gum) and several layers of pea solids. The top layer is bright green and silky in texture with a fatty mouth-feel. It is a rich, decadent expression of peas. We used this layer to coat the peeled pistachios and then warmed them up in some of the pea-pistachio water. We finished the stew with a knob of sweet butter and accented the dish with fronds of sweet cicely. We served it alongside our blistered pea pods, coming tomorrow.

Apricot Jam and Tarragon Mustard

The combination of apricot jam and tarragon dijon mustard in equal parts is absolutely incredible. How I came to blending them is not very scientific. We had some beautiful, fresh wild King salmon that we were cooking for dinner and I was rummaging through the fridge looking for something to season it with. I was thinking sweet and salty but ended up with sweet and spicy, as my hands grabbed the two different jars of jam and mustard. The ingredients combined to bring sweet, salty, sour, bitter, spicy and herbal notes together harmoniously. We slathered the blend on our salmon and then put our toaster oven to work and gently cooked it at 200°F. The fish was succulent and silky against my teeth and the glaze was the perfect counterpoint, contrasting the rich and juicy fish. My only regret is that there was only enough glaze to coat the fish and not to serve it as a condiment on the side. Next time.

White Asparagus

It's not as tricky as you think it is.

Slow Cooked Spot Prawns

We picked up these spot prawns at the Sunday farmers market in Philadelphia. They were flash frozen when caught and we felt we would give them a spin. We removed the shells and made a spicy crustacean broth enriched with red pepper juice. The prawns themselves were dressed with olive oil and salt and gently cooked in our toaster oven at 200°F for 10 minutes. When they were cooked Aki tossed them with a fine slicing of lovage and spring onions. A splash of lemon juice and the prawns were ready.

Beef and Bone Marrow Ramen

This is a mish-mash of ideas, styles, techniques and flavors, yet it comes together as a delicious bowl of noodles. Let's begin with the broth. It is a semi-traditional Asian pork broth which we made in a pressure cooker. Separately we made an Indian mango pickle stock, also in the pressure cooker, which we initially planned to use to make noodles but instead used to braise beef shanks, yes you guessed it, in the pressure cooker. If you are still following this train of thought we then blended the beef braising liquid with our pork broth to create our noodle broth.

To make the noodles themselves we whipped out the Arcobaleno AEX18. We made a simple ramen dough with water, flour, salt and baking soda. The result was an elastic noodle, made with the chitarra die, which retains its snap, even while sitting in hot broth.

The egg component is a freezer cured egg yolk which is then cleaned and rolled thin. We season it with smoked Maldon salt, jalapeno, lovage and mitsuba. To complete the dish we add the cooked noodles, braised beef, nuggets of bone marrow from the beef shanks, and more lovage, mitsuba and jalapeno. We are thrilled with the combination of flavors as well as the wonderful textures from our variety of approaches. It may not be traditional but it most certainly is delicious.

Stem Lettuce Ceasar

We found some beautiful stem lettuce at the local farmer's market. We cooked it in the liquid left from centrifuging sour cream flavored with Ceasar salad seasonings: anchovy, garlic, lemon, and spice. We garnished the warm vegetable with basil leaves and flowers, sweet cicely and chervil. The finished stem lettuce is crunchy and tender, with flavors reminiscent of a Ceasar salad finished with fresh herbs. The creamy puree on the plate is the flavored sour cream post centrifuge. We layered flavors and used all of the parts to create something more than what we began with.  Stem lettuce a la Caesar salad, simply delicious.

A Good Idea Gone Wrong

We've been talking about composting for years. Ever since we lived in Maine and were lucky enough to work at a restaurant with both a garden and a gardener to take care of it. We composted in that kitchen and were delighted to see the kitchen scraps go to good use. We were also slightly horrified to see the sheer quantity of scraps we generated but that's the nature of the beast. Now we know ourselves well enough to know that the reason composting worked there was because it was easy. We threw the scraps in a white trash can and Mary collected them every day and added them to her compost heap. Partway through the season she had her husband build a second, three tiered composter in order to keep up with us.

When we moved to Colorado the threat of bears, coyotes and other predators meant that we weren't allowed to even contemplate a composter behind the hotel. When we moved back to NYC, close neighbors and the possibility of attracting rodents were enough to deter us. Now that we've got our own home with a fenced-in yard we began talking compost again. We were practical enough to realize that it would still have to be easy and after much research and angst we decided on a Nature Mill electric composter. It got good reviews online and looked relatively simple to operate and maintain. One of the things that attracted me was the idea that they had good customer service. So I put my money where my mouth was and made the investment. (Composters ain't cheap.)

Once the composter arrived Alex took over. I suppose it falls in the range of gadgets and toys. He was thrilled to be composting again and enthused about the cleanliness and ease of this particular invention. Things were moving along nicely and I happily wrote a blog post extolling the virtues of the Nature Mill. Then before I had time to edit and post it, disaster struck in the form of an entire console of blinking lights. We checked the manual, which detailed what to do for individual flashing lights but did not seem to cover our seemingly dire stuation. Alex reset the machine. Nothing changed. And then the work day began and he had to walk away. Later on he tried to call the company, using the phone number we found on the website to no avail, no one ever answered the phone.

By the next morning the machine was flashing and leaking all over the floor. He moved it outside and plugged it in on the patio (theoretically this is an indoor/outdoor machine) under an overhang. After combing through the website we found more information telling us that if all the lights were flashing we needed to unplug the machine for 48 hours and then plug it back in. Theoretically all of the scraps in the machine would be fine for such a short period in a non-temperature controlled environment. 48 hours later we plugged it back in and once again all of the lights started flashing. Now Alex was seriously frustrated. He finally got an email the next morning explaining that they had no idea what was wrong but we could send the machine back (at their expense) and if they couldn't figure it out and fix it they would send a new one. This sounds like a good thing but we had two issues. One, being averse to clutter and operating on the assumption we wouldn't need it for anything Alex had thrown away the original box. We were going to have to go out and buy a box to ship it in. And two, the machine would have to be emptied and cleaned before shipping, a singularly unappealing task because the fermenting food scraps and hot, damp weather had combined to produce a stinky, disgusting mess.

That's where we are now. The idea of chucking the whole machine in the trash is frankly appealing but more wasteful than either of us is comfortable with. So one of us will have to don rubber gloves (Alex) and do the deed. We're hoping the machine can be fixed or replaced but truthfully, our zeal for composting has suffered a major setback. I suppose it just goes to show that if something seems to good to be true maybe it is.

 

*We actually wrote this post a while ago. The machine has since been cleaned and was shipped back to the company over a week ago. Although UPS confirmed that it was delivered, we have yet to hear anything about whether it's fixable, going to be replaced or refunded.

**And now they're saying four weeks is the normal time period for repairs, never mind that we only had it working for about a week. We'll see what happens next.

Mitsuba

Our weed patch is thriving and the mitsuba has been a wonderful new addition to our kitchen. Also known as Japanese parsley, mitsuba is used as both an herb and a salad green. Similar in texture and appearance to watercress, it is relatively easy to grow and is used in its entirety, from the roots to the leaves. Miitsuba leaves happily take a light charring with a blow torch although you have to be careful not to overcook them as they will lose flavor if taken too far. Now that ours has grown to reasonable size we can begin further explorations. The bolder, slightly spicy notes of mitsuba are asserive and flavorful enough to act as the foundation for building a dish. One idea that has us very excited is a salsa verde made with mitsuba. Another is a riff on Clams Casino finished with mitsuba crumbs. As our mitsuba grows, we do not want to forget to use the flowers and stems, so a raw fish and vegetable dish that will feature them together is definitely coming soon.

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The New Juicer

For years we've used a Champion Juicer. It was the first one we worked with, way back in the day at Clio. It was a workhorse and it did it's job well. Fast forward over a decade and it was time to upgrade. We did a little research and decided to invest in an Omega. It's a sleek little thing. Much quieter than the Champion and it gives great juice. We have not had the chance to explore all of its bells and whistles yet, it even extrudes pasta, but with an Arcobaleno on the counter I doubt we'll ever use that particular function. It's easy to clean and easy to use and as far as we're concerned, money well spent. Sometimes change is good.

Red Pepper Aromatic Ice Sphere

The idea was a truly flavorful ice cube, which adds flavor to the drink as it melts. The addition of aroma came as a secondary thought. Now red pepper juice as a cocktail base is not a universal win. It is sweet and flavorful but not exactly the norm. We have explored using the juice as the base for a Planters Punch and as a blending liquid (via ice cubes) for some tasty bourbon. The drinks were good but certainly not crave-worthy. However, the idea of combining flavors with complimentary flavors in an ice cube of all things is quite exciting. Imagine finding the right combination and having an ice cube that melted into a drink and made it taste even better. Definitely something to strive for. And if our first efforts aren't home runs there's no reason to beleieve that eventually we won't hit something out of the ballpark.

Surf and Soil

Here we combine the breast of watermelon with the watermelon marinated shrimp and a few herbs, flowers and weeds from our garden. The spot prawns are prepared two ways: quickly torched and as a tartare. The torched spot prawn is garnished with spicy nasturtium flowers and the spot prawn tartare is dressed with the tomato-watermelon water, jalapeno and olive oil and then accented with small nasturtium leaves. The breast of watermelon is glazed with its pan juices and seasoned with smoked Maldon salt. Finally a few leaves of oxalis accent the slices with an herbal and slightly sour counterpoint.

Cheese Danish

The idea was to make a microwave cheesecake. According to Aki the result tastes like the lightest cheese danish you have ever experienced. Oh well, the name was wrong but the experience was right. We blended egg white powder with milk and added salt, xanthan gum, cream cheese, flour, agave nectar and vanilla extract. We pureed all the ingredients together and then poured them into an isi siphon. We charged the canister with two nitrous charges and extruded it into paper cups, filling them halfway. We microwaved the batter on high power for thirty seconds and then inverted the cups onto a plate and refrigerated them. Once the cups were cool we used a pairing knife to release the light, fluffy cakes/clouds/confections from inside the cup. The result was this ethereal rendition of a cheese danish. The microwave cheesecake will have to wait, this creation is too good not to enjoy and explore to the fullest.

 

Microwave Cheese Danish

150 grams whole milk

16 grams egg white powder

25 grams flour

1.85 grams salt

0.9 grams xanthan gum

200 grams cream cheese

75 grams agave nectar

 

Put the milk in the blender and turn it on low. Sprinkle in the egg white powder and increase the speed to medium. Puree the mixture for one minute. Sprinkle in the flour, salt, xanthan gum, cream cheese and agave nectar. Increase the speed to high and puree until smooth, at least 30 seconds. Pour the batter into an isi whipped cream dispenser and charge with two nitrous charges. Take a paper cup and use a pairing knife to poke a hole in the bottom and three holes on the sides. Dispense the batter into 8-ounce paper cups, filling them halfway, and microwave on high for thirty seconds. As soon as the microwave stops, remove the cup and invert it onto a flat plate. Repeat with remaining batter. Once all the batter is cooked refrigerate the danish cups for at least one hour, until it is fully chilled and set. Use a pairing knife to free the edges of the danish from the cup and shake it free. Plate and serve immediately.

Watermelon Marinated Shrimp

When I went to clean the pan that was used to sear the watermelon I realized that it was full of juice. Being me I was unable to resist sticking in a finger and giving it a taste. They were delicious. We just happened to have finished cleaning a batch of spot prawns from the farmer's market and I immediately reached for a few. I put them in a small container with the watermelon jus, some thin slices of jalalpeno and an extra shot of lemon juice. Ten minutes later we had a new twist on ceviche that tasted better than any version we'd ever had before. Just goes to show you that sometimes just using what's at hand will yield incredibly delicious results. Keep your eyes open and your palate ready.

Breast of Watermelon

The idea was to make a watermelon gazpacho, which utilized the rind and the flesh of the fruit. With that idea in mind, we bantered about the flavor of char. I opted to grill the rind with a thick layer of flesh on it to add some sweet cooked and caramelized notes to the soup. While grilling the slabs of watermelon rind we realized that the contrast of rind to flesh reminded us of pork belly. A new idea was born. We took the grilled the 4 pieces of watermelon rind and seasoned them individually with a variety of flavors from lemon cordial and lovage to walnut oil. We vacuum sealed them with their seasonings and cooked them at 85°C for 30 minutes. Once the melon "bellies" were cooked we cooled them down. We cut open the first bag, in this case lovage and lemon, and trimmed up the watermelon into a rectangle. Then we realized that they looked more like duck breast than pork belly. We accentuated the look by scoring the watermelon rind and sauteeing it in olive oil. We finished them with butter and crushed garlic cloves. Once the watermelon was nicely caramelized we drained off the fat and added the watermelon braising liquid to the pan to glaze the slab of melon. The result was a beautiful breast of watermelon. A new kind of steak that is as flavorful as it is enticing to the eye.

Seaweed Sauerkraut

BBQ Potato Chip Gnocchi

BBQ Potato Gnocchi

 

165 grams BBQ sauce

195 grams IPA beer

175 grams butter

6 grams salt

5 grams Garam Masala

6 grams garlic powder

6 grams onion powder

1 gram grated nutmeg

1 gram cracked black pepper

140 grams flour

110 grams toasted potato flakes ground into flour

165 grams grated cheddar cheese

324 grams/ 6 whole eggs

 

Put the BBQ sauce, beer, butter, spices and salt in a pot. Bring to a simmer. Add the flours and stir until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the edges. Put the dough into a mixer with the blade attachment and add the cheese. Paddle the dough for five minutes to cool, and then start adding the eggs one at a time allowing each one to be incorporated into the dough. Let the dough cool and either put into a piping bag and extrude the dough into simmering water to poach or shape into balls while cold and then poach and chill. Sauté in butter to serve.

 

Watermelon Prosciutto

Sometimes Alex gets a little nutty and because we are partners in crime, I ride the wave to see where it will take me. Today it took me to what he called watermelon prosciutto. Prosciutto because of the texture, which was amazingly similar to that of my favorite pork product eaten raw. He made his  version by removing the skin from watermelon, slicing it paper thin, brushing it with Ayu fish sauce and dehydrating it. It became chewy and pliable instead of crisp and seemed to melt on the tongue, breaking apart as I chewed and leaving a lingering sweet-savory flavor behind. It's a pretty fun ingredient to play with. In the picture above we have watermelon "prosciutto" with nasturtium leaves and blossoms, mitsuba and Minus 8 vinegar. Sounds simple and in reality it's a pretty darn tasty dish.

Cornflakes Paccheri

A Bowl of Plums

The lesson behind these striking plums is not necessarily a happy one. It speaks of inspiration, ingredients and failure. We often go to farmers markets and are drawn in by the beauty. The noise, the clamor, the ingredients all act together to create an ambiance, which takes us back to a different time. We can talk to farmers and shepards. We can connect with our food. There is an interaction that occurs and the result is that we feel good about what we are buying. And usually we buy plenty, caught up in the frenzy of the moment, supporting the small, the passionate, the people with the same beliefs as us. And then you get home and you start tasting. And some of the food is good, some is great and unfortunately a lot of it can be bad. It looked so beautiful on the stand, in the basket, and talking to the grower we forget that they are there to make sales. It is so beautiful. We carefully wash the fruit or vegetables, put them in the bowl and take a picture. Then we taste whatever it is we just bought. In this instance the plums were mealy, watery, and flavorless. How could this be? I shopped at a farmer's market. I bought local and seasonal and connected with the guys that grew these great ingredients. Apparently not. I connected with the idea of the market, not the ingredients. I connected with the feeling of nostalgia, not the week of rain before the sunny morning I visited the market. I arrived when it was in full swing rather than upon opening when some of the "farmers" are unpacking big boxes of produce and arranging them in well worn baskets. I bought into the hype.

We have created a food culture where farmers markets demand higher prices even when the ingredients themselves don't measure up. We are often buying nostalgia and ideas rather than quality. Sadly not everyone at some markets are even growing the items they present. After all a farm stand doesn't have to put out a sign that says "I grew this" the sentiment is implied by the location. Questions about the truck full of empty produces boxes in the back are met with a shrug and a half-hearted excuse that they just pack their stuff in those boxes, with no mention of where the boxes may have come from or why they all happen to be labeled with exactly the items on the stand. We have to remember to search out flavor and authenticity and not just wear the rose colored glasses. We have to remember to buy one plum and taste it before taking a whole basket.