Market Week Meal 2: at least it was pretty.

I'm not doing so well with cooking this week, maybe it's because Mr. C and I are getting ready to move and my head is elsewhere--in boxes and carpet cleaning and weed pulling. In any case, the kitchen has been neglected and for that reason, I blame it, not my lack of enthusiasm, for the failure of last night's meal. I'll spare you the details of the exact recipe, but I'll give you a quick run-down and show you the pictures, because really, the best part about it was how it looked.

Farmer's Market Cassoulet(ish)

1 small carrot, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
fresh oregano
2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 can butter beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups fresh arugula, WASHED!
2 andouille sausage links, cut into 1/2" disks
1/2 cup fresh raspberries, reserve a few for garnish
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp unsalted butter, separated
1/4 cup good beer
salt & pepper to taste

Basically, I sauteed the onion, carrot, garlic and oregano in olive oil and 1 tsp of butter and added the andouille, which I sauteed until brown. Next, I added in the beans, arugula and raspberries, s&p, and beer, cooked the whole thing until the arugula wilted down and the raspberries and beer made a nice sauce. I finished the dish off with the remaining butter and a little more s&p. I served it over a peice of charred bread that I smeared with one of the garlic cloves (when you leave them whole, they get all roasty and soft and delish) and topped it with the reserved fresh raspberries. Serves 2.

Now, let me say that I know it sounds fine, and in a lot of respects it was, but I made a few unforgiving mistakes. First, for goodness sake, wash the arugula REALLY WELL, especially if you get it from the farmer's market and it doesn't come in a package that says "pre-washed". I made the mistake of giving it a quick rinse and consequently ate grit. Yuck. Similarly, while the raspberries were possibly the star of the meal and added a great sweetness and pop of freshness, the seeds were a bit too much and made for lots of teeth picking. Double yuck. Lastly, and more of a personal preference, the andouille was too spicy (and I love spicy!) for the dish and over powered the other flavors. Next time I'll probably use a kielbasa or the Smoked Apple and Chardonney chicken sausage from Trader Joe's.

I will say, however, that all of the colors were delightful and made for some good eye candy, so at least there's that!