Monday: farmer's market dinner

Monday was the farmer's market at the Whole Foods on Raymond Road. Everything looked fab, even at 5:30pm when most of the vendors were getting ready to close up shop and head home for the night. The gentleman from the berry farm was adorable and let me take some photos.






I did my shopping from two different produce stands and came home with some wonderful kale, raspberries, summer squash, zucchini, and whole-stalk green garlic-- the couple working one booth insisted that I buy it and very enthusiastically pointed out all the parts of the stalk that are edible so I couldn't say no, even though a 5ft stalk of garlic is quite intimidating. I haven't tried the garlic from the bulb yet, but the green portion made a lovely addition to my *famous* lime guacamole (recipe to follow at some point, right now it's still "top secret").

As it was my first Meatless Monday, I made a lovely little vegetarian dinner out of some of the goodies I purchased. It was simple AND ohhhh so good.

Spicy Kale and Summer Squash

1/2 bundle of green kale, washed
1 small-medium yellow squash
1 small shallot
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup organic vegetable stock
splash of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Remove the stems from the kale and tear or chop into managable sized pieces (it should yeild about 3-4 cups). Slice the squash into 1/4" rings. Thinly slice or chop the shallot, whichever you prefer. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and red pepper flakes over medium heat. Add the shallot and saute until translucent, then add the squash in one layer and saute for a few minutes until the shallot starts to brown. Pile in the kale and add the vegetable stock, salt and pepper. Cover so that the steam starts to wilt down the kale and after a few minutes it will be wilted enough to combine with the squash, which will be cooked through but not mushy. Add a splash of red wine vinegar and cook for just a minute to reduce. Serves 2 generously as a side dish.

I ate the whole thing with a touch of spicy mustard and a big chunk of whole grain baguette. If it wasn't Meatless Monday, I might have added some smokey chicken sausage to make it more hearty. (No pictures of this one, I ate it all.)