I thought up this dish after reading about this week’s Root Source Challenge subject, chives, and thinking about how to use all the veggies I bought at market last weekend. But the recipe, improvised on the fly while the husband and I took turns doing prep work in between reading to, holding (“up! up!”) and pouring “more Os!” for the toddler, needs a little more work. (The oh-so-helpful toddler also said, “No No NO” upon seeing the food processor. He still has an on-again off-again terror of it.) So instead I’ll just post the pictures and a general idea of what I’ll do next time, and if anyone attempts it I’d love to hear how it goes.

Recipe: Carrot-Chive Pesto Pasta

Mix up one batch of pesto using 2 garlic scapes (or garlic cloves), 1 bunch of chives, olive oil, parmigiano cheese and your choice of nuts (didn’t use them this time, but I’m thinking either almonds or pecans next time). Steam one bunch of peeled, sliced baby carrots. Puree half and mix into the pesto, then toss with remaining carrots and pasta of your choice. Top with chive blossoms if you have them. Not sure if that qualifies as a sufficient recipe for Presto Pasta Nights, but what the heck.

Oh and the toddler? Wouldn’t touch it. But he had filled up on Cheerios by the time it was ready.

While our neighborhood farmers market is great for the basics (fruits and veggies, salad greens, mushrooms, cheese & yogurt, baked goods and meat), we don’t get the more adventurous offerings of a larger market. When rhubarb was absent yet again this week, it was the last straw and I ventured all the way into the city to visit the mecca of DC-area markets, Dupont Circle’s FreshFarm Market. I used to go from time to time, but am somewhat ashamed to admit I haven’t made it since the FoodieTot arrived on the scene. With so many wonderful and tempting choices, only a strict timetable kept me from over-burdening my market bag, as I had to get home and prepare brunch for the in-laws. I will definitely be returning more frequently this summer!

In the Market bag: The haul this weekend included real baby carrots, eggs, yogurt, sweet potatoes, zucchini bread, parsley, mixed braising greens (Del Ray) and rhubarb, scapes, chive blossoms, tatsoi, red asparagus, chocolate mint, sweet spring onions, basil, matsu apples, Keswick Creamery Wallaby, peonies (Dupont).

Sunday Brunch: In high school, I once volunteered as a cook on the junior class retreat and the highlight was making quiche each morning. We started with the basic egg/milk/cheese blend and mixed up whatever crazy vegetable and meat combinations we could think of. Ever since quiche has been my go-to brunch main course, as it is such a low-maintenance (and vegetarian-friendly) egg dish. Fresh chives were a bright touch to this asparagus quiche. I was disappointed to discover the red asparagus turns green when cooked, but it still had a sweeter taste than your traditional green stalks. The Wallaby cheese, an aged Monterey Jack-styled offering from Keswick Creamery was a flavorful but not over-powering cheese. I accompanied this with rosemary sausage hash browns and minted strawberries in a honey-balsamic dressing. Read on for the quiche recipe. (more…)

One of the primary reasons I started this blog was to log our farmers market and CSA-fresh produce finds and the recipes we use them in, and I enjoy reading what others make with their farm fresh produce to get new ideas each week. Eat.Drink.Better has a weekly compilation from around the country. FarmtoPhilly is a wonderful, informative and inspirational local foods site from just up north. I thought I would check out some DC-area food bloggers and see what they’ve been making lately. Not surprisingly, strawberries, rhubarb and asparagus are the hot ingredients.

• The Houndstooth Gourmet posts weekly updates full of luscious photos of her weekly market finds, usually visiting two markets each week. This week, she made a lovely Balsamic Strawberry & Rhubarb Cobbler. I’ve always found balsamic a great way to bring out the sweetness of strawberries.
• Counter Intelligence recreated Buzz Bakery Josh Short’s Strawberries with Angelfood Cake and Virginia Honey Ice Cream – we enjoyed this at the recent SlowFood DC dinner as well and loved the honey ice cream.
• For something a little more exotic, the Food Scribe made a Chicken & Cardoon Tagine with cardoons (a relation of the thistle, apparently) from the Dupont FreshFarm Market.
• Eat & Smile shares recipes for garlic scapes found last week at the Dupont market; I can’t wait to try pickled scapes!
• Not from a DC market, but Cookthink’s Brys brought back local peas from Birmingham, AL, for this appetizing Whole Wheat Penne with Feta, Peas, Tomato and Basil.
• It’s not homemade, but Metrocurean shares a photo of a tasty-looking Buttermilk Pecan Pie from the 14th & U Farmers Market.
• One last recipe, in preparation for this weekend’s many strawberry festivals, a classic Strawberry Shortcake from the District Domestic.

* Fresh from the Farmers Market badge courtesy of A Veggie Venture.

One of the pitfalls of learning more about where your food comes from is the fact that the more you learn about the commercial food chain, the more hopeless things can seem. But organic consumers are making progress in getting major corporations to voluntarily reject artificial growth hormones in dairy products (rBGH), from Chipotle to Walmart and Kroger. Take a minute to sign the Food & Water Watch petition thanking these companies and let them know their responsible actions are appreciated.

In an attempt to establish a dinner routine in the FoodieTot house, I have decreed Tuesdays as pasta night. I had a container of ready-made green garlic pesto sauce (Smith Meadows, Va.) which made this meal even easier. (I would’ve made my own, but there was no green garlic to be had at the market, only this sauce. We’ll be getting our own as soon as our CSA begins delivering, I’m sure.) Simply cooked the fusili as instructed, tossed with about 1/2 c of the pesto sauce, sliced tomatoes and diced Italian salami. Yum. The spiciness of the salami held its own against the intense garlic flavor. The pesto was made with pecans instead of the usual pine nuts, which gave it a slightly nutty taste as well. (If you don’t have green garlic handy, I’m sure this would work equally well with a traditional basil pesto.)

The pasta was accompanied by the previously-mentioned strawberry, kale and mozzarella salad.

I’m submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Once Upon A Feast. Just discovered this event and already see a lot of ideas for future pasta nights!