Good morning to you! It’s Wednesday, and that means Farmers Market in Wallingford Center (1815 N 45th St.) from 3 – 7 pm. Between you, we and the wall, we’ve been a bit disappointed with the selection we’ve seen thus far this year, but we’ll chalk it up to time of year: if you’re selling what’s in season, you can only sell what’s in season, and it’s early yet.
From a quick glance at the market report, it seems like things may be picking up:
Strawberries and cherries are now available at all markets, from farms like ACMA Mission Orchards, Billy’s, Collins, Hayton, Stoney Plains, Tiny’s and others. Full Circle now has broccoli, kohlrabi, zucchini, baby chiogga beets and much, much more. Stoney Plains now serves all SFMA markets with a wide variety of crops, from carrots to dried heirloom beans to epazote to an extraordinary selection of greens. Firefly Kitchens offers … delicious, healthful fermented vegetables in the form of kimchi, sauerkraut and yin & yang, a fermented mixture of carrots and ginger. Grateful Bread Bakery … offers wonderful breads, bagels, cookies, pastries and more. … Tiny’s Organic has added certified organic chicken to its lineup … and … Of course, there is plenty more.
OK, raise your hand if you know what “epazote” is. We didn’t, but we trust the Internets to know these things. Wikipedia says epazote, also known as Wormseed, Jesuit’s Tea, Mexican Tea, or Herba Sancti Mariæ is
used as a leaf vegetable and herb for its pungent flavor. Raw, it has a resinous, medicinal pungency, similar to anise, fennel, or even tarragon, but stronger. Epazote’s fragrance is strong, but difficult to describe. It has been compared to citrus, petroleum, savory, mint and camphor.
Although it is traditionally used with black beans for flavor and its carminative properties, it is also sometimes used to flavor other traditional Mexican dishes as well: it can be used to season quesadillas and sopes (especially those containing huitlacoche), soups, mole de olla, tamales with cheese and chile, chilaquiles, eggs and potatoes and enchiladas.
There, doesn’t that sound good? Why don’t you head over to the Farmers Market, grab some epazote from Stoney Plains and some chicken from Tiny’s Organic and make this recipe for Chicken with Tomatillo Sauce and Braised Fruit?
OR, you could satisfy your food preparation craving by watching Avila chef Alex Pitt’s cooking demonstration at 4 pm while snacking on a Trophy cupcake. Whatever suits your fancy, it’s all the same to us.
Epazote should be used sparingly – a little bit helps counterbalance the gas from bean dishes, but too much is poisonous.