Green Market Quesadilla

Farmers Market season is back. Thank goodness. This time of year, there is an abundance of greens – young kale, chard, lettuces and cabbages – all so fresh and bright, they emit the aromas of spring’s sun and rain. You can taste the photosynthesis, they’re that fresh.

There are plenty of wonderful things to make with greens. Salads and sautés spring to mind. This quesadilla recipe is like baking them into a little present. Greens are sautéed beforehand to reduce their volume and remove some moisture.  Onion scapes add an additional layer of savory-sweetness, as well as texture.

I used Neighborly Farms Monterey Jack cheese and Grafton Cheddar, both from Vermont, but check your farmers market for local cheese artisans.

Green Market Quesadilla - serves 4 – 6

6 onion or garlic scapes, finely chopped
1 T olive oil
1 lb fresh young mixed greens – pepper greens, young kale, young chard, baby bok choy, etc
4 ounces Monterey Jack, grated
2 ounces Cheddar, grated
6 – 8 inch tortillas

Remove any tough stems from the greens. Loosely chop all greens. Combine the grated cheeses in a shallow dish.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium. Add chopped scapes and sauté for 5 minutes until softened and bright green.

Add greens, cover and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove the cover and cook an additional 5 minutes, allowing excess moisture to evaporate off.

Preheat oven to 375.

Sauté scapes in olive oil for 3 min over medium heat. add greens and cook down until wilted and some moisture evaporates off – about 5 minutes.

To assemble each quesadilla, lay tortilla on a work surface and cover one half with a layer of cheese. Cover the cheese with greens.  Top the greens with more cheese. Fold the tortilla in half so that the bare side covers the stuff side.

Helpful hint: In order to evenly distribute the cheese and greens for each quesadilla, it helps to divide the cheese and greens into 6ths (see pic).

Arrange quesadillas on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve hot as an appetizer or main dish. Great to serve while watching the World Cup!

Ingredient origins: scapes and greens – Massachusetts; olive oil – Italy; Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses – Vermont; Tortillas -Rhode Island.

Late Season Farmers’ Market

Fresh produce in November? In New England? It can’t be done!

Oh, but it can, my friend. It can. After our local farmers’ market shut down for the season at the beginning of October, I was just so bummed. I’ve since been supplementing trips to a local farm to buy what’s left of their dwindling harvest, with runs to the conventional grocery store. While the super market hasn’t been all bad – you can find some things grown locally and/or organically – the produce is just not as fresh. Even if the says that the acorn squash was grown in-state, it’s still been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long, losing moisture, flavor and vitamins.

I was just beginning to accept it until today, when I learned that there is another farmers’ market somewhat nearby that is scheduled to last well into the winter. Hooray! I’d thought there must still be some crops coming out of the ground. It’s not like the vegetables decide to stop growing because farmers’ market organizers say the season is over.

We hopped into the car and sped off (or drove leisurely, obeying stop signs and traffic signals along the way) to our destination. There were only a few stalls, but plenty of fresh, local, sustainable produce. And it was cheap! We got leeks, onions, white potatoes, fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, bok choy, red lettuce, summer jean, dill, and tomatoes for $25. Nice. There was even a vendor selling local, naturally raised meats. Yay! I picked up two pork chops and some country ribs. I plan to do something with them this week, so stay tuned.

Besides the obvious benefits of shopping at a farmers’ market – fresher product, better nutritional value, environmental sustainability – there’s also something that is so nice about hanging out where people are just generally happy. The customers are happy because they are buying quality and they feel like they’re doing good by supporting local farmers. They are curious and interested. And the vendors are happy because they are proud of their product and making a living at something they are passionate about. They actually want to be there.

Not to keep driving a point home here, but compare all that to the supermarket experience. I’ve never encountered very much enthusiasm and friendliness at the check-out counter. Furthermore, supermarkets have become so far detached from the real that now even the human element has been taken away in some cases, and replaced with what my husband and I call Betty. Betty is the self-checkout computer voice. She’s friendly enough but, boy does she get snippy when you leave an item on the scanner.