This past week finally saw some beautiful spring weather, and market hopping was a lesson in patience and perseverance as the spring crops are only just beginning to roll in. At Penn Quarter last Thursday, morels had sold out within an hour, so I settled for black trumpet mushrooms. Another customer snatched the last two bundles of baby beets at Sunnyside, so it was Harukei turnips for me. The turnips and their greens found themselves sautéed with garlic, salt pork (from Cibola Farms) and the mushrooms.

A beautiful Saturday morning drew a huge crowd to the Del Ray market, a drastic improvement from the rainy washout the week before. Three Way Farm of Warsaw, Va., was back with spring onions, greens and a limited stock of asparagus that sold out early. They assured us there will be plenty more asparagus the next couple weeks, and mentioned that strawberries are just two weeks away. The herbs and seedlings folks were doing a brisk business as people snatched up tomato, chard and other plants for their own gardens. St. Elmo’s was back serving coffee to accompany the plethora of baked goods from Bonaparte, Marcela’s and Vera’s. The most popular items – asparagus, Tom’s cave-aged cheddar, Smith Meadow’s fresh pastas – sold out before 11am. Clearly demand for fresh, local produce continues despite the economy.

The quest for asparagus drove me to Dupont Circle’s FreshFarm market on Sunday, but I was too late once again. (Didn’t score any ramps, either.) There I consoled myself with one final pint of Buster’s Chesapeake oysters, the last until fall. Those were pan-fried and served atop chives and arugula (for me), on their own as “oyster nuggets” for the toddler. I tend to prefer oysters from further north, as I like a strong briny flavor, but I was pleasantly surprised the first time I tasted Buster’s local oysters. They are large, sweet and meaty, with a more subtle saltiness, a blend of flavors that transports you to a dockside perch on a warm summer day. (And you know, they help clean up the Bay.)

Recipe: Chesapeake Bay Oysters on Arugula

Ingredients:

• 1 dozen raw oysters, drained
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup corn meal
• 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 bunch arugula, rinsed
• several sprigs chives, chopped
• raspberry vinaigrette
• lemon wedges

Instructions:

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Combine flour, corn meal and Old Bay in a small bowl. Gently roll oysters in mixture to coat, place in pan and fry until golden brain. Drain on paper towels. Toss arugula and chives with vinaigrette and place on plate. Top with oysters and serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!

It’s been a rainy spring thus far in the Washington area, and I keep reminding myself that April showers bring May strawberries, June blueberries, and so on. Cherry blossoms have bloomed, and bringing even more reason for cheer, April marks the first re-openings of our area’s seasonal farmers markets.

Last week saw the opening of DC Fresh Farm’s Foggy Bottom (Wednesday) and Penn Quarter (Thursday) markets, and this coming Saturday is the official re-opening of my neighborhood market, the Del Ray Farmers Market in Alexandria. Judging from the lines at Smith Meadows’ stand lately at our “secret” winter market, Saturday is sure to be busy so get there early for the best selection. Mr. Biggs has already been back with greenhouse-grown tomatoes that will help tide you over till summer. And for other markets in the area, Fairfax County markets open the first week in May and the Alexandria Upper King Street market doesn’t open until June. See the end of this post for a complete list of opening dates.

Opening Day Find – Morels! Last Thursday at Penn Quarter’s grand opening, I snagged some of the first morels of the season from the Mushroom Lady; they will be available in greater quantities in the next few weeks. There were plenty of fresh greens to be had, but no signs of asparagus quite yet. Last year’s apples and pears are on their last legs, but fresh strawberries are still a few weeks away.

As the market season kicks into gear, watch for new features here at FoodieTots, particularly for those of you in the Northern VA/DC area. In an effort to make room for new resources on the sidebar, I’ve moved and expanded my “Eat Local, Elsewhere” blog list to the “Locavore Links” tab up above. Check it out and let me know of other locavore bloggers I should be following. Thanks as always for reading, and stay dry out there!

Read on for the complete Northern Virginia Farmers Market 2009 Schedule…

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While we unfortunately weren’t able to actually eat at Oyamel during their Squash Blossom Festival last week, there was no way I was going to miss Chef Joe Raffa’s demo and tasting at the Penn Quarter FreshFarm Market Thursday evening. I have been going to Penn Quarter on occasion for years – a former coworker and I used to go out of our way to schedule meetings downtown on Thursday afternoons to take a late lunch at the market. Like just about every other local market, it seems to have grown quite a bit from the humble beginning of about three vendors (I remember cheese, bread and soap in the early days). I had read grumblings about DC market prices being significantly higher than those in the ‘burbs, but didn’t really believe it until we picked up blueberries for the toddler at $6 a pint. That would be twice what we’ve been paying in Alexandria. Yikes! (You city-dwellers might find it worthwhile to venture across the river after all … might I suggest the Old Town market, with the free trolley service from the King Street metro.)

There were a few things at Penn Quarter we don’t have though, like the squash blossoms Sand Hill Farm brought, and the marvelous gelato by Dolcezza. I bought the lemon ricotta flavor, made with my favorite Keswick Creamery ricotta. The lemon was the perfect touch to keep it light yet flavorful. Cibola buffalo is also absent from the Alexandria markets (though I think they may be down at Kingstowne – Ramona?) See below for photos from the market.

Chef Raffa dished up a delightful squash blossom soup and watermelon agua fresca (also with squash blossoms). He was also handing out a recipe for goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms, which is how I cooked them up as soon as we got home. (No toddler review of this one, as I greedily ate them all myself! The husband was sick and doesn’t eat goat cheese anyway, his loss.)

Recipe: Flor de Calabaza Rellena de Queso de Cabra con Salsa
(Goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms with salsa)
by Chef Joe Raffa, Oyamel

Ingredients:

• Fresh salsa
• 1 lb goat cheese
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and deveined
• 1/2 c epazote leaves (I didn’t read the recipe at the market to know to buy this – so had to substitute parsley. I would suggest cilantro if you can’t find epazote, but parsley worked as well.)
• 12 squash blossoms
• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
• salt

Instructions: (Prepare salsa first, to allow flavors to meld while preparing the squash blossoms. I was missing several ingredients for Raffa’s salsa, so I made a simple one of corn, tomato, red onion, parsley.)

Preheat the over to 350*. Gently rinse the squash blossoms in a bowl of cold water and lightly pat dry with paper towel and set aside. Combine 1 c of the goat cheese, jalapenos and epazote in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer puree to a mixing bowl and mix in remaining goat cheese. Season with salt. Separate into 12 pieces and roll into 2-3 inch long logs. Gently pry open a squash blossom by pulling back on one of the petals and place a cheese log inside. Lightly pinch the blossom closed around the cheese. Repeat. Place the stuffed squash blossoms on a baking sheet and heat in the oven for no more than 5 minutes. The cheese should be warmed through and the blossoms should soften but not brown. Divide the salsa between 4 plates, top each with 3 squash blossoms and drizzle with olive oil. (Serves 4 – I reduced this for one serving and needed less than 4 oz. of goat cheese to fill my 3 blossoms.

This was by far my favorite meal of the summer. With a simple green salad on the side, it’s rich and creamy yet crisp and refreshing. I loved the jalapeno heat with the sweetness of the squash blossoms. Now I am desperate to get my hands on more squash blossoms to make this again!

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Food miles: Squash blossoms, Sand Hill Farm, Greensboro, Md. (84 mi.)