Hooray!

**Correction** Eugenia will not be at the market this week, but next Saturday, March 6th.

Good news to all of you who visit the Old Town Scottsdale Farmer’s Market, Eugenia Theodosopoulos from Essence Bakery Café will be bringing her delectable Parisian treats to the market this Saturday. She will be bringing her incredible croissants and brioche, as well as her famous French macarons. If you haven’t been to Essence in Tempe yet, make sure you find Eugenia on Saturday at the market and see what you have been missing. I am predicting you will need to get there early.

"You can't make a good salad without good produce."

That was a quote from our server at Atlas Bistro after I heaped praise for the Roasted Root Vegetable salad I enjoyed. It is always fun for us to try a plate filled with all of our favorites from the farm and to see how a chef work with their flavors. This salad was such a great example of what is going on at the farm right now. It was warm and earthy, the roasted vegetables mixed with a creamy chevre cheese and pine nuts and topped with a mix of fresh greens. If I hadn't already ordered my entree, I would have had that salad for a second time.

On the other hand, had I done that I would have missed out on the Roasted Pheasant with Polenta and Greens, which was not something that should be missed. Atlas Bistro Chefs Joshua Riesner and Keenan Bosworth have created a full menu of well crafted dishes that focus on the best of the season.

Atlas Bistro is a small, quiet place, warmed by candle light and the fun part is that they are BYOB. Actually, BYOB is not something I usually enjoy, since I tend to forget that I need to come with my own until I am seated in a restaurant. However, at Atlas if you don't have a bottle, don't fear. The restaurant opens into AZ Wine Company. It really is much more enjoyable to wander through the aisles and find a wine that sounds right than trying to guess from a wine list. Make sure you pick out a good bottle, because the food deserves a strong pairing.

I also loved that Atlas Bistro also has a pretty loyal following, which is obviously returned in kind. There were a few tables marked with custom name plates for dedicated patrons. I don't know that I have seen that before, but I thought it said a lot about how much their regulars enjoy dining there, and how much they appreciate their patronage.

I am wondering how many times we will need to return to earn a name plate of our own. I think I am up for the challenge.

Atlas Bistro

2515 North Scottsdale Road, #18

Scottsdale, Arizona 85050

480.990.2433

www.atlasbistro.wordpress.com

While you are at the Farmer's Market...

I wanted to give a shout out to one of our neighbor's at the Old Towne Scottsdale Farmer's Market. DeCio Pasta has a booth right next to the McClendon's Select check out area.

I have visited their booth a few times and have picked up a number of the different handmade pastas. Aidan loves to help me shop there. He really enjoys smelling the different flavors they offer, they are all so fragrant. DeCio Pasta comes in so many wonderful flavors, created through incorporating real vegetable purees into their dough. There are so many to choose from, including Garlic & Chive, Lemon Pepper, Wild Mushroom, Saffron, Artichoke Heart, Szechuan Orange Spice, to name a few. They do note on their packaging that their pasta only needs a few minutes to cook. This is a sign of really fresh pasta.

Their pastas are so flavorful, that you don't need to add much to enjoy them. They do have a number of recipes on their website that all look wonderful. We had their Sweet Potato Fettucini over the weekend and made an incredible dinner with just a little olive oil, parmesan and pine nuts. I received one of the best compliments from Aidan on this meal. He asked that I make it again.

You can find DeCio Pasta at the Old Towne Scottsdale Farmer's Market on most Saturdays, or visit their website to find one of the number of retailers around the valley that carry their products.

DeCio Pasta

800.397.0770

www.deciopasta.com

A lesson in asparagus and patience...

One of the newest rows in the farm gardens doesn't look like much now, but good things are to come. Last February Bob planted a row of green and purple asparagus. Planting asparagus is a little like investing in the future. It is all about patience before payout.

The asparagus grows from dried roots and watered until the ferns comes up. Last September Bob stopped watering the plants and allowed for them to dry up once the weather started to cool off. Then he mowed them down and spread mulch over the stubble and began to water them again.

After the past few rain storms, the asparagus began to sprout and shoot up. In the first year of growing asparagus you can't really cut any to eat. Now that we are going into the second year, Bob is only able to pick about 40-50% of the crop. He will go through the watering, mowing and mulching cycle again. And again, we will wait.

But next year - watch out! Once the asparagus has had time to properly grow and root in the soil, it will provide a healthy crop not only in 2011, but for the next 25-30 years to come.

Good things are worth the time.

Thankfully asparagus doesn't require much patience in the kitchen, only the field. Boil a little water and Queen Creek Lime Olive Oil in a pan. Put the asparagus in for only a minute or two and season with sea salt. So good!

For your Valentine...

I know that many will show their love via chocolates this Valentine's Day. Chocolate certainly says love to me. But what does organic, vegan, fair-trade chocolate say?

I recently discovered Wei of Chocolate at the Town & Country Farmer's Market. Sean took me down there and had me to sample some of their flavors to see what I thought. My husband has long since learned that chocolate is my cure-all for whatever is bugging me... bad hair days, no sleep, work stress, you name it. There have been times he has stopped to pick up chocolate on the way home just from sound of my voice on the phone. It never fails to work. My mother feels same way.

As a chocolate snob, I am always a little hesitant to try new kinds. I don't want silly chocolates with a lot of nuts or fillings. I want my chocolate to be midnight dark with a high cacao level and velvety smooth.

So it was a wonderful discovery to find exactly what I was looking for right at the Farmer's Market. I got to meet Lisa Reinhardt, the Chocolatier behind Wei of Chocolates. She let me try a few of her varieties while talking about her products. All of her chocolate is organic, vegan and fair-trade. As if I didn't love chocolate enough already, she really gave me a reason to feel even better about them and me. She uses a number of floral and herbal essences to enhance the chocolate. I tried chocolates with subtle chai and chili undertones that were rich and wonderful, but decided that I liked the Pure Joy the best. It is luxuriously dark with just the slightest flower essence to it.

Lisa's background is in mediation, that it shows in her chocolates. There is something very soothing to your senses when you take a bite. It does feel like a gift to enjoy something that feels decadent, while being good for you at the same time. I liked them so much that I went back and picked up a bag for my mother.

Lisa and Wei of Chocolate are at a number of farmer's markets and in some of the boutiques and spas around the valley. You can find her at the Town & Country Farmer's Market on Wednesdays and the Old Town Farmer's Market in Scottsdale on Saturdays. You can also buy online or find additional locations on her website.

If you really want to show someone you care, why not skip the big heart-shaped box and go for something that really expresses true love.

Wei of Chocolate

www.weiofchocolate.com

A different take on Valentine's Day flowers...

Did you know that all of the flowers we sell at the market are edible? I realize that is a not exactly what most have in mind when buying flowers for Valentine's Day, but hear me out.

Snap dragons, calendulas, stock... all of these flowers are not only beautiful on your table, but also in your dish. You can sprinkle the petals from any of these flowers to add a hint of color and flavor to pasta, salads, or soups. Marsha arranges all of these together in little bundles that are sold at the markets.

Calendulas are also known as the Poor Man's Saffron, because of their sharp flavoring. Their petals also provide a subtle yellow tint to soups. Snap dragons come in the loveliest colors, but have more of a bitterness to them.

There are other flowers too that we don't sell at the markets that are edible as well. Those Valentine's Day rose petals add fragrance and color and their flavors can range from fruity to spicy depending on the type and color of the rose. The general rule with roses is that the darker the color the more pronounced the flavor. Take care to remove the white portion of the petal which can be quite bitter.

Pea blossoms, from either sugar snap peas or sweet peas, are slightly crunchy and have a delicate pea-like flavor. Also a fun choice! If you do decide to take a bite out of a flower, make sure you do your homework first. Not all flowers are edible. Also consider the flavoring just as you would with an herb or spice when adding a flower to your dish.

Of course, you can go old school and also present your Valentine any of these flowers in a pretty arrangement in a vase of water too. But why not think outside the box (of chocolates)?

A peek in the greenhouse...

There is a lot going on in the greenhouse right now. Aidan and I took a ride out to see what was growing.

There are rows and rows of all sorts of little plants being nurtured along before they are taken out to the fields.

The basil will be taken out and planted within the next two weeks. The tomatoes will be in the ground around the first of March. The eggplant and peppers will go in after that, weather permitting.

Until then, they get to live here in this sunny little space.

Oh la la...

A few months ago Eugenia Theodosopoulos told us that her friend and mentor Jean Louis Clement was coming from Paris to work with her at Essence Bakery Cafe. He was coming for a week to help Eugenia and her staff refine and perfect some new recipes and products for the bakery. Jean Louis is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) en Boulangerie/Veinnoiserie recipient. He earned the MOF award in bread baking. This is the highest and most distinguished honor a chef can receive in France and Jean Louis was presented the award by the President of France.

I asked if I could come and just sit and observe (and hopefully taste test, sample and indulge) while they went about their work. Sadly, as excited as I was to meet Jean Louis, when that day came I had a head cold that no chef would want near a kitchen.

But lucky for me a little box from Essence found its way to me and look what was inside!

It was a beautiful sampling of the croissants Eugenia and Jean Louis created. There was one traditional croissant, as well as a two an chocolate and almond version. They were perfect and a reminder nothing can replace authenticity. These croissants are the real deal, not Americanized version of a croissant. A Parisian would be proud.

Each bite took me through a million buttery layers from the top crunchy shell down through to the airy center. They have a rich buttery decadence with just a hint of salt. Croissants are so beautifully complex. They are light and yet rich, flakey and still chewy, they can be a breakfast or a dessert. I would have thought that the chocolate would be my favorite, but the almond croissant won out. I don't know what it was, the sweet almond filling, the dusting of confectioners sugar on top, the little slivers of almonds. All of them were thoroughly enjoyed in our home.

I am still very sad that I missed meeting Jean Louis and watching as he and Eugenia create a little of Parisian magic in Tempe, but I am so grateful to now enjoy the results of their work. You too can enjoy the gift that she and Jean Louis brought to our valley at the Essence Bakery Cafe. You can also see them for yourself online. Eugenia posted a video of their work on her website. Bob said he didn't know that croissants could taste like that. They can, although not on this side of the Atlantic, until now.

Essence Bakery Cafe

825 W. University Drive

Tempe, Arizona 85281

480.966.2745

www.essencebakery.com

A seat with a view...

Want a good seat at a hot restaurant? Bypass the wait and pull up a chair at the kitchen bar at St. Francis. There are only four seats, and they are first come first serve, but it is dinner and a show if you can snag one. We had the same great service sitting there and it provided a wonderful stage view of a well run kitchen at work. I would always sit at the kitchen table in a restaurant if possible. Cooking has become my spectator sport, and I never tire of watching the pros at work.

It does, however, make ordering a difficult task. I kept consulting the menu and changing my mind as I watched their staff at work. I didn’t catch the name of the cook who was manning the large brick oven that is the centerpiece to their kitchen, but he had a beautiful rhythm going preparing different dishes and moving them around in the heat. He had so many different dishes coming through at once and made it all look so easy. It was a choreographed dance with food.

If I could have, I would have ordered one of everything going through that oven, but I finally settled on the Roasted Chicken with the Green Garlic Mashed Potatoes in a heavenly mushroom sauce. In that wood-fired heat, the chicken skin was perfectly roasted while the meat remained so moist and tender it fell off the bone. All of the flavors melded together perfectly. Sean’s Arctic Char salad was the same. He had a beautiful piece of Char that was atop a colorful salad of beets, potatoes and herbs with a light lemon vinaigrette that really complemented the fish. All of the other dishes we had to admire as they were ushered in and out of the heat, but I made mental notes of what I hope to try in the future. I do have some serious lust now for my own brick oven. There is no substitute for wood-fired cooking.

Oh… and good news! St. Francis is now serving lunch. They have a fixed lunch menu available Tuesday thru Friday from 11:30am to 2:30pm. There is also a three course Business Lunch Special available, that looked wonderful, especially the part where they promise that you can be in and out in 30 minutes. Although there were no promises that you won’t want to linger.

My step-mother Lisa booked a lunch there this past Wednesday. She said it was incredible and that they made good on their 30 minute promise. They even sent her off with a small bag of warm cookies. She loved it so much (in particular the salad) that she booked a second business lunch there for Friday.

St. Francis

111 East Camelback Road

Phoenix, AZ 85012

602.200.8111

www.stfrancisaz.com

When you have lemons, make pasta...

I have a new rainy day activity for Aidan and me. During recent storms, we spent an afternoon making homemade pasta, something I haven’t done in far too long and I have missed way too much. I credit Wade Moises at Pasta Bar for inspiring me to elevate my pasta efforts. There is just no comparison between store bought and handmade, and after a recent trip to Pasta Bar I have been joyfully ruined.

With the right equipment, handmade pasta is a relatively easy endeavor. The KitchenAid pasta rollers work well, but their food grinder attachment with smaller plates I think work the best for making thin spaghetti noodles. That, and it felt like a Play Dough maker to my seven-year-old sous chef.

Handmade pasta doesn’t need much to be wonderful, but I will say be very mindful of time. It will cook better and clump less if you make allowances to have it properly dry after you have rolled it, and then to allow it only minimal time in the boiling water. This isn’t the hard stuff that comes in a box, it only takes a minute or two to reach a proper al dente consistency.

This pasta also doesn’t need to be dressed up to fancy either. Simple is better. I usually do a pesto or simple tomato sauce when I make pasta, but this time I took advantage of all of the wonderful lemons we have available and made Aunt Pat’s Spaghetti al Lemone recipe to serve with it.

It was a little sunshine on an otherwise gray day. Enjoy!

Pasta Dough

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

2 eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1-4 tablespoons water (less is better)

Place flour, eggs, olive oil and salt in a food processor. Process for 15 seconds, adding water a few drops at a time until a ball starts to form. Once the ball forms, run the machine for another 30-45 seconds.

Remove the dough and wrap in plastic and allow to sit for 15-20 minutes. If you are using a KitchenAid mixer, cut pasta into small sections and push through the grinder, using the plate with the smaller holes for spaghetti. You can also use this pasta recipe with other pasta rollers for thicker noodles.

Cut the pasta at the desired length and allow to dry, either on a drying rack or spread out on parchment paper. The longer you allow the pasta to dry, the less like it will be to clump when you cook it. I would suggest you allow it to dry for at least an hour.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for no more than 2-3 minutes. Check the pasta as it cooks, it will cook very fast.

Spaghetti al Limone

1 1/2 freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup lemon juice

2/3 cups extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 cups firmly packed basil leaves

Combine the Parmesan and lemon juice. Combine the rest of the ingredients, except for the basil, mixing to "melt" the cheese in the oil. Toss sauce with pasta, top with basil leaves and serve.

A little of Paris in the rain...

My name is Kate and I am addicted to the Parmesan Truffle Fries at Zinc Bistro.

There! I said it.

So much so I was at Zinc Bistro twice last week to satisfy my cravings. Just writing this is making me think of them again. These fries have started to take over my life. I have even begun my own quest to fulfill these cravings at home, experimenting with different potatoes and truffle oil, even searching to make the perfect aioli to dip them in just to scratch that itch. It is a sweet, sweet agony…

Try as I might though, there is no substitute for the real thing. And there definitely is no replicating that feeling of escaping off to Paris that Zinc Bistro has emulated so perfectly. You feel chic just sitting in one of their red booths, surrounded by the tinned ceiling, hardwood floors and long zinc bar. I was saddened that the pouring rain (both times) made sitting in their little garden patio off limits, but the candle lit glow inside helped to warm us.

Now I did try other things as well, a wonderful goat cheese ravioli with oxtail on one visit, along with the farm vegetable salad (wonderfully mixed and dressed), and their lunch special of an open-faced flank steak sandwich with mushroom soup on the second visit. Both were wonderful choices, the perfect comfort foods to chase away those rainy day doldrums.

Oh, but those fries…

Zinc Bistro

15034 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 140

Scottsdale, Arizona 85254

480.603.0922

www.zincbistroaz.com