Out-of-the-Box Eating

Source of Bite-Size to Meal-Size Yumminess

If you were at the Market last week, you noticed the appearance of a new prepared-food vendor, The Box: Asian Fusion Cuisine. Owner and chef Reis Llaneza has garnered press in Kirkland, where he tootles around various locations, serving up his delicious takes on street food. The Bellevue Farmers Market is fortunate enough to be The Box's only farmers market stop! Consider the Pork Belly Hum Bao and Kahlua Pork Hum Bao the kids and I sampled--perfectly cooked and seasoned tender meat nestled in a steamed white bao (familiar to all Chinese food "Peking Duck" and char siu bao lovers), garnished with the crunch of diced and shredded vegetables. My children literally fought over them (for the sake of peace, I did not get the entire one-third of each hum bao I was legally entitled to) and devoured them, vegetable garnish and all. If you knew my son, you would know that a snack tasty enough to make him overlook the presence of vegetables is a tasty snack indeed.

Reis prices the hum baos like sliders--cheap enough to have a couple. He also offers a Chop Chop Salad I found several people at the Market eating, and the day's vegan option was a Guajillo Pepper Chili. For those non-vegetarians in search of a meal-size offering, Reis recommended the Chicken Karaage Plate, designed like a bento box with "tender pieces of fried chicken served with a house sauce, steamed rice, and side of Chop Chop Salad."

We didn't make it far from The Box--about ten steps to the Molly Moon truck, in fact--before I ran into Leslie, a fellow mom from my children's elementary school, who was carrying a box of tomato starts, all sorts I'd never heard of that she'd found at Hedlin Farms. Following her lead, I swung by and picked up a variety called "Stump of the World," which, according to the gals at Hedlin, yields a "bushy plant with Brandywine pink fruit as big as your head." In other words, stake this puppy well.


After the eight-year-old licked her ice cream scoop right off the cone onto the pavement (I applied the ten-second rule and a napkin from Reis), we ventured down to Rockridge Orchards to buy the absent twelve-year-old some fresh cider as a guilt offering. There, the display of rhubarb caught my eye:

My husband is not the World's Biggest Rhubarb Fan, having eaten too much of it in every way, shape and form, growing up in Eastern Washington, but the stalks were so very beautiful that I couldn't resist buying a Whole Lot of Them. A whole, whole lot.


Since strawberries aren't in season yet, Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie was out, but I did find this recipe for the admittedly-nasty sounding "Stewed Rhubarb." Because it contains strawberry jam, you get some of the same flavor as the pie, and I (at least) found it luscious over vanilla ice cream, as did some friends we had dinner with. Better yet, instead of the recipe being "easy as pie," it was way easier. Give it a try.


Stewed Rhubarb (adapted from The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook)


1 lb rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c strawberry jam (I used my mother-in-law's homemade jam)
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t salt


Combine all ingredients in a two-quart saucepan over medium heat. When it boils (there is hardly any liquid to speak of, at first, so I waited till the jam bubbled), turn the heat to low. Cover and simmer 10-20 minutes, until the rhubarb is tender. (I cooked it till it broke apart because I didn't really want chunks on my ice cream.)


Serve warm or refrigerate. Spoon over vanilla ice cream. Or split a biscuit, pour over, and top with whipped or ice cream for a Rhubarb Shortcake!


What will you discover this week at the Market? And don't forget--if you miss Thursday, the Saturday Market opens this week! 10-3P in the First Congregational Church parking lot, 752 108th Ave NE. Double Markets--yippee!

Note to Self for Memorial Day

I wish these would plant themselves in the yard

The arrival of Memorial Day signifies two things in the UrbanFarmJunkie universe:

1. It's time for my husband to put in the garden. Like all the Little Red Hen's reluctant helpmates, I refuse to have anything to do with farming/gardening, but I am impatient for and most willing to share in the results, come July-September. Left to himself, my husband will plant the exact same things every year, so if there is going to be any branching out in varieties of tomato, it's up to me. I plan to scour the Market's plant starts this Thursday for this year's variation on Beefsteak, Big Beef, and Sweet 100s. The guy doesn't do herbs either, but I want parsley, mint, and basil and think I can get the 12-year-old to plant and care for them.
   
2. Barbecuing season has officially begun. Never mind the rain or temperatures in the 50s and 60s. You haven't lived in the Northwest until you've huddled under a patio umbrella in the pouring-down precip, trying to keep your paper plate of potato salad and hamburger dry.

Market potato varieties that stand up well to rain

 For my fellow barbecuers-in-the-rain, I've compiled a Memorial Day shopping list:

Just a few of Kittitas Valley's tomato offerings

• Hamburger patties
• Sausages
• Bacon (if you like bacon burgers)
• Potatoes for salad
• Eggs for potato salad or to devil
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Cheese of your choice
• A jug of Rockridge Cider
• Salad greens
• Rhubarb for this fabulous cake I've linked to before
• Or a Pie, if you don't feel up to baking

Rockridge Orchard Ciders

 If you've been lucky enough to cadge an invitation to someone else's Memorial Day BBQ, there to huddle under that person's patio umbrella, make yourself more than welcome with a container of toffee, a jar of jam, or a loaf of artisan bread and chunk of Golden Glen Creamery's Queso con Salsa. With such hostess gifts in hand, you'll be sure to receive an invitation to repeat the whole experience when the 4th of July rolls around...