Deborah Madison - Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from Americas Farmers Markets

THE GREENS COOKBOOK

THE SAVORY WAY

VEGETARIAN COOKING FOR EVERYONE

THIS CANT BE TOFU!

VEGETARIAN SUPPERS FROM DEBORAH MADISONS KITCHEN

VEGETABLE SOUPS FROM DEBORAH MADISONS KITCHEN

Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Previously published in hardcover by Broadway Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, in 2010.
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All photos are Laurie Smith 2002, except , which were taken by the author

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Madison, Deborah.
Local flavors: cooking and eating from Americas farmers markets / Deborah
Madison.1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Cookery, American. 2. Farmers markets. I. Title.
TX715.M1157 2002
641.5973dc21 2001049940

eISBN: 978-0-307-88565-4

v3.1

For Michael and Dianne,

for quitting your day jobs to grow good food,

gorgeous flowers, and great girls.

And in memory of Marion Rullo,

a good farmer

and fine cheesemaker.

The number of people who gave me their time, advice, insights, and information is phenomenal. First, of course, are the farmers, without whom there would be no farmers markets. In particular, I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to those farmers from northern New Mexico, whose dedication, skill, vision, and endurance have long nurtured our community. It is your well-honed art of the field and farm that puts the true joy into cooking. It would be a dull world indeed without the treasures you bring to the market.

Farmers are essential, but markets would not happen without the numerous volunteers. Among the volunteers, managers, and market founders I met are those who fielded my many questions, especially Patty Brand, Donita Anderson, Mary Holmes, Randii MacNear, Laura Avery, Abby Mandel, Janine MacLachlan, Sarah Stegner, Cynthia Hizer, Joanne Neft, Richard McCarthy, Joel Prataker, Cecelia McCord, Dee Logan, Ann Yonkers, and Doug Warner. Thank you all for your help and your insights.

My thanks also to those of you who took me to your markets: Kitty Morse, Chris Hastings, Amelia Saltsman (and for her mushroom recipe), Dee Logan, Jeff Roberts, Russ Parsons, Ellen Ogden, Odessa Piper, Molly Stevens, Maureen Callahan, John and Emily Sutcliffe, Sue Mei Yu, Cliff Wright, Martha Rose Schulman, Dorothy Patent, Kathleen Craig, Grant Flemming, and Elizabeth Zippern. My deep thanks to my brother, Michael Madison, who cheerfully came out of the field any number of times to answer my botany-related questions, and to Dianne Madison who, in addition to visiting farms and markets with me, also found those missing phone numbers of farmers when I needed them, and so much more. I would also like to express my appreciation to cooks and writers who have offered me their valuable perspectives: Odessa Piper, Lucia Watson, Parker Bosley, Alice Waters, Gary Paul Nabhan, Stephen Facciaola, Michele Anna Jordan, Greg Patent, Fred Plotkin, Diana Kennedy, and Damon Lee Fowler.

Thank you (and kudos) to Ruth Murphy for insisting that I visit the childrens farmers market in St. Paul. To Sandy Szwarc, Joe Colanero, Tamar and Barbara Haskell, Lynn Weddach, Bill Webb, and Eliot Coleman, my gratitude for acting as my far-flung correspondents, letting me know what was ripe in your area when I couldnt be everywhere at once. Many thanks to Bruce Aidells for responding with alacrity and enthusiasm to my request for a beef recipeno one I know could be a better provider, and to Joanne Neft, market manager par excellence, for her delicious persimmon recipes and her long friendship.

Many farmers and growers have been especially generous with their time, explaining to me how they grow their crops, raise their animals, harvest nuts, and press their oils. My deep thanks to Riley Starks and Tom Delahanty for sharing their pastured chickens expertise, to Judy Olsen for her flair with nettles, and to Tracee Canisso for explaining all about sweet potatoes. Thanks also to Robert and Ellen Lane and Rink and Jenny DaVee for that splendid lunch on the farm, Rich Collins who knows more about endive than anyone else, Dennis Donahue and Lucio Gomiero who taught me about the other chicories, Michael Abelman for the avocados and other expertise, Jan Barbo for her bushels of quince, and Rusty Hall for his extraordinary almonds and vision of what will keep small farmers going. Eremita and Margaret Campos have generously shared both their stories and their produce over the years, while Timothy Broughton finally explained what makes kiwis sweet in between bites of hot roasted chestnuts. Carol Ann Sayle and Larry Butler of Boggy Creek Farm in Austin, Texas, have been invaluable informants when it comes to the ins and outs of growing organic food and raising chickens in an urban market. They have fulfilled an outstanding vision. Thank you for teaching me, feeding me, and becoming such good friends.

Patty Karlovitz, publisher of New Mexicos Localflavor, in whose pages I was able to first publish some of these market stories, was gracious in allowing me to share the title of her magazine. Joan Dye Gussow, who became truly local by farming in her backyard, supplied me with certain elusive facts and figures. I would particularly like to thank Kent Whealy of The Seed Savers Exchange for his vision of diversity, his inspiring talks, and good conversation. He is, in many ways, at the heart of this book.

I would be remiss not to express my deep thanks to Les Dames dEscoffier for choosing me to receive the MFK Fisher Mid-Career Award in 1994. The generous gift that accompanied this honor was what initially started my research on farmers and farm markets.

Thank you also to the following publications in which some of these recipes previously appeared in slightly different forms: Fine Cooking, Kitchen Garden, Williams-Sonoma TASTE, Gourmet, and the Los Angeles Times.

When it comes to making the book, my debt is also large. I wish to warmly thank Laurie Smith, whose beautiful pictures of food and markets grace these pages, not only for her art but for her cheerful willingness to change gears in midair and accommodate my enthusiasm for the unexpected image. Laurie, youre the best! Many thanks to Kathi Long who has unfailingly worked with me for many years on photo shoots and in the kitchen. To our photo sessions came bags of dishes and linens from the Clay Angel, which are as inspiring and beautiful as the foods and flowers our farmers grow. My warmest thanks to the ever-accommodating staff who has wrapped and unwrapped them all on my behalf many times, and especially to owner Judy Espinar for her unfailing generosity and support through all my various projects. My gratitude to Esther Kovari, Lynn Walters, Cheryl Jamison, L Adams, Pam Roy, Lynda Prim, Sarah Grant, and Sibella Kraus for your friendship, hard work, and shared commitment to local agriculture. Years of conversation with all of you are the background of this book. I am also grateful to the Slow Food community for its clear and inspiring vision of where we need to go with food.