Recipes with fresh produce from market
In anticipation of the Tryon tailgate market's opening, we took advantage of an offer to visit with Mollie LeBude at Forest Creek Farm and Nursery. Mollie, one of the growers who make the Tryon Tailgate Market such a pleasure to attend, has a lot planned for this season. And touring her property on a beautiful spring day inspired us to think of all the ways we will use her produce as it comes to market. A variety of lettuce and salad mixes should appear soon, followed by herbs, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, and much more. We are especially interested in trying the yellow ‘cheddar' cauliflower, and sampling some wild-grown blackberries when they appear. Other things to anticipate include garlic, heirloom tomatoes, summer squash and corn, peppers, and potatoes. Since we love mushrooms, we were excited to learn that Mollie has been cutting oak trees for the logs she needs to grow shiitake mushrooms. Those won't be available for some number of months, but we know they will be worth the wait. If you want to keep up with what is happening at the farm, visit www.fcfn.blogspot.com.
Some recipes follow that highlight a few of the ingredients we should see at the tailgates in coming weeks. Finally, we couldn't resist repeating a recipe for a white chocolate dipping sauce from one of our first columns in 2006. It is perfect for the local strawberries in season now, and the blackberries we should see before long - if you didn't try it the first time around, we highly recommend this quick dessert sauce.
