Farmers' Market Dinner

Persimmon, Beet Greens & Blood Orange Salad Recipe

One of the things I love most about living in Northern California is having access to fresh, organic fruit and vegetables at our local farmers' market year round. We venture out to the Campbell Farmers' Market on Sunday mornings to stock up our fridge for the week. Being new to the whole market scene, I like to guess which produce items will be in season and then marvel at the bounty and colorful spreads set before us each week.

Cubscout enjoys laying back and checking out the scene. Today we let her help carry our Buddha's hand. We didn't realize she dropped it along the way. Some guy tapped Brian on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, you um dropped your....your...Actually, I'm not sure what it is." Everyone around us got a chuckle out of it. I picked one up for the first time today and will figure out what to make with it some time this week.

Today, I discovered persimmons. I have always wanted to try them but never took the time to look up how to use them. Do you peel it? Do you cut it like a tomato? Can you eat it raw or cook it? This morning I finally said, "I'll pick-up two and figure it out." I should have picked up a dozen! They are a beautiful fruit. I think they taste and have a similar texture to apricots and papayas. They are firm and slightly sweet. You can eat them raw, bake them in pastries, and add them to salads. They might make a delicious cold pureed soup, too. Oh, and I couldn't leave the market without some golden beets and blood oranges. Mmmm...love me some beets!

Persimmons

I do my best each week to make a nice Sunday dinner for the two of us using some of the veggies we found that morning. For dinner tonight: London broil with a homemade mustard, wine and cranberry sauce / Mashed potatoes / Persimmon, beet & blood orange salad. It was pretty killer. Here's my recipe...

Persimmon, Beet Greens & Blood Orange Winter Salad

Serves 2

1 Persimmon
1 Roasted Red Beet with Leaves (Medium sized)
1 Small Blood Orange
1/8 of an Onion

2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 T. Red Wine Vinegar

One medium sized mixing bowl

Directions
1. Cut the top off of the persimmon. Peel off the outer skin. Slice into wedges.
2. Cut greens off of the beets (Roast beets at 400F for 18 mins or until tender. See my next post on how to cook beets to perfection.). Remove the leaves from the stems. Rinse and cut them julienne style.
3. Once your roasted beets have cooled, cut them into wedges.
4. Peel the blood orange with a pairing knife. Cut out the sections of the orange, and discard the skin and membrane.
4. Slice 1/8 of an onion julienne style.
5. Place all ingredients into a medium sized mixing bowl and toss with the oil and vinegar. Let the salad mixture sit for a few minutes before serving.