The farmers market

 
  
Every Sunday morning I roll out of bed around 8:30-9:30 a.m. While this isn't exceptionally early by most standards, considering the fact that I stay up late and usually don't get to bed until around 3:30 a.m. or so.

But Sundays are when I have to go to Ojai for the farmers market that runs there from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. What started as just a fun thing to do has turned into an obsession. I could go to the farmers market here in Ventura, but it's more expensive.

I have to get to Ojai -- it takes about 25 minutes up Hwy 33 from my house -- as close to opening hour as possible so I an grab all the good flowers.

I've become a bit obsessive about my flowers. I love to have scads of flowers all around the house all the time. As time goes on, I'm looking for more and more of a bang for new and colorful blooms. There's one lady there who sells bouquets during the summer. I totally love her stuff. It's very feminine, while being unusual and fun.

Then there's the Dutch guy, who, as one woman put it, is a "rock star" at the market. He sells flowers a loves to go on and on about them. I usually don't reciprocate too much because it's early and I usually haven't formed cogent enough thoughts to be able to express even the most basic sentence. So I grab flowers and wander around looking for fun stuff to cook.

It's late spring in California. This is a good time for lettuce and cold weather crops. I got some flowering broccoli and bok choy, along with my weekly lettuce. We can get cherries from a select few area orchards. The onions and garlic are looking delicious and the herbs are great.

I bought some squash blossoms this Sunday. I love to stuff them with cheese and fry them. I tried a little experiment this time. I stuffed half with a feta cheese/Mediterranean mixture and the other half with a double creme cheese from Trader Joe's. I then just fried some right up in olive oil and I dipped the others in milk and then a light coating of flour and fried those.

I learned this: the ones that weren't dipped in milk and flour kind of fell apart and became a nondescript mess. The ones dipped in flour held together quite well. I didn't salt any of them because cheese is salty. That proved to be wise, especially with the feta.

With food like this, I like to keep seasonings to a minimum and let the food taste come through. Squash blossoms have a fairly delicate flavor, so I just wanted to taste them, cheese and olive oil. The ones with the Trader Joe's cheese were the best, but the feta ones weren't so bad.

Stuffed squash blossoms
10 to 12 squash blossoms
cheese (use your favorite cheese to make these -- I prefer chevre when I'm not experimenting)
milk
flour
extra virgin olive oil
pepper

Carefully stuff blossoms with cheese. The squash blossoms are delicate so you will want to use them as soon after buying them as possible. Dip blossoms in milk and dredge (roll) them in flour.

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Fry squash blossom on medium high heat for about 2 minutes a side or until browned. If you have little squashes attacked to the blossoms, don't dredge them, just fry them until they begin to brown. Season with freshly ground pepper.