Rockin' the FM

I about wet my pants at the Farmer's Market on Wednesday...our FM is always full of great stuff, but this week it positively EX-PLODED with flowers and produce. I've been experimenting with some new veggie-oriented recipes lately, and I gotta tell ya: I'm not wearing socks right now because, well, they've been knocked off.

The following three things yielded enough food for the two of us for three nights, so they have long legs. And most of the ingredients came straight from the local farms.

Meal numero uno

Tomato and Feta Crostini and Fresh Corn and Avocado Salad

Here's what they looked like...

To make the crostini, you will need...

5 plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 T kosher salt
12-in baguette, cut into thin rounds
Olive oil cooking spray (I just used olive oil and brushed it on)
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 t ground black pepper
1 T chopped oregano
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Place the diced tomatoes in a colander. Add the salt and mix gently. Set aside over a bowl or the sink to drain.

Heat the oven to broil.

Arrange the bread rounds on a baking sheet. Brush the bread with the olive oil, then broil on the bottom rack until just lightly toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside. Transfer the tomatoes to a medium bowl, discarding the juice that has drained out. Add the olive oil, the balsamic, pepper, and oregano, mixing gently.

Spoon some of the tomato mixture onto each bread round, then top with the feta. If desired, you can place the sheet back under the broiler for another minute or so to warm and lightly brown the cheese.

Now the corn/avocado salad...

3 ears fresh sweet corn, husked (or 3 c frozen, thawed)
1 c red onion, diced
1 sm. avocado, diced
juice of 1/2 lime
1 T freshly chopped basil
1/2 t sea salt
pepper to taste

After husking corn, pull out as many silks as possible. I then cut the corn off the cob and steamed it. However you like to cook corn. The author of the recipe says that you can eat it raw, too. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, allow to marinate for a bit. It's great as a side, with nachos, or on tacos.

We just had the salad with the crostini and some fresh fruit and it was a fabulous meal. Then, the next night, with the corn salad went fabulously on top of...

Meal numero dos

Garbanzo tacos (sorry - no picture - we ate them too fast)

2 cans garbanzo beans
1 packet taco seasoning
lettuce
Whatever taco shells you like (I used blue corn hard shells)
Tomatoes, onion, salsa, whatever else you like on your tacos

Now stop right here. Don't scoff at the garbanzo beans until you've tried them. Matt and I LOVE beef tacos, but we both agreed that the beans were even BETTER (you really couldn't tell the difference, the taco seasoning kind of takes over anyway). So don't knock it till you try it.

All you do is dump the beans in a saucepan, using the juice from only one can. Mix in the seasoning and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. I used a potato masher to mash the beans right before I served them. Make your taco, top with your stuff - including the leftover corn/avocado salad - and you'll be in love.

Meal numero tres will be leftover tacos (along with still-leftover corn salad).

Now get out there and rock that Farmer's Market!