BostonZest

At The Market: Sunflowers and Bees!

"I'll throw in the bees for free," said Simeon Cook as I alerted Ed to the bees buzzing the sunflowers around the Cook's Farm and Bakery stand at the Copley Square Farmers' Market.  

This time of year, markets are ablaze with the glorious glow of sunflowers. Anyone who's bought these beauties straight from the farm will tell you that, just like the other market goods, they last longer than their mainstream counterparts. 

Have you ever dined on sunflower? We did a couple of years ago at Erbaluce. Wicked Tasty Harvest wrote about that dish here. You have probably also enjoyed sunflower seeds and sunflower oil. Plus, you may have eaten Jerusalem artichokes – a species of sunflower.

This makes me wonder if some of the masses of sunflowers at the market are being turned into meals by savvy cooks. If you are tempted to try, please read the tips in the Wicked Tasty Harvest post.

The Word from the Farms & Markets

Ben Sommer, Copley Square Farmers' Market Manager writes, "Just because the summer is almost over, don't think that the season is. The first few weeks of September are some of our farmers' most bounteous weeks, when they still have all that great summer produce like tomatoes and stone fruits, but are also starting to get those colder weather crops as well, like apples and broccoli."

Mass Farmers Markets September newsletter included this advice, "Instead of rushing through the market to stock up on the familiar corn, apples and tomatoes which are traditional and nutritious, think about adding items to your shopping list such as kohlrabi, husk tomatoes, purslane, and Brazilian cucumbers. These are just a few of the unique options available at a farmers market near you during the month of September. Give one or more of these a try this month, you it will be worth the adventure!"

In Season, Right Now!

Each week, more apple varieties appear. Be sure to talk with your farmer and try a few of the heirloom apples. They may not be as pretty but they are full of flavor. Have you tried a crab apple lately? They come in both tart and sweet varieties. 

Get Some Before It's Gone!

Tomatoes and Sweet Corn always disappear before I'm ready to give them up. This time of year, I buy some at each market.

Coming Soon!

Winter squash, potted herbs for winter windowsills.

Follow all our Local Food/Farmers' Markets and At The Market reports:

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino (from Cook's Farm and Bakery, and Siena Farms)

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Vermont Shepherd Verano: Seasoned with Summer Grass

"How about a sheep cheese that is really great, right now," Penny asked the cheesemonger at South End Formaggio. A taste of Vermont Shepherd Verano was passed to her. "This was made with all summer milk," he said. He was right. It was in perfect condition and had a subtle background note of herby summer grass.

 

It came home with a sidekick of Twig Farm Square and we had a lovely tray of Vermont splendor for supper.  

Vermont Shepherd make two celebrated cheeses, Verano (summer) and Invierno (winter).

They say, "Our summer cheese, 'Verano,' we make from pure sheeps’ milk when our pastures are abundant with wild herbs and grasses. Verano then ages 3-5 months and ripens by August. The flavor of the summer cheese is sweet, rich and earthy with hints of clover, mint, and thyme."

We say, This will be a perfect cheese to introduce someone to sheep's milk cheeses. While we love potent, stinky, sheepy cheeses, they can be a bit much for some folks. This is one to put on a tray for your favorite cheese maven or a group of friends who seldom venture beyond cheddar.

 

And, here are other items from our Cheese Tray!

What's on your Cheese shopping list? Here are some great books about cheese. These make wonderful gifts for a cheese lover. And, when you shop Amazon from here, they put some coins in our tip jar.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Could You Move to Your New Boston Home on a Bike?

You would have to really declutter and keep your possessions to a minimum but we have heard tales of people moving from one Boston area home to another on a bike. Or with the help of friends on a few bikes with trailers attached.

We thought that might be what we had here when we shot a photo of this woman hauling totes of something on her trailer during the big move weekend. But as she pulled away, we saw the bike.barismo.com, complete with logo, on the rear of the trailer. (Twitter: @barismobike) She was probably delivering coffee.

However, we discovered that Gentle Giant, the mover that we consider the best anywhere, added Bike Moves back in 2012.

As so many of us declutter and lighten the load of material objects in our lives, keeping in mind those who live so lightly on the land that they can move on a bike, is inspirational!

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Traffic Jam on the Entry Ramp: Turtle Style

Traffic was unusually heavy on the entry ramp to the duck and turtle island at the Boston Public Garden, last week.

Turtles were coming and going, forwards, backwards, and even sideways.

Ducks had to float around in a holding pattern circling the ramp waiting their turn to merge. 

And, the swan's grooming session brought all traffic to a standstill.

Maybe everyone was trying to get onto the island for Labor Day weekend!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

A French "Value Sparkler" with No Compromises, le Moulin Blanquette de Limoux

 
Anytime we can enjoy a sparkling wine with raves that include, "uncompromising value," it’s impossible to keep it to ourselves. Laurens le Moulin Blanquette de Limoux, $14.99 at Bauer Wine & Spirits, is a wine that had us from the first, wonderful sniff.

While the aromas have been described as, “green apple, acacia flowers, and apricot,” to us it had hints of a toasty Champagne.



As we've often said, "... with a good bottle of bubbly, you don’t need to keep topping the glass." While, some wines at this price point are best served very cold, this sparkler doesn’t require a constant chill to mask any off notes because there aren’t any!

Renowned wine guru Jancis Robinson has called the wines from the Limoux region, “a combination of French finesse and good value.” She finds that the most interesting wines in this area come from small producers like, “Jacques Calvel at Domaine J Laurens, whose fizz is really very fine …” and that, “the best fizz can be a great-value alternative to champagne …“ Not surprisingly, Robinson’s Limoux recommendations include Le Moulin Brut NV Blanquette de Limoux.



Although Limoux is part of the Languedoc, which always makes us think of outstanding red wine varieties (Syrah, Grenache…), we’re learning that there’s much more to love from this region.

Laurens le Moulin Blanquette de Limoux (Alc. 12% by Vol., another plus) is made mainly from the area’s Mauzac grape and is our choice to welcome September.

(For our regular Sunday Dog readers, we raise a glass to you and all beloved canine compaions. When the first falls on a Sunday, we do slip in a wonderful wine for toasting the dogs we love and who have shared our lives. Sunday Dog will be back next week.)


More About Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List


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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.