Squash Blossoms, Quark, & Sexually Liberated Eggs
Friday, May 15, 2009
Squash Blossoms, Ferry Building Farmer's Market SF
If you happen to stop by the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building this weekend, keep your eyes peeled for these prize items. Felt like I hit the jackpot last weekend when I went home with:
- Squash Blossoms, from Chue’s Farm
- Lemon Quark, from Spring Hill
- Rock Island Cage-Free (Sexually Liberated) Eggs, from Petaluma Farms
Squash Blossoms
These marigold orange beauties are so pretty you almost don’t want to eat them…except for the fact that they are most delicious.
I remember the first time I saw and tasted Squash Blossoms – or fiori di zucca – in Italy. I couldn’t believe that you could actually eat these vibrant blossoms and was tickled by the idea.
Squash Blossom Fritters
The delicate zucchini-like flavor of them come through nicely when simply prepared. I like to batter them in a little egg wash, roll them in a mixture of parmigiano and panko breadcrumbs, and lightly fry them up in some olive oil.
You could also try using a more traditional beer batter or tempura batter, or try stuffing the blossoms with a mixture of ricotta, parmigiano, and herbs, before battering and frying them up!
Whatever you decide, try to cook the blossoms as soon as possible after getting them home. After a day or two in the fridge and they’ll start to wilt.
Lemon Quark
Lemon Quark, Spring Hill Cheese
Dangerously addictive, Spring Hill’s Lemon Quark is like lemon cheesecake in a tub. Sweet, fragrantly lemony, creamy, with a little tang. This is one of my favorite products at the Farmer’s Market!
Quark is a mild-flavored fresh cheese with a soft, spreadable texture that’s a cross between cream cheese and ricotta. It also has a low fat content, about the same as yogurt.
Snatch one up if you can – they sell fast!
Organic Cage-Free Brown Fertile Eggs
Rock Island Brown Fertile Eggs
The Rock Island hens at Petaluma Farms live the good life. Raised without cages, free to roam around and feast on an organic all-vegetable diet, plenty of fresh air, sunshine, and roosters to cluck at.
What does sexual liberation have to do with tastier eggs with a denser white and more flavorful yolk? Everything.
As explained by the kind Egg Man from Petaluma Farms, if the chickens are allowed to roam free from the constraints of a cage, the girls chase the boys, the boys chase the girls, they eat more food because they’re hungry from all the tail chasing, and badabing badaboom – you’ve got eggs with a richer flavor.
Lesson of the day?
Frisky hens = good eggs.
(And sexual repression will get you nowhere.)
Related posts:
Oh, you’re speaking my language – I love squash blossoms, and what’s not to like with quark? Good addicting stuff!
i know!! aren’t squash blossoms just wonderful? how do you cook them?
Spring Hill quark is one of my favorite things at the Ferry Building farmers market! Have you tried the vanilla bean? It’s to die for…
yess! it is soo good. i discovered Spring Hill quark about a year ago, before i moved to SF, and was just visiting from NY. if i didnt’ have a 6 hour flight home i would have bought a whole nother container to go. good thing i love just a few blocks away now
I wish I’d harvested my squash blossoms last year – I didn’t realize they made good eats I was wondering how physics would fit into this blog post. This is my kind of quark!
hahah oh no, i don’t remember anything at all about that other kind of quark
I love squash blossoms! I have eaten them in Italy and there’s a restaurant here in LA, Pizzeria Mozza, that stuffs them with goat cheese and lightly fries them. Delish. Thanks or the post – loved the lesson in chicken love.
man, if i liked goat cheese (i know..my one great foodie flaw…i DON’T LIKE goat cheese!) this would sound incredible! haha, yeah…chicken love. how sweet it is.
While I’m usually inclined to let my squash blossom develop into actual squash, I should actually try harvesting some at the blossom stage instead this year. And as for visiting the Ferry Building market, I’m in the unusual position this week of being able to do just that, because for a change I’m in SF and not 6000 miles away from it!
yay! where did you eat while you were in SF? old favorite foodie haunts?
Can I use your eggs for incubating? If so, are they refridgerated on the way to the store? Does that impede the success of hatching? How soon does the store get them after they have been laid? Got any tips for me? I’m a 2nd grade teacher with “chick” experience, but have never tried Rock Island before. Thanks for your help!
Caroline
hey there caroline, sadly, i know nothing about incubating eggs to hatch actual chickies…bet if you called rock island though, or chatted with them at the farmer’s market, they would have loads of info for you
good luck!