New and Usual Summer Items

One of my favorite things to do at the market is just walk around and look for foods that are new or interesting to me. For some reason, in the past few weeks there have been quite a few items that fall into that category! I decided it was my duty as Market Blogger to introduce you to these items and give you a little bit of information regarding what exactly they are, what they taste like, and what you can do with them.Oddly, the five items I’ve chosen to talk about all have the same color palette:First on our plate is the Pluot. The variety I found at Toigo Orchards is a yellowish-green, sometimes referred to as “Empire”. Pluots, or “plumcots” as they are sometimes called, are a distant hybrid between plums and apricots. Their lineage is generally thought of as ¼ apricot and ¾ plum. The skin is delicious, a little tart as you would expect from a plum, but light and easily eaten-  no need to peel.In my opinion, the best way to eat these sweet treats is whole and raw, with a paper towel for the juice. However, I wouldn’t be opposed to trying them in place of plums in a Plum Tart recipe. If you choose to bake with them, make sure you get pluots that aren’t too ripe - you’ll want that tart flavor and hardy texture for the tart.The next interesting item is the tomatillo, which found at Westmoreland Produce. Out of all of the things I chose to write about, I would venture to say that the tomatillo is the most well-known. However, I’d bet that most people don’t have a clue what to do with them - or even what they really are! The tomatillo is typically thought of as a Mexican delicacy, but we are lucky enough to have some locally-grown ones available to us right here in the DC area. Also known as the “husk tomato” or “ground cherry,” tomatillos are actually a different species than tomatoes. When you buy them, they are surrounded by an inedible paper that begins to split as the fruit ripens.Ever since I visited Mexico years ago, my favorite application for tomatillos is probably the most traditional: salsa verde. The tart flavor they have is perfect when cooked and added to a mixture of hot chilies, cilantro, and onions.I’ve used the next item in a recipe already this summer (Ratatouille Tart) and I was so impressed with its beautiful exterior and delicious interior, that I have been getting them at the market ever since. They are called “Costata Romanesco Squash,” and they have very quickly become a staple in my kitchen. This variety of squash is considered an heirloom variety, which essentially means a breed or species of fruit or vegetable that is not commonly associated with large-scale commercial production and whose seeds may have been handed down for generations. The costata romanesco is extremely juicy and has a beautifully nutty taste that I find irresistible. Rob at Young Harvests grows very large ones, some big enough to feed a whole family!My recommendation is to cut them pretty thick (about ½ inch disks), coat them in olive oil, sprinkle some salt and pepper on them, place them on a cookie sheet. I broil in the oven until they just start to get brown. They are best when eaten hot, but easy to reheat. In fact, I might go heat up some leftovers from dinner last night….The Canary Melon is next on the list. Found at the Twin Springs Fruit Farm stand, I alluded to it in my melon mania post last week, but now its time to really find out what they are. When you cut open a canary melon, it will look very much like the inside of a cantaloupe. There are, of course, a few subtle differences; the flesh color is a light yellow, the skin is surprisingly thicker, and the smell is not the overpowering melon-like smell you expect from a cantaloupe or honeydew melon. Some people have actually referred to the taste as “pear-like, ” but in my opinion, the canary melon has a slightly tarter bite than other sweet melons and certainly sweet pears.Canary melons are great when eaten as is, but a fun way to jazz it up would be chopping up some cilantro and tossing it with some olive oil and the melon.The final item I want to talk about is the beautiful Delicata squash. Typically known as a winter squash, they just started showing up at the Bending Bridge Farm stand. Cream or yellow colored with green stripes, they make a gorgeous statement even without their culinary value. As the name suggests, they are a delicate item, the skin being very thin in the early months of harvesting. As the season goes on, and the squashes mature, they do tend to get a bit hardier. Another great thing about the early-season delicates- you can eat the skin! (The skin of fruits and vegetables always provide quite a bit more nutritional value than the flesh alone).The easiest - and in my opinion, most delicious - way to prepare a delicata squash is by roasting it. Cut it in half, remove the seeds (these can be toasted in much the same fashion as pumpkin seeds), and slice the halves into ½ inch pieces. Rub the pieces with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and roast in a single layer on a sheet pan in the oven for about 10 minutes. Flip each piece over and roast 7-10 minutes more, until brown. The taste is a cross between nuts and popcorn. Delicious!This gives you and idea of what a thrill it is to try new and usual items at the farm market. Try these out and spend some time walking around the market, looking for fruits and veggies that you may not have eaten before. I guarantee you that our vendors at all three markets can give you quite a bit of information about all of the produce they are selling. Try new things! You really never know what will soon become a staple on your farm market grocery list and on your table.