Peter's Weekly Walkthrough
June 2, 2023
You know things are growing good when you see both Local Rhubarb (22563-20 lb, 22561-5 lb) from Clackamas and Local Strawberries (30902-12 pint) from Dayton, Oregon. Most people go for the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie route, I veer towards a Ginger Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce. A pat of butter goes into the sauté pan with a generous amount of grated ginger. Let it bloom out and become aromatic. Add something sweet: sugar, agave or honey. A couple drops of Balsamic to give it a deeper flavor and quartered strawberries to warm up. Continue with a toss of cut up rhubarb. Let this just warm up, you know what happens to rhubarb when it cooks for too long. Lastly finish with mounting a heap of butter. This pan sauce usually takes less than a minute or two but has everything you need to accompany a grilled meat: Lamb, Pork, Chicken, heck Duck even. This was how I knew I was a good chef: I made this once for my parents who loved it so much that my mom would call every year about this time to talk her thru the recipe again.
Yesterday while dropping off a couple of items, the chef gave a very gracious gesture. He had just finished making Sweet English Pea Soup and handed me a to-go cup full of the soup. I was feeling a tinge hungry and very gratefully accepted his hospitality. The fresh English Peas (21919-25 LB, 28016-5 LB) were transformative. Using fresh peas as apposed to dried brought a sweet bright freshness to the soup. The addition of some diced ham added the necessary smoky note. The soup did not last more than 3 miles down the road before I was licking the bowl. Lots of yum on this one.
Maverick Tomatoes Mix (30629-8/1 lb) were sitting on a rack over my head. Reaching around the box to pull out a container, the light made it appear like a stained glass. It just looked cool. This brought up some of the conversations that took place this week. Questions like: Do we have Heirloom Tomatoes (23009-10 lb)? How are they looking right now? Are they local? It was easiest to just snap a photo of the Heirlooms around the corner They did travel well- out of Mexico at this time but don’t let this hold you back. . They are looking full, big, ripe, colorful and ready to eat.
This is just to wet your whistle- Yellow Peaches (28113-44+) out of Reedley California are here. This is from a new grower to us- Mountain View Fruit. We were not too sure but talking with Aaron we placed an order. He was a nice guy and very thorough. That thoroughness came thru as the fruit was given high marks by the receivers when it came in. It looks great. Hope this will lead to more from Mountain View Farms.
Melons are starting to look better and better. Guatemala has ended and Mexico is coming on board. Quality is getting better and better along with more varieties: Honey Kiss, Golden Kiss, Pepino, Summer Kiss and these 12 ct Tuscan Melons (31646-12 ct) are all in stock. Funny thing about melons- they are all within about $3-$4 a case of each other. Why not switch things up a bit and order a different melon? Flavor will be worth it and it will keep everyone on their toes.
