It’s Sunday morning in Bergen County and the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the breeze is blowing. What a beautiful day for a visit to the Ramsey Farmers’ Market, now in its 2nd year. One of the things I like most about the Ramsey Farmers Market is the live music. Each week they have music by different local bands. On the day I was there, 15 year old, Matt Roy, was playing his guitar and singing. I stopped and listened while he sang a couple of good Springsteen songs, then started on my quest to find the best fruits and veggies to make dinner for my family, especially my vegan daughter who was coming home from a music festival weekend.
My first stop was at JD Gourmet Balsamic where I picked up another bottle of his 25 year aged balsamic that is naturally sweet, fragrant and incredible. It enhances any recipe and goes particularly well with the golden beet salad I had in mind. JD also sells olive oils, truffle oil and flavored balsamics.
Next on my list was a big beautiful bunch of sunflowers for my table from the fresh flower vendor and then straight to Bloominghill Farm to buy his just picked organic veggies and blueberries. Guy (the proprietor) was as pleasant as ever as he instructed everyone on what to do with zucchini flowers and the variety of greens he was selling. “Just put these on the grill” he explained while a customer listened carefully. On this day he had organic baby portabella and shitake mushrooms, along with many leafy greens and lots of beautiful fresh veggies and berries.
Last but not least I stopped at the regular farm with beautiful conventional not organic veggies and fruits and found my favorite lavender seedless eggplants, just picked, along with corn, yellow and red tomatoes, herbs and more.
There is something for everyone at the Ramsey Farmer’s Market, even homemade dog biscuits for your furry family members. The mozzarella man is always there with his beautiful homemade breads, cakes, and other goodies, along with crab cakes and other surprises. People are usually lined up, it’s just that good. There was a woman selling goat cheese in many varieties, a jelly man, another homemade baked goods vendor, a man selling organic eggs and more. Check the Ramsey Farmers Market website for more details. There will be guest chefs doing demos throughout the summer. I did one July 4th weekend and hope to be featured there again in the near future.
Ramsey Farmers Market is a great addition to our neighborhood. I am looking forward to creating some beautiful meals out of what I got today straight from the farm to my table like the Eggplant dish below. Enjoy.
Grilled Sicilian Eggplant with Tomatoes Basil and Organic Baby Bellas, Balsamic Vinaigrette
This recipe feeds 4 people
INGREDIENTS
Two medium Lavender Sicilian eggplants if possible-slice about 1/4 inch thick (Can use regular eggplants too.)
The best Tomatoes in a variety of colors cut up (Plum and cherry). Take about five or more plum tomatoes, split them and remove seeds. Roughly chop up in a bowl with split cherry tomatoes.
Fresh Basil-a small bunch..cleaned and chopped
Fresh Oregano, Thyme approx 1 teaspoon each
One package Baby Bella Mushrooms-cleaned gently and sliced
Sea salt, black pepper
Aged Balsamic Vinegar– 1-2 tablespoons (I love the JD brand they sell at Ramsey Farmers Market..a little goes a long way, and it’s not too strong.)
Extra virgin olive oil– about 1/2 cup for brushing on eggplant for grill.
Fresh garlic-chop up 2 cloves, crush and chop
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat grill to medium high. Brush the eggplant with a mixture of olive oil and herbs (thyme and oregano) on both sides. Brush with more olive oil when you turn over.
Grill carefully a few minutes on each side approx 3-4 till you see grill marks, then turn over, and let cook till tender.
Chop and seed tomatoes, put in a bowl with crushed fresh garlic, sea salt and black pepper, a drizzle of balsamic and EVOO. Add lots of chopped basil. Stir together.
Take off eggplant and lay out on a platter.
In a grill top wok (brush with olive oil or spray), add sliced Baby Bella mushrooms (I used the organic ones from Blooming Hill Farm). First marinate the mushrooms in a mixture of thyme (a teaspoon or so) , EVOO, and 1 TBS Balsamic. Cook on medium, stirring once or twice a few minutes till done.
Pour tomato mixture over the grilled eggplant and add mushrooms and more chopped herbs. Fresh basil to taste.
Add another drizzle of that great Balsamic Vinegar.
LauriLee has been passionate about food her whole life. She spent many years in the travel business and always enjoyed dining out at many ethnic restaurants here and abroad. She is a self motivated foodie who has been cooking for over 30 years. Her recipes are based on fruits, vegetables, herbs, vinegars, various healthy oils, citrus , seafood and organic chicken and turkey. LauriLee also cooks for her daughter who is a Vegan, so we can look forward to some healthy vegan/vegetarian dishes from her kitchen. To learn more about LauriLee’s cooking classes and personal chef service, visit her website at LauriLeesHealthyCooking.net
Our Passaic County Regional Editor, Terry Krongold, visited with Munch Catering at the Nutley Farmer’s Market. Although it was a rainy day, Matt & Jessica persevered, and offered samples of two delicious recipes – Fresh Berry Smoothie and Summer Sugar Snap Pea Salad – both made with Jersey fresh summer produce! Check out the video below and then follow the links for the recipes.
A new fromagerie-a slice of cheesy heaven-has opened in Palmer Square in Princeton.
The shop also has tasty non-cheese items too. My favorites are the strawberry chutney in the case and the softest dried figs with a lovely, deep brown sugar flavor that are kept in glass apothecary jars behind the counter with several other kinds of dried fruits.
And the pièce de résistance–homemade watermelon rind pickles! These delicious, sweet, spicy old-fashioned treats are a taste of my childhood. My mom used to get them occasionally in a jar-probably from Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck-and I would eat the whole jar on her, usually in one sitting. Boy, would she be hopping mad to discover only one or two pieces left in the bottom.
We started our meal by ordering a cheese and fruit plate and a pork belly and mango appetizer from the menu of tasty tapas. The cheese and fruit platter had two great cheese selections, including a rich and slightly salty blue cheese and a goat cheese that was free of any graininess. We loved the plump Jersey blueberries that accompanied the cheese and other fruit selections. The pork belly was a new try for me- those plump little morsels aided and abetted my appetite and made me look forward to the main course.
Since I had heard that the scallops were locally sourced, I had to give them a try. They were incredible-if they had been any fresher, I would have been eating them down at the dock. Chef Brett keeps it simple by searing them in a Cointreau/butter/lemon thyme combination. This worked wonders at really letting the flavors of these babies shine through.
We both thought we would have no room for dessert, but I weakened when our server described the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombe. My friends, it is indeed the bomb-an inside layer of creamy chocolate mousse and peanut butter coated with chocolate ganache and nuts.
The person who sets the mood and drives the engine of this little eatery is owner Ann Gauthier, who serves as Mom and/or Grandma to all who come in to eat. Although all the servers at Shut Up and Eat! are friendly by and large, when Ann is patrolling the tables there is a change in the vibe. She is talkative, funny, loves kids, already knows the answer to a question on the menu that you’ve only begun to ask, and does not take any shenanigans. In other words, she’s all Jersey.
Haifa Cafe & Grill owners Sami, a native of Haifa, and George, of Greek ancestry and a Palisades Park native, attend Mass regularly and light candles, offering prayers for the success of their small storefront eatery off River Road in Edgewater. Somebody up there seems to be listening, as sales are slowly picking up for the two twenty-somethings who met six years ago while working at assorted bagel stores and restaurants in New Jersey. They scraped together their savings and opened their Mediterranean inspired tiny restaurant about a year ago and have amassed a group of regulars who come for the freshly prepared food which is full of bright flavors and bold seasoning. This makes up for the lack of ambience and fact that everything is served on plastic plates or paper lined baskets. To be sure, this is a step up from street food and worth a visit, just don’t expect upscale dining.
We visited on a Friday evening and started with excellent falafel ($5.99), each flavorful orb’s crustry exterior yielding a fragrant, tender interior, redolent with cumin. Kibbe ($6.99), another deep friend Arabic appetizer containing a blend of beef, minced onion and pine nuts, was also nicely done. But what really turned these apps from good to great was the trio of sauces they were served with: Garlic, Parsley and Hot Sauces, the 2nd being my favorite, an explosion of flavor, like a parsley pesto or Arabic take on chimichurri. The menu’s wide array of appetizers, from traditional items like Baba Ghanouj ($5.99) to Foul, ($5.99), fava beans with garlic, lemon an dolive oil, Zatar Pita ($2.49) topped with oregano, sesame seeds and olive oil to Nakanik ($5.99), fried or grilled mini sausages marinated and served with tomato and garlic, make it enticing to order several and enjoy amongst a larger party.
The Lamb sandwich (6.99) was delicious, served in a warm pita packed with sliced of lamb (flavorful, not particularly tender though), tangy tahini and cabbage, lettuce and tomato. Another sauce accompanied this, the only non-premise-made sauce, which was a smooth mango chutney, fabulous and a great accompaniment to the toothsome sandwich. Hand-cut fries ($3.75) cooked in soy oil were enjoyed by my companions, but I found them undercooked and in need of seasoning. Varieties include Haifa spiced fries ($3.99), using a special houseblend of seasonings, and Greek Fries covered in oregano, garlic and lemon sauce ($3.99).
Haifa makes its own Shawerma fresh each day using layers of beef and lamb on the weekends and chicken Monday through Friday. We enjoyed the chicken ($10.99) very much, each slice generously seasoned with sumac and fragrant spices. The Haifa Mixed Platter includes Shawerma, kufta (patties made of ground lamb and beef), chicken and two lamb chops ($16.99). Grilled shrimp ($12.99), Calamari ($12.99), sauteed in a Greek inspired preparation are also offered along with multiple kabobs and grilled quail, three for $11.99.
I have to confess it took me 45 years to tackle the tomatillo only to find out that they are really very easy to work with. I don’t know why I was so intimitated by those little green tomato looking things with the wrinkled, papery skin, but I am 
no longer afraid. Actually, now I’m addicted. The original recipe for this salsa comes from 
The only change I made to the recipe was to roast the tomatillos under the broiler until they were slightly browned. (approximately 10 minutes. Flip them half way through.) For some reason, I didn’t like the idea of the raw tomatillos going into the salsa. The result was absolutely delicious, so I highly recommend the added step of roasting. I also added 2 cloves of garlic which I saw in another recipe. They recommeded throwing the garlic cloves in the pan with the tomatillos while roasting, which worked out great and gave me a slightly mellow garlic addition.
