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Chef Foster: Here’s a mini challenge — plan an entire meal around a trip to the Farmer’s Market


The time is fast approaching when you can start to put together whole dishes and even meals from the farmer’s market fare that is currently available.

It has been a very productive spring and early summer for farmer and chef alike and as we head into the thick of local growing the opportunities are coming fast and frequent. While we are still lacking some of the components of favorite summer dishes, they are but mere days and weeks away.

So the time for planning is now. When the time comes to change menus at The Sage Rabbit it is a collaborative endeavor. The only requirement to be involved is to know what is growing and when. For a young cook that is often a philosophical leap. They are used to having everything at their disposal so it’s a bit daunting when I tell them to visit the market and plan a special based on what they find.

There was a time when most of us cooked to the season. It had nothing to do with nostalgia and everything to do with efficiency, cost, and the lack of reliable refrigeration. After the second World War with thousands of returning soldiers having been exposed to “foreign” food, the demand for a bit of diversity created a wave of new foods and expanded the development of choice and convenience. We were in a new age of consumerism and with it came a movement away from locally produced and seasonal food.

In some parts of the country it took several generations to lose the local habits, and they were almost lost completely before some chefs decided it was easier to source close to home. They found it more creative and satisfying to craft dishes from seasonal rather than exotic ingredients.

The demand actually drove the suppliers to plant more ethnic product, market more to the local base than the national, and for the chef-owner the ability to manage a smaller more concentrated inventory enabled some of them to stay in or grow their business. Then result can be seen today as even some smaller towns and regions have bustling farmer’s markets and some larger areas operate their markets year around.

The market in Lexington, despite moving locations every week, manages to attract not only local crowds but also out of town guests who come and stroll the market for its aromas and atmosphere.

But I digress from my original plan, which was to urge you all to take a mini challenge of sorts. I want you to think about planning an all farmer’s market meal, sourced locally, cooked to the season at hand.

To make it easier you can pick the time of year you find that appeals to you most. Want to wait for the squash to come in? I’m getting some today. Prefer the late summer early fall crops to bridge the warm days and cool nights of September? I care that you would attempt to do it, because for some it’s an overwhelming task just to do the research.

If your only exposure to the market is an occasional foray on a sunny Saturday, then you’ve got some work to do. I suggest you stop and talk to the growers, ask them what they offer and when, and then start planning. It may take you a bit to go the whole meal bought at market, but very dish you put on the table is a dollar that stays in central Kentucky.

Here’s a sample of how I do it. Bear in mind that I buy for my family and the restaurant, but my family doesn’t always eat like you do at The Sage Rabbit! One of the hardest things to decide on is cooking fat, and your options are olive oil or butter, both available at the market.

Of course if you eschew fat in your cooking then your priorities lie along a different path. Appetizer, entrée and dessert are your goals, and here is where a little bit of give and take works wonders with your planning.

Try new things, they could become favorites. Try conventional product in a different way. Tired of having boiled beets? Try roasting them slowly at a lower heat with the skins still on them. Let them cool, peel them and slice them thin. Dress them with olive oil, a white lemon balsamic (found at market) and some crumbled goat cheese. Top with some thin sliced red onion and your first course is done.

On to the entrée and with ii more decisions to make.

Look for some fresh pasta, it’s there at market. Better yet ask around to get some pasta sheets, we’re going to make lasagna. You’ll need fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, spinach or greens. Cheese is plentiful, take your pick. Need milk or cream for a nice béchamel on top? Hunt around and you’ll find it.

Add a few other vegetables, cook your sauce, roast your vegetables, make your béchamel and put it all together with some nice local breads from our wonderful bakeries. Ice cream for dessert? Fresh berries and balsamic? Melon and honey in a dessert smoothie, it’s all there for the taking. When you sit down in a restaurant that serves local, seasonal fare, ask yourself if most of the ingredients could have been found at the market.

When you cook at home ask yourself; “what could I have bought locally?” Two questions with the same emphasis, its summer and we should be cooking like it is!

Other market options:

— Melon and country ham, a twist on prosciutto and melon

— Corn and tomato salsa, all the ingredients are here or soon to arrive, you just need to cook them your way!

–New potato salad, the German variety or good old fashioned mayo based (by the way your own mayo can start with farm fresh eggs and market olive oils

— Pork chops, with a smoked peach chutney, hardly a stretch if you have an outdoor grill. Just throw the peaches on the grill over some damp wood chips and let them smoke a bit.

Peel and chop them up with garlic, onion and maybe some fresh chilies. Add some herbs like verbena and lavender and some vinegar (in the markets, look for it) and you’ve got yourself a meal.

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John Foster is an executive chef who heads the culinary program at Sullivan University’s Lexington campus. A New York native, Foster has been active in the Lexington culinary scene and a promoter of local and seasonal foods for more than 20 years. The French Culinary Institute-trained chef has been the executive chef of his former restaurant, Harvest, and now his Chevy Chase eatery, The Sage Rabbit, in Lexington.


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