crack the plates

Today’s Harvest: jewel of New Paris, food fiend’s paradise. Dear friend Matt piqued my interest on Thursday when he mentioned their edamame & tomatillos, but it was his sweet lady Becky’s tweet–”Just had an amazing peach from @TodaysHarvest. It was so juicy I had to eat it over the sink! MMMMMM!”—that pushed me over the edge. Succulent, local peaches? Fresh edamame? The promise of other rarities? I wanted it all…and so the love affair began.

Today’s Harvest has been in the family for over fifty years, and while not organic (a high priority for me), their food is minimally treated. Perhaps the best part of visiting is interacting with the enthusiastic, knowledgeable staff. They make you feel like they just want you to be happy & healthy, and they’re positive that eating their produce is the way to get there. Who could resist buying food from folks like that? Moreover, who would want to?!

Friday afternoon I picked up edamame:

Poblano peppers:

Tomatillos:

Okra:

And lots of other things. Like PEACHES. (Which are only going to be around for another week, so if you’re already in the area, get ye thence!)

Another reason Today’s Harvest rocks is because the folks know when to harvest okra. I’ve lectured on this topic before: okra should not be allowed to grow past the length of a lady’s finger! Ignore my wrinkly, dry hands and observe:

Much of the world knows it by the name “lady’s finger” not just because it is slender & sports a pointed tip, but because it tastes best when it is diminutive. Long, thick pieces are often dry and woody and full of tough seeds. To be fair, some folks like to use the longer pieces in gumbos & stews, when the vegetable simmers for a long time. I suppose tough okra might hold its shape better for those kinds of dishes. I’m not convinced.

I’d found some veggie chorizo on manager’s special at Kroger a couple weeks ago (don’t worry, it was still very much within date) but wasn’t inspired to make anything til the poblanos came home. I decided to do stuffed poblanos baked in red sauce and accompanied by basmati rice with tomatillo salsa. For the red sauce/salsa,

• I combined two or three ruby tomatoes with a smallish sweet onion, fresh cilantro, cumin, dried oregano, salt, a bunch of minced garlic and one 6oz can of (unsalted) organic tomato paste in my food processor and pulsed til it was thoroughly combined and salsa-like.

I poured this mess into a 13″-9″ casserole and then got to work stuffing the small poblanos. I (gently!) cut each in half and (delicately!) removed the pith and seeds. I stuffed each half with some of the cooked chorizo and pressed it into the red sauce. Like this!

I baked them at 375 for 35 minutes; the first 15 they were covered with foil so as to steam-cook the peppers. (You could also help tenderize the peppers by boiling them for 5 minutes after prepping & before stuffing.) They looked like this when finished:

Ugh, writing this post is making me hungry again.

One of the sweet ladies at Today’s Harvest encouraged me to broil the tomatillos in my big cast-iron skillet and then whip them up with a bunch of other things to make a salsa. How I did it:

• Remove the papery skins from the tomatillos and toss into the skillet.
• Remove the papery skin from a head of garlic and toss into the skillet.
• Cut two jalepenos lengthwise, seed, and toss into the skillet.
• Cook under the broiler for five minutes.
• Remove from broiler, set garlic aside (the internet tells me it can get bitter if roasted too long), stir, and return to oven.
• Cook under broiler for another five minutes. Keep an eye on it, just in case you have a super-powered oven and it blackens everything much quickly. It should look about like this:

Put the contents of the skillet along with the garlic in a food processor with a cup of cilantro, another small sweet onion, and a teaspoon or so each of cumin and salt. Pulse til the consistency looks right, or, you know, about like this:

The finished plate:

Here’s what I came home with today:

Tonight’s dinner was stir-fried kale, several cups of steamed edamame, and six or so peaches. Oh summertime, I’mma miss you when you’re gone.

Today’s Harvest is located at US 40 and Rt. 320, New Paris, OH, 45347, open 10-6 Monday-Saturday. You can call ahead at (937) 877-6030 to find out what they’re especially proud of that day.

Tonight’s dinner has a decidedly unglamorous name: TVP & peppers. I came up with this recipe last fall when I wanted something warming, packed with protein, and with the potential for general appeal. TVP & Peppers succeeds on all counts. It was created in my former Zoomie’s wok (RIP) but it easily re-created in my all-purpose cast-iron skillet. To make,

• reconstitute some TVP in veggie broth. As I’ve mentioned before, I like Dixie Diner’s chick’n NOT! strips. We purchase a 10-lb bag about twice a year.
• heat a little oil in the skillet, add an onion, cook, add peppers, cook, add garlic, cook
• Add a little high-quality cinnamon, some cayenne pepper, a bit of ground ginger; cook
• Add reconstituted TVP to the pan, sautee over med-high heat to get a bit of a sear; add tamari (or soy sauce) and some vegan Worchestershire sauce (most store brands are vegan, particularly Kroger’s) to taste
• Add in several tablespoons of good-quality garam masala; mix briefly
• Incorporate a 14.5oz can of chopped tomatoes, kind of drained, into the mix
• Let simmer and thicken for a few minutes; serve!

This recipe was born at brunchtime but is great for any time of day. The ingredients have natural warming properties to keep you glowing from the inside on the chilly days. Bonus: It is, in my experience, extraordinarily omni-friendly: in the winter months, this is my favorite to take to pot-lucks. You could also use the dish as a kind of filling in soft-tacos for an Indian Mexican fusion main course.

Let me know if you try it or if you have any questions!