I went a little crazy at the farmer's market today

I might have gone a little overboard at the Grand Army Plaza farmer's market today. I got two pints of blueberries, lots of tomatoes, yellow squash, some chard, baby red potatoes, shelled peas, a yellow pepper, kirby cukes, eggs, eggplant and three different kinds of basil: lemon, cinnamon and red rubin.

As soon as I got home, I made some bacon, tomato and basil sandwiches and scrambled eggs for lunch.




I really liked the combination of the lemon basil with the tomatoes and some Hellman's mayo, but I don't R* was so sure. I was excited to crack into the eggs, but I was disappointed that they didn't have the deep orange yolks like the farm fresh eggs we had in the UK.

What are my plans for the rest of it? I could use some help.

I'm going to take a second try at the grilled eggplant recipe from Wednesday's New York Times. I'd like to find a way to feature the fresh peas. Summer squash is my favorite summer vegetables, but I don't like it cooked with tomatoes and I haven't had much luck grilling it and I hope I can find ways to use all that basil before it wilts.




I'm going to make a blueberry pancake bundt cake, a salad of cold yellow beans and the orange pepper with a vinaigrette, and pasta and chard with ricotta. What else?




I thought the red rubin basil was beautiful, I loved the smell of the lemon basil and the guy at the stand said the cinnamon basil was amazing in pasta sauce. I couldn't decide which kind to get. I asked if I could get a pack with a little bit of all three kinds and the guy agreed. I'm wondering if I could come up with a drink or a dessert for the lemon basil and the blueberries?

Breakfast for dinner

Breakfast for dinner just sounded so good tonight. Whole wheat pancakes with fresh blueberrys, real maple syrup, and good bacon. It hit the spot.

Last weekend, I decided I'd forget about my personal anti-blueberry bias. I threw some blueberries into a yogurt cake I made for a 4th of July picnic. Inspired by The Amateur Gourmet, I decided the bluberries would make my cake seem 4th of July-ish somehow.

As I popped the cake out of the pan, I scraped my finger around the inside of the baking pan and scooped up a few of the warm blueberries from the bottom of the cake into my mouth. I didn't think I'd like it, but the blueberry juice was wine-y but also earthy and even a bit herbal. Suprisingly delicious.

I put the rest of my New Jersey fresh blueberries to work in tonight's pancakes. For the batter, I used whole wheat baking mix from Trader Joe's. I followed the package directions and added some vanilla and a tablespoon or so of Hodgson's Mill ground flaxseeds. Ground flaxseeds aren't the kind of thing I normally have on hand, but we got them in our goodie bag from when went to the Martha Stewart show. I thought the flaxseed might make the pancakes taste a bit more wheaty and flaxseed supposedly helps to cut bad cholesterol. That might make having bacon and pancakes a little more acceptable. This batter puffs up perfectly, but I think the Hodgson's Mill whole wheat buttermilk panckaes I've made before taste better than the Trader Joe's version.

My favorite grocery store brand of bacon is Boar's Head. I think it has a more natural, old-fashinoed smokey taste that the other brands that are regularly available don't have.

I had fun cooking this on the griddle that came with my Kenmore stove. This is only the second time I've used this grilldle. I'm not sure if I'm using it right. My stove has four seperate burners but doesn't have a 'bridge' to heat the space between the burners. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be happy with having a cold spot in the middle of the griddle, or if I should put the griddle on across just one big burner, though that would mean the edges of the griddle would be cold. If you have a suggestion on how to use the griddle, could you post it here?

The flavor of blueberries and real maple syrup is a great combination. Check it out.