Flowering cauliflower and the Nanoworld

Well, it’s been another nutty week in politics. While chaos reigns in Washington, rest assured, we should have most things under control at the market Saturday.

Yeah, we may get some rain again after a spate of glorious weather but by now, we know how to roll with that. My only regret should it rain again, is that gray skies just don’t do those orange beets, delicata squash, sugar pumpkins, ginger gold apples and purple grape globes justice. In the early morning sunshine, they really do glow autumn.

This is the time of year to make a vat of delicata squash soup with crispy garlic chickpeas and have it ready to go, with some sourdough miche, by the time homework is done.

David Tanis’ butternut squash lasagna is also perfect since you can make it ahead of time and bake when ready. You can use broccoli rabe as Tanis suggests, or, you can use Harlem Valley Homestead’s sprouting or flowering cauliflower instead. If you’ve walked by the mountain of cauliflower heads with green Twiggy legs at their stall and wondered about them, make sure to pick some up this week. 

How to cook it? HVH’s farm manager says “simply roast it.” I tend to agree, though this recipe from Taproot Farm caught my eye.

This more delicate cauliflower pairs surprisingly well with everything, but I think it tastes particularly delicious alongside equally delicate fish or scallops.

If a dish tastes really good on its own, say a chicken or vegetable curry for example, then it should taste even better tucked into an all-butter pie crust. That seems to be Leslie Noble’s (the matriarch behind Noble Pies) way of thinking. 

You say Noble. I say Nobel. Prize that is. That’s right, Hastings has yet another laureate! Please join us in congratulating Louis E. Brus for being awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry this week for his work exploring the Nanoworld. We're told he's very fond of carrot cake. Make one in his honor! The carrots are looking lovely at the Morgiewicz tent.

This week they are bringing said curry pies, along with cottage pie – an-all butter bottom crust, grass fed ground beef slow cooked with carrots, onions, and celery and Noble’s secret spice blend.  Homespun mashed potatoes double as a top crust here. The Noble clan claims their many British customers have been given this pie the, er, pinkie up. Among the more standard pie fare you can 'tis the season pumpkin - light on sugar, heavy on pumpkin. 

Three of our vendors this week come but once a  month so make sure you catch them! They are: Bombay Chutney Co. (4 varieties of chutney, simmer sauces and frozen samosas); Momo Dressing (Authentic Japanese dressings and sauces that will transform your stir-frying, plus a ridiculously good edamame dip) and OM Champagne Tea (a fancy purveyor of a bubbly kombucha, special enough to gift). Anish Supreme Foods with their date, fig and apricot “energy” bites and tahini breads is another once-a-month vendor not to miss.

One of the perks of living in Hastings, in addition to rubbing elbows with Nobel laureates, is being able to draw from such a talented pool of local musicians. This Saturday, for instance, we have, weather permitting, Peter Calo performing. Calo has also produced many recordings including Carly Simon’s release,“Never Been Gone” and was the guitarist for Showtime’s “Ray Donovan” and for the Tony and Grammy Award-winning original Broadway and film production of “Hairspray”. Peter played to a sold-out Carnegie hall as part of the “Lead BellyTribute”. And you get to enjoy his talent while you rummage through the bins of potatoes and peppers.  Isn’t it grand?