In a state of food confusion..

Did anyone happen to see a small Yaris driving in circles?  A girl confused in the produce section of Whole Foods?  That was me.  For six months I was able to walk/bike/drive to Union Sq Farmers market and buy everything I needed with great ease..veggies, fruit, cheese, bread and chocolate.  Whatever was not there (milk, tofu, pasta), I was able to supplement at Sherman's Market just steps away.  Now this creature of habit was forced into a state of mass confusion.   Do I go to Iggy's store or buy their bread at a grocery store?   Sherman's produce selection is not large enough..do I over pay at Whole Foods?  It was awful.  Luckily, I was able to gain some control.  I did drive to Iggy's store to buy bread and pizza dough..turns out it is minutes from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods..then across town to Sherman's for milk, but forgot Fiori Di Nonno cheese and they were out of pasta...back to the other side of the city to Dave's Fresh Pasta.   I should be able to make this work with some organization...June is only 7ish months away.   There is also still hope for a Winter Market..which hopefully will bring everyone back together again.  For the environmentalist out there..no worries about the driving.  The car is green and to offset the driving yesterday I did not drive it at all today..

The confusion explains my cooking for today.  I was all over the place.  I ended up buying no vegetables so it was a good thing I had over shopped last Saturday, but I needed to cook them soon.   The pizza dough was starting at me calling out to be topped with the fresh cheese sitting in the refrigerator.  Dave's Fresh pasta really cannot sit for too long..it meant to be cooked and eaten quickly.  So I made everything.  Pasta with brussels sprouts and maple caramelized onions for lunch.  Vegetable mix with beans and an eggplant pizza for dinner.  All leftovers will be used for lunch for the next few days...

Lets start with lunch and work our way down..

Maine wild mushroom spaghetti with brussels sprouts, maple caramelized shallots and carrots

The pasta was on special at Dave's and it was a must try.  I did not want to just top it with a tomato sauce and I did not have an mushrooms...so why not brussels sprouts.  They go with everything, right?

Boiled water and cooked pasta as normal.  The fresh pasta cooks up fast, so don't add to boiling water until the last few minutes.  In a pan I add sliced shallots (local farmer!) and a tbsp of maple syrup (from MA).  I just cooked it at a low temp until tender and a nice aroma was wafting through the air...I tossed in quartered brussels sprouts (kimball's farm)  and cooked down.  It was a last minute decision to  add the carrots (dick's farm)..it worked so it was a right thing.  I tossed the cook pasta into the pan and topped it all with a couple of tsp of truffle oil..I know you are suppose to carbo load before a long run..but I like to do it after as well!

Next, the easiest pizza ever.

Eggplant and Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Pizza.

Iggy's rolls out and portion controls your pizza.  The offer traditional and whole wheat...I went with the whole wheat.  I really love the pizza dough...it was not dry like Trader Joe's dough and cooked perfectly.
Opened a jar of my own tomatoes (use any you have on hand) and spread over the dough.  The tomato had basil in it so I made sure to get that on there.  Chopped up some garlic (kimball's farm)  and covered the sauce.  Layered some thinly sliced white eggplant (drumlin farm) and cheese (fiori di nonno)..cooked in a 500 degree oven.  Just to note: Iggy's store sells pizza as well.  I did not buy any yesterday but I will soon.  It looked and smelled soo amazingly delicious..they do everything right there..
Here was my pizza...

Finally, the vegetables.  I did not want to just have pizza for dinner, nor did I want to eat the whole pizza so I cooked up a side dish that did not go with tpizza at all..but still tasted good.   Maybe you would want to make them separate..
Another easy dish...sauteed some onions, added carrots and cauliflower (kimball farm)..let it cook down.  While that was happening I was prepping the pizza.  The extra tomato, went into the pan.  The extra eggplant, went into the pan.  Drizzled some mirin and sprinkled some cayenne pepper and cooked until tender.  In another small pot  I cooked up some kidney beans.  Throw those in and you have a very tasty, very colorful and very hearty vegetable dish.  You can top it on rice, eat it as is or use it as a side dish to the pizza!

Still all local..still all healthy!  Let's see what tomorrow's market will bring... hopefully I can get organized!

~L