It was simultaneously frustrating and exhilarating to experience the Venice Beach Farmer's Market last Friday. A series of about twenty or so white booth-tents, lined up around a parking lot in a sort-of square offered a succulent array of fruits and vegetables, breads and cheeses, organic and homemade products of all kinds.
Initially, I had no intention of buying anything at all as I was there on a mission: to find and take pictures of beets for the article I needed to write for Amuse Bouche. Before landing in LA, having come for a writer's conference that was to start in a couple of days, I knew I could write an article about a couple of beet recipes I had—all I needed were the photographs. I blazed past the oranges and peaches, the plums and berries, the greens and heirloom tomatoes, the bread and tortillas and homemade baby food, scanning every stand for beets of any kind.
I was hoping to find a variety, the array I could find in Illinois or Michigan right now: dark red, golden, white, pink and striated. All I could find were the pink ones, photos of which appear with this article.
As I started looking, I realized that I actually wanted to buy all sorts of things. The problem was that I had no place to cook them and no one to feed. It was odd to have the market make me feel so alone, so without my family and my role as household cook. It was a depressing sensation until I realized that I was both a member of my family and my own person. For the first time in a long time, I could buy whatever it was that might please me, not just whatever it was that might please and feed everyone else.
I made note of the berries everywhere and as a kind of thanks to the farmers that let me photograph their beets, I bought a quart from them. I pulled a berry from the bag and bit in. Never had I eaten a sweeter, juicer berry; even Michigan berries, of which I am a great fan, pale in comparison. These berries looked like the tasteless ones I can find in the grocery stores in the winter, but they were so very different, so incredibly aromatic and luscious I was then compelled to choose to buy something else.
The orange stand then caught my eye—and they were providing samples. Here, too, the flavor of the fruit was larger and more complete than anything I had ever experienced. These were Valencia oranges, ones I know to be "better," but after traveling from California to the Midwest by truck never really taste all that superior. I bought two on the spot, walked in a circle, stopped outside to eat four more berries and then walked back in to grab a whole bag of oranges, not for myself, but for the friend with whom I would be staying the night in a few days. Californian or not, I knew he would be pleased with the gift.
As I walked back to the hotel room with my prizes, I thought more about the beets, how I had come to create recipes for them in the first place. The beet salad was invented following a shared meal at a Berkeley restaurant featuring local foods; beets and leeks were gleaned from the kitchen of two friends who had invited us to visit them at their Michigan farm. Foods for me, it seemed, move into increasingly complex places as I add more people to my life, as I consider myself a part of a community.
My connection with family and community is invaluable to me. But so is my connection with self. We are always both a part of something and not a part of something; both with others and alone. I give you the recipes I had in mind for this article because this is what I had planned. But I told you the real story of what happened because it underscores the magic of the farmer's market, a place where we have the ability to discover new foods, and even figure out a little bit more about ourselves in the process.
Recipe #1: Beet Salad with Fennel and Feta
3-4 smaller sized beets
1 of fennel/fresh anise ( like celery )
1/3 lb of feta cheese
Fava beans or fresh peas ( optional )
2 TBS of Marie's Spinach Dressing
1. Wash, remove stalks/greens, prick with a fork, then individually wrap beets in tin foil and then bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until the beets are easily pierced with a fork.
2. If you're using fava beans or fresh peas, shell and blanch in boiling water for about 5 minutes and then rinse under cold water and set aside.
3. When done, peel the beets in or under cold running water—which ought to be easy by hand if the beets have been roasted through.
4. Cut beets and fennel into bite sized pieces ( about 1-2 cm square ) and place in a bowl with the peas or beans if you're using them.
5. Crumble feta cheese into the bowl.
6. Add the spinach dressing and mix thoroughly and gently.
7. Keeps refrigerated for up to six days.
Recipe #2: Beets and Leeks
3-4 beets
1 leek
2 TBS butter
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Follow directions to pre-roast beets as indicated above—they can be a little less done than with the salad as you'll cook them more during the process.
2. Peel and slice the beets and set aside
3. In a frying pan, add the butter and oil—set the burner to low
4. As the butter melts, chop the leek in its entirety, add to the pan and turn up the heat
5. When white of the leek is slightly translucent ( about 3-4 minutes ) add the beets and cook until some of the leeks brown a bit.
6. Serve immediately.
