Hey, did you hear? The Southside Farmer's Market is open. Now you can shop for fresh, local produce three times a week. Check out the Southside Market every Thursday from 3-6 pm at the County Fairgrounds on Rodeo Road. (The regular market is open every Saturday and Tuesday from 7 am-noon at the Railyard.)
The season is really getting good, so take every canvas/string/hemp bag you can find and load it up. Don't worry if you don't exactly know what to do with all of your bounty. You'll figure something out. Here are a few ideas for ingredients that are ripe and ready at the market these days.
Farmer's Market Lamb Salad with Cilantro Balsamic Vinaigrette
Pick up a little extra organic Shepherd's lamb and use the leftovers to make this salad full of market ingredients. Feel free to improvise on the veggies with whatever you find. If you have loads of mint, then go ahead and add a bunch of it in with the salad greens.
Serves 4
1 pound salad greens, washed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced
1 small red onion, halved, and sliced into half-moons
1 pint cherry/grape/pear tomatoes of any color, halved
½ cup sliced black olives
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Cilantro Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
1 pound cooked lamb, sliced thin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
In a large bowl, toss together the greens, cucumber, onion, tomatoes, olives and feta. Add vinaigrette and toss again. Season with salt and pepper. Top with strips of lamb and serve.
Cilantro Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
In a bowl, combine the garlic, vinegar, mint, and cilantro. Whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a thin stream until the mixture is thick and creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Apricot-Lavender Preserves
There are always too many apricots to appreciate during the brief time we get them straight from the tree. So devour as many as you can, then bottle their sunny goodness to enjoy throughout the year. Tastes great with everything from toast to roasted pork to goat cheese.
Makes 4 to 6 half-pint jars
2 pounds ripe apricots, pitted and chopped
3½ cups sugar
1 pinch kosher salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 to ½ cup organic lavender flowers
Toss the apricots with the sugar and salt and transfer to a resealable plastic container. Let the apricots sit in a cool place (or in the refrigerator) 12 hours or overnight.
Sterilize canning jars and new lids either in the dishwasher or a boiling water bath.
Pour the apricots into a large saucepan set over medium heat, add lemon juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 25 minutes, skimming and discarding any foam that forms the surface.
Stir in the lavender flowers and continue cooking until the mixture has thickened. (To check for doneness, drop a teaspoon of the boiling mixture onto a saucer and put the saucer in the refrigerator for a few minutes. If it looks like jam when it's cool then it's ready.) Turn off the heat.
Using a deep ladle and canning funnel (if you have one), fill the jars to within ¼ inch of the top, wipe the rims clean, and screw down the lids. Turn the jars upside down and allow them to cool.
AND NOW FOR THE TIPSY PART
After you've scrubbed all the apricot goop from your hair, put on your fancy pants because this weekend is the first Toast of Santa Fe Wine Auction. A benefit for the Center for
Contemporary Arts (1050 Old Pecos Trail, 982-1338), the event is a must-do for all of you artsy, well-heeled winos (and that includes me, except for the artsy and well-heeled parts). Be sure to get there by 5 pm so you can rub shoulders with the winemakers during the reception, hosted by everyone's favorite bubbly maker, Gruet. At 6 pm you'll sit down to a dinner cooked by guest chef Michael Tusk (of Quince Restaurant in San Francisco), along with our very own Martín Rios (Inn of the Anasazi), Rahm Fama (La Posada de Santa Fe) and Joseph Wrede (Joseph's Table in Taos). Expect four fabulous courses paired with wines from Clos du Val. After you've made good use of your starched napkin and reapplied your lipstick, you might want to check the limit on the one credit card you haven't yet maxed out, because the live auction includes rare, collectible bottles of wine as well as trips, dinner and fabulous works of art by Edward Ruscha, Robert Kelly, Jeff Koons, Robert Rauschenberg and Maurizio Cattelan, among others.
Tickets cost $250 per person, so if you're smart like me, you'll tell your date that if he picks up this one you'll get him back next time (with a couple of green chile cheeseburgers). For tickets and information, go to
or call 982-1338.
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