AT LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS
Cooking demos:
10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5. Chef Jarrett Stieber of Eat Me Speak Me. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
Many markets offer chef demos on an occasional or regular basis. Check your market’s website or Facebook page for more information.
FOR SALE
Vegetables, fruits and nuts: apples, arugula, Asian greens, , beets, broccoli, broccoli raab, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, cornmeal, cucumbers, eggplant, English peas, escarole, fennel, field peas, frisee, garlic, ginger, green beans and pole beans, green onions, grits, herbs, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, lettuce, mizuna, mushrooms, mustard greens, Napa cabbage, onions, pea shoots, pecans, peppers, polenta, popcorn, radishes, rhubarb, rutabaga, snow peas, spaghetti squash, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turmeric, turnips and greens, winter squash
From local reports
Microgreens. What are these little green shoots chefs sprinkle on our food? Just another pretty garnish? Or are they more?
Ask Cindy Tarrant of Ginger Lily Farm in Newnan. She’ll tell you microgreens are tiny flavorful versions of some of our favorite, and not-so-favorite, vegetables and they pack a powerful nutritional punch.
Tarrant and her son Andy sell their microgreens at the Saturday morning Green Market at Piedmont Park. She started her farm in Atlanta’s Ormewood Park neighborhood where she grew flowers and sold them at the Green Market.
“About four years ago we decided to grow flowers for real, and we bought 4 acres in Newnan,” said Tarrant. “We also grew vegetables, which I knew well because my dad was a farmer. But my mom always grew flowers at our house and we always had flowers on the table.”
The acreage in Newnan gave her space to grow so much more that she opened French Market Flowers at Krog Street Market about a year and a half ago. Their bouquets and buckets of flowers feature their field-grown blossoms for a large part of the year. In winter, when there’s little blooming in the fields, they grow bulbs such as tulips, hyacinths, ranunculus and anemones for the winter holiday market.
An article in Growing for Market magazine gave her the idea of introducing microgreens into the farm’s mix. “The farmer featured in the article was growing microgreens as his main winter crop. I thought we’d try, and we found we really enjoy growing them. We grow them in a greenhouse so it’s a nice break from the fields. In the summer, it’s still great because you’re not out in the sun and there are no mosquitoes.”
Tarrant grows a wide variety of microgreens including kale, peas, buckwheat, carrots, cilantro and sunflower.
“Right now my favorites are the sunflower microgreens, but I love the peas, too,” Tarrant said. “They taste just like peas. And they’re so healthy. You may be eating a hamburger, but you don’t feel so guilty if you put some microgreens on them. There’s research that says microgreens have up to 40 times more nutrients than the full grown vegetable.”
Every Sunday, Tarrant is setting out more trays of seed. The harvest begins five to 12 days later, depending on the crop. Buckwheat grows the quickest and can be harvested as early as five days after seeding. The peas are ready next and kale takes a little longer. Harvesting means cutting the little plants off at about ground level. Then the trays are dumped out and the process begins again. This isn’t a crop where you can keep harvesting from the same plants.
Microgreens differ from sprouts in that sprouts are generally grown from seed sprouted in water and you eat both the seed and the seedling when it’s just a few days old.
Tarrant sells her microgreens in mixed bags of about a pint. “We have a sign at the market that helps educate our customers,” Tarrant said. “Many just don’t know what to do with them. But we explain that you can put them in salads and sandwiches, or make a salad just of microgreens. You can put them on soup or sprinkle them on really anything.”
Like all greens, they’ll keep best when properly stored. Tarrant offers these suggestions to her customers. “Keep microgreens between damp paper towels, and make sure they are cold and covered in a sealable bag or container. Wrapped this way, they’ll last in the fridge for about a week. Keep greens covered until the point when they are ready to hit the plate. This will ensure that they don’t wilt or dry out before enjoying.”
Ginger Lily Farm’s Microgreen-Potato Salad
Cindy Tarrant adapted this recipe from one she was accustomed to making with chopped carrots, onion, spinach and cilantro. She discovered that the microgreens of those same vegetables and herbs made the salad even more delicious. Boiling the potatoes in their jackets then allowing them to cool before peeling and cooling completely before cutting, makes for perfect cubes for your picture-perfect salad.
If you’re lucky and land a bag of microgreens with a few blossoms, set the blossoms aside to garnish the finished dish.
Leftover vinaigrette would be delicious on a Caesar-type salad.
2 pounds gold potatoes, all roughly the same size
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 minced cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup carrot top, onion, spinach and cilantro microgreens
Put potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender. Test by poking with a fork.
To make vinaigrette: While the potatoes are cooking, in a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Drizzle in olive oil and continue whisking until mixture is emulsified. Set aside.
When potatoes are done, drain. When cool enough to handle, peel potatoes. Allow to cool completely and then cut into bite-size cubes.
When potatoes have cooled, stir in microgreens and 3/4 cup vinaigrette. Taste and add more vinaigrette if needed. Makes: 6 cups
Per 1/2-cup serving: 119 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 2 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 6 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 102 milligrams sodium.
