Market Fresh

The Market Inspired Meal!

After all of the work I did with the Wesleyan Farmer's Market this year and all of the great foodie books I have read (Food Matters by Mark Bittman, Real Food by Nina Planck, and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, among others) I decided that it was time to bring my consumption in line with my beliefs. I have gotten my family to agree to a summer full of whole, traditional foods at the dinner table! We are no longer supporting the industrial food industry whenever we have a viable alternative. As an added bonus, we are all having a lot of fun on this journey and it has allowed for a lot of family bonding time between trips to the market, dinner prep and of course, eating.

Focaccia from Omega Artisan Baking

This mission is what brought my mother and I to the Farmer's Market at North Market on Saturday morning. It was really great to connect with the individuals that grow our food and it was a nice opportunity to mingle with other Columbus residents. Sunday dinner was inspired by our trip to the market. We bought a chicken that had been spatchcocked (a method of flattening it for grill-friendly cooking) and sealed in a vacuum bag with fresh lemons and rosemary. We also bought fresh shelled peas and a freshly baked loaf of garlic focaccia bread!
While the spatchcock method allows the chicken to grill evenly, it doesn't make it easy to grill chicken. This is a job that requires full attention and/or indirect heat. When the chicken sits atop active flames, it is bound to catch on fire. As I learned the semi-hard way, this is not a dish you can prepare while watching TV. Luckily I saw the grill smoking before the meal was ruined!

Freshly picked peas! You can't beat the flavor!