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Rhubarb pie and the farmers’ market

rhubarb

It’s been a brisk week in Wisconsin. I’ve gone through these days trying to decide if a sweater was necessary or if it really was as warm as I hoped. Usually a sweater improved the situation. Because of the briskness I took the opportunity to fix a few of my cold weather favorites that I was craving. Most notable was my black bean soup. There isn’t any photos because, well, we ate it… and nope, we didn’t stop to take pictures. It was good though and it always reminds me of the first time I made it in San Francisco. My version is a riff on Deborah Madison’s recipe from her Green’s cookbook. I’ve made it so many times over the past 20 years and it always satisfies with its spicy beaniness.

I’ve made a few rhubarb pies while it’s still in season. Fortunately I saved some of the frozen strawberries from last year’s bounty so we could have our favorite strawberry rhubarb pie. I think I’ll pick up some more rhubarb at the farmers’ market tomorrow…we never tire of pie and this might be the last weekend for rhubarb.

I’ve been thinking about our farmer friends a lot this week. Gas went up another 10 cents and I’m noticing some price increases at the grocery store…although I must admit that the items I buy at the store are few, they are things like flour, olive oil, butter (if I don’t make my own), chocolate, coffee, and wine. The farmers who faithfully show up to the market each week so we can have eggs, yogurt, milk, cheese, veg, fruit, mushrooms, and meat have to be feeling the pinch. I know from experience that the profit margin for most farmers is pretty thin and I’ve never known a rich farmer…at least if you judge riches by money. I do know a lot of happy farmers.

All of this is just to say that if you’re going out tomorrow, stop by a farmers’ market. If you happen to live in Madison you really should consider going to the best farmers’ market, the Westside Community Market. Nope, they don’t pay me to say that…I just say it because it’s true. I even have a list of 10 reasons why the Westside Side Community Market rocks:

  1. You can walk in any direction you want. That’s right folks, no counter-clockwise march here…just flit about and enjoy.
  2. Nick Kirch and the crew from Blue Marble Dairy will be there and their dairy products are awesome. So fresh and delicious. I love their milk and cream.
  3. Eric Johnson from Jordandal Farm will have chickens this week…apparently many chickens…I’m seriously excited because that means it’s BBQ Bird time…woot.
  4. Madison Sourdough’s perfect pain au chocolat. Their sourdough loaf is my favorite for sandwiches. The baguettes…arguably the best outside of Paris.
  5. The mushroom man had such huge morels last week…will he have them again this week?
  6. Bruce Workman from Edelweiss Cremery will be there with his Emmenthaler cheese. I also have a soft spot for his Muenster cheese.
  7. Peter Potter and his crackers…add any of his flavorful flatties to that Muenster and you’ve got the perfect afternoon snack.
  8. Dreamfarm’s eggs. I don’t know about you but I love Diana’s eggs. Lately we’ve been getting lots of double yolks…always a sign of a lucky day.
  9. Dreamfarm’s goat cheeses. I think that that Diana’s rosebud cheese is my favorite.
  10. Maple Syrup guy will be there only 2 more weeks…time to stock up.

Oh, don’t forget the rhubarb! Here’s my recipe.
rhubarb pie



May 23, 2008 | Filed Under Local, Westside Community Market, baking, ethical eating, farmers market, favorite products, food, food porn, fruit and nuts, pie, quick and easy, recipe, sweets 

comments

5 Responses to “Rhubarb pie and the farmers’ market”

  1. Andy on May 24th, 2008

    thanks for the recipe! We got some rhubarb in our box this week, I may have to get more to supplement though!

    Here’s a question, have you ever frozen rhubarb? I’m just wondering how long it can be kept frozen.

    Thanks again!

  2. vanessa on May 24th, 2008

    Hi Andy, yup you can freeze rhubarb. I just chop it, bag it, and sling it into the freezer. My experience is that if the freezer is at a steady temp, and the bag is sealed, it should last at least a year.

  3. My Sweet & Saucy on May 24th, 2008

    I just bought some rhubarb too! Your pie looks yummy!

  4. Slow Sunday « Everything in Moderation on May 25th, 2008

    [...] trying it. After a trip to one of my favorite food sites, TasteSpotting, I found an intriguing blog post about rhubarbs with a yummy looking recipe for a strawberry rhubarb galette. So, maybe that will be [...]

  5. holler on May 28th, 2008

    Fresh food from a Farmer’s market is a real treat :)

    Your rhubarb pie look great. I am eating tons of the stuff at the moment!

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