Maggie Eats Jam: Adventures in Farmer's Marketing...and Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote

So, I feel an apology is in order because this blog was created with the intention of journaling our adventures in cookin' up all the veggies in our weekly CSA share (Community Supported Agriculture--for those not in the know) from Denison Farm, and I have yet to actually talk about food from our CSA. Well, that's because we are currently counting down, with baited breath, for the first week of June, when the first delivery is supposed to arrive--weather permitting, obviously. If it's anything like last year, it should look something like this:

In the meantime, we will have to satisfy our cravings for local, organic produce by stopping into the Saratoga Farmer's Market, which just reopened in its outdoor space on High Rock Avenue. Yippe! Our Farmer's Market is really quite impressive, with everything from baked goods, to eggs, to jellies and jam, to cheese, to beautiful plants and flowers, and of course the requisite seasonal produce. If the weather is nice (or even if it's not), the Farmer's Market is the place to be on Saturday mornings. And it certainly was this past Saturday. Casey and I walked down to the Market mid-morning, and ran into many familiar faces along with hundreds of dogs and babies. In a strategic move on our part, Casey and I both left our pups at home in order to avoid a disastrous public scene...we tend to not play to well with others.

Fresh fish in Upstate New York. I heard the scallops were amazing...these are next on my agenda.

We spent about 45 minutes wandering amongst the various vendors. Pickin's were a bit slim at some..much of the produce was still of cold weather variety (ie potatoes, carrots, greens), but we managed to pick up a few goodies. I left with a bunch of rhubarb and a scone and Casey purchased a bunch of broccoli rabe and a scone. Now, scones normally aren't my favorite baked good, but the folks at Rock Hill Bakehouse really do it right. I tend to think scones are so dry they suck all the moisture out of my mouth and are often as hard as a rock, but these were just perfect. A little dry but not too much, a touch sweet and a touch of tart from the currants...I think I could have eaten 5. We also sampled a bit of their savory foccacia...one word...AMAZING...I have been dreaming about eating a whole loaf of it for the last couple of nights.

Casey-enjoying her scone ;-)

Well, last night, I was craving my favorite late spring/early summer, super, simple treat. I guess it could be described as strawberry-rhubarb compote, for lack of a better term. If you like tart, sweet, sloppy goodness this dish is for you. So, with Maggie supervising at my feet, I got to work chopping the rhubarb into 1/2" pieces. I used about a pound of rhubarb for this "recipe."

I combined the rhubarb with (yes, I cheated) a bag of frozen strawberries. I must admit for this recipe, I like using frozen berries, I think they just break down a bit better. To the berry/barb mix, I added a 1/4 cup of water and a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar, turned the heat on and just let it rip.