Driving home from my parents on Thursday I was so excited to see my favorite roadside stand had opened for the season! They are located on Sprague Road, between Pearl Road and York Road. Of course I had to stop and see their goods! It was their first day open for business so they had a smaller assortment, but they promised that their peaches, cantaloupes and berries would be by the weekend along with more veggies. On Thursday they were selling zucchini and yellow squash, enormous sweet onions, 2 lb baskets of big, beautiful tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, green beans, and ears of corn.
This cost me only $2! Gotta love local farmers!
I only had a couple of bucks on me, so I just picked up a few things for dinner that night. I was immediately drawn to those huge onions! They looked amazing, the size of two of my fists put together! So I got one of those, I grabbed a zucchini and two yellow squash, thinking I would make a stir-fry with these along with some chicken.....
The lovely couple that owns the stand asked if I ever tried their corn on the cob. I wasn't sure if I had so he threw two ears in for me to give a try. He assures me that we will come back there for now on. They even have this cute sign hanging on the stand saying "Try our corn, it will have you smiling from Ear to Ear!" I made the corn another night, and he was right- super sweet and juicy!
Dinner was indeed delicious. I sauteed up the onion sliced into wedges along with the rounds of zucchini and yellow squash in some butter and olive oil (a tablespoon of each), a bit of salt and pepper and fresh garlic. When it was beginning to caramelize I took them off the heat and poured them into a casserole dish. In the same pan, I did a quick browning of sliced chicken and then added that to the casserole with an entire bunch of watercress, fresh thyme and chopped chives. Carefully stir together. On top I sprinkled some Panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese for a little crunch and then baked it under the broiler until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes).
I served this along with some simple buttered, garlic noodles. The juices from the zucchini and squash after going in the oven made a delicious sauce for the pasta. This was a definite do-again! Sorry for no pictures. We gobbled this meal up so fast, and by the time I thought to even take any, there was nothing left on my plate. But trust me, this was so good!
I love this little roadside stand and encourage you to check this one out yourself, along with all the other great ones popping up out there! As I come across more, I will be sure to tell you where to find them. Please feel free to tell me about your favorites as well! I will compile a list soon! This is a wonderful way to support your community and decrease your carbon footprint. Every little bit helps- and trust me, food tastes SO much better when it is coming right from your neighborhood verses across the ocean!
Amie, I agree and encourage everyone to buy local when you can. There is something to be said when you know where your vegetables and fruit came from; and meet the people whose labor of love provides so much enjoyment at your dinner table. We get up early every Saturday in anticpation of what will be new at our local market in Suwanee GA. Last week was fresh black beans, corn, a garlic braid (eight pods braided together like a french braid - so pretty I don't even want to use it), a yellow flesh watermelon, blueberries, green beans, potatoes I never heard of and heirloom tomatoes. Everything looks so good and so fresh each week -- it is sometimes hard not to overbuy! I noticed the top of your corn was cut off -- some of our farmers do that too because of the silk worm. We bought some last year that weren't trimmed and I was not prepared when I pulled back the husk :) But hey I thought your favorite roadside stand was at the Trapp house? Bet the prices there are unbeatable :)
ReplyDeleteKathleen, oh how i wish we lived close to one another so we could do our shopping together! Your Saturday mornings sound so simply perfect! You actually bought fresh black beans?! How cool! I've never seen that around here. I will have to look out for them, or are they maybe a southern thing? Now I am curious!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite local farmers are hands down, the Trapp house.... and you are right- the prices CAN"T be beat! But somethings those Trapp's just don't grow, or haven't harvested quite yet ;)
That dinner sounds delicious! I cook with veggies and chicken a lot but never think to put a bread crumb topping on it and place it under the broiler. Thanks for a new idea!
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