Stockton Farmer's Market in NJ- A Nice Weekend Day Trip

I am a huge lover of farmer’s markets, and I try to check them out whenever I have a chance. I love buying produce from the people who actually make it; I love talking to them and seeing if they are proud in what they are selling or indifferent. I make a decision to buy or not partly by that factor. I love of course finding the seasonal, sustainable, organic, free range, grass grazing food- words that should make everyone happy. But I also love people’s creativity and what they make and sell with so much care and pride.

That is how I got into the car with my family and went all the way to Stockton Farmers Market in West NJ. It’s a year round market that operates indoors during the winter. http://stocktonfarmmarket.com/

From the outside it looked slightly disappointing: I thought that I got into a small store but once we got inside, we found a much bigger space that had so many wonderful farms, and vendors participating. Since my whole family shares the curiosity of trying new food we got to try a large variety.

We started off buying some local French feta cheese, and Califon Tomme, a semi soft raw mixed cheese that was aged in a cave for 3 months.

Then we spotted the Mexican stand El Mariachi.  Being back from a vacation in Mexico recently my kids were ecstatic. One quesadilla was immediately devoured, and then a vegetable tamale- excellent! I also bought an aromatic and dark mole sauce and I am planning to cook some chicken in it.

As we were sitting there my carnivore husband spotted the acclaimed Mighty Quinn BBQ where they sell mini sliders with fatty goodness. He bought a sample of each offering: Smoked brisket, pulled pork. We were unanimous that the smoked brisket was heavenly. If you want to read more about them: http://www.brooklynflea.com/2011/11/16/featured-vendor%E2%80%94mighty-quinns/

We also had a Mexican hot chocolate with ice cream in it from Half Pint Kitchens- One cup was too much for all four of us- that is how rich it was but it’s delicious. Mexican chocolate, cinnamon and cold ice cream- how bad can that be???

At this point we were a bit tired from all the tasting but then we spotted two more wonderful vendors.

One is the Tunisian guy from Mediterranean Delicacies from whom we purchased red mixed Zaatar- a mix of Zaatar, Sumac, and Fennel, Roasted sesame seeds, Anise, Coriander, Cumin and salt. It’s delicious on the feta cheese and on bread with olive oil which we of course bought from him because who can resist a man who tells you that his family has an olive grove in Tunisia and they bring it from there?

The second was oh so charming! Simple Living 101 http://simpleliving101.net/- This guy makes home-made jams, pot de crème, and cute red velvet cakes in these beautiful jars…  My son had one taste of the vanilla pot de  crème and knew it had to be his.

It was a fun day; we tried many things and met passionate and nice vendors. Highly recommended.

New Strategy of Survival: Weekly Meals Plan Ahead

I love to plan ahead. This is why I am almost embarrassed to admit: I never planned ahead our family meals. Every week I'd to go to the market and pretty much think about future meals while looking at the products. Problem was that once I got back home exhausted from the shopping, standing on line at the cashier’s register and arranging it, I completely forgot the wonderful meals that I invented.  Come Monday, and I am scratching my head what to make for my picky family.

Not anymore! After a few friends told me that they are planning ahead, I decided to give it a try.
I drew a tablet and started to put in lunch and dinner meals. One meal being lighter than the other.
The reason I plan these two meals is that you cannot imagine how many times I had only one meal prepared, and found myself getting them a take out for the other.
It took some thinking but after about 15 minutes I was done and went shopping accordingly.
I have to tell you that two days passed and my children and husband don’t know exactly what happened but they are extremely happy. More than that, I am happy.  I don’t mind cooking; I justmind coming up every day with a new somethin’.
Here are some advantages to planning ahead:
You can utilize leftovers smartly. If your kids are like mine, they don’t want to eat what they had yesterday. But I outsmart them by cutting the chicken leftovers, mixing with rice, adding a vegetable or a spice and voila! A new meal.  With this kind of planning, I can find a creative way ahead of time and not depend on my creativity de- jour.
You can balance the family’s meals. I can check if my kids are getting all the fruit, vegetables, proteins and grains that they need.
You can diet easier. By thinking about you meals ahead at of time when you are not hungry, you can make better choices also for yourself. Make meals that make you happy too, and ask yourself if you have a leafy green a day, if there is a variety of vegetables, if you are using lean protein, having fish at least once a week and all these question you will never ask when you are tired or hungry and want immediate satisfaction. Buy accordingly and the whole family will benefit.
You can raise your children’s awareness to balanced meals. Go over the weekly plan with them. Ask for suggestions; explain why you chose those foods. If they are going to school chances are they had health classes and they know the basics of balanced meals. It will be nice for them to see how you use these considerations in everyday life. Maybe when college days will come, they will order a salad instead of these fatty salami sandwiches and avoid those dreaded freshmen 15 extra pounds.

If you are curious to know what is on my first ever weekly menu. here is a sample:

Last Wednesday:  vegetable dumplings for lunch/ Israeli salad with schnitzel.
Yesterday: Roasted broccoli with some parmesan shavings+ pasta/ dinner: Stir fry chicken and all of my leftover vegetables- carrots, the broccoli from lunch, mushrooms, cabbage etc’.
Today: They will get veal shanks because it’s part of a dinner I am cooking, roasted vegetables, and a Panini with salad for dinner.
Tomorrow: Mini meatballs w spinach and Sapgetti/ shakshuka (eggs in tomato sauce), salad, yogurt

As you see, I am playing with frozen items (such as the excellent dumplings), leftovers, and easy solutions such as Panini to make life easier and quicker without giving up flavor and health.

Iron Side- The Beauty of Cooking With a Cast Iron Skillet

Many years ago a kitchen wasn’t a kitchen without a cast iron skillet. Then, suddenly, these wonderful tools were replaced by aluminum, and other more modern cooking solutions.

I love cast iron skillets. And cast iron pots. And cast iron Dutch ovens. They are cheap ($30 a pot), easy to use and the results you get on the stove and in the oven is incomparable to any other pot. Plus, they will survive after you- that’s how durable it is, and I know a few people who have their grandmother’s skillet and they claim that the best results are achieved in grandma’s pot.

So why is it not as popular as it should be? I think that people today don’t have the patience that cast iron requires: It needs seasoning. You can’t just throw it into the dishwasher. But in fact it’s really easy to prepare a cast iron skillet for a long relationship and maintain it.
When you first get the skillet, pot, griddle you will need to season it. Seasoning means that you have to smear it with oil and put it in a 350F oven for one hour. After that first time, you are good to go.
Iron and water do not go together well, so when you want to clean the skillet after you used it, you can rinse it quickly with soap and water and immediately dry it and coat it with a bit of oil.
The traditional way is to throw into the skillet kosher salt and let it absorb the oil, wipe it and then coat it with oil. You have to smear a very small amount of oil every time after you use the skillet.
If you didn’t dry the skillet well and it developed rust, scrub it with steel wool and re season again.
It will be good as new.
Here are a few facts:
Although everything from Dutch ovens to cactus-shaped cornbread pans comes in cast iron, nothing is more versatile than a basic skillet. Either a 10- or 12-inch will do.
There's only one thing you shouldn't attempt in cast-iron cookware: boiling water, which will cause the pan to rust.
Cast iron takes longer to warm than other surfaces but retains heat remarkably well and diffuses it evenly.
Cast iron remains hot long after you remove it from the stove. As a reminder to be careful, drape a thick towel or a mitt over the handle.
Cooking in cast iron increases the iron content in food. The longer the food is in contact with the skillet, the more it absorbs.
Since you can bake, deep fry, sauté in a cast iron skillet I am giving you only 2 of my favorite  recipes to enjoy and will give more in future posts:

 Pan seared rib eye steak:

1 boneless rib eye, 1½ inch thick. Room temperature- Take it out about an hour before you want to cook but no more than 2 hours!
 Kosher Salt, black pepper
Canola oil to coat
Place the skillet (10-12 inches) in the oven. Heat the oven to 500F. When it reached temperature,
remove and place on the stove on high heat. Lightly coat the steak with oil on both sides and season generously with salt and black pepper. Immediately place the steak on the hot dry pan. Cook 30 seconds without moving. After 30 seconds turn to other side and cook again without moving 30 seconds.
Place the skillet immediately into the oven for 2 minutes. Then flip and bake for another 2 minutes.
(This time is for medium rare. If you want medium- give 3 minutes on each side.).
Remove the steak from the pan, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 2 minutes.

Cast iron skillet corn bread

1 1/4 cups coarsely cornmeal                    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup whole milk                                     3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk                                             1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten                                   1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted                 2 teaspoons baking powder

 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a 9-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the milk, buttermilk and eggs.  Whisk in almost all of the melted butter, reserving about 1 tablespoon for the skillet later on.
Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Coat the bottom and sides of the hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is firm and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and serve.