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Sharpen Those Knives!

I recently enjoyed the first day of our farmer’s market here in Madison, which runs on Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m. on the town green. It was great to see the vendors I knew from past years and to learn we had several new vendors, including Danny Casbarro and Steven Boddie from Edgewise Kitchen Kitchen Sharpening, LLC. In addition to the Madison Farmer’s Market, Edgewise, based in the Hamden area, also participates in several other farmers markets and has regular drop-off locations in New Haven, Hamden, and Wilton. You can find out more about Edgewise on their website: edgewisekitchen.com

As someone who loves to cook, I know how important it is to keep my knives sharp. And I so often fail to attend to it. A sharp knife is less likely to slip, making chopping and cutting easier and safer. It damages food less than a dull knife, preserving nutrients. You’re less likely to cry when cutting onions. All in all, say the experts at Food & Wine, it makes cooking more fun and less of a chore, so you’re likely to cook more. Find out more about that here: www.foodandwine.com/news/benefits-using-sharper-knives.

The local farm produce available at farmers markets, along with the farm stands opening soon, are an additional inducement to having some fun in the kitchen. And, remember, if you haven’t already, it’s well past time to sign up for your local farm share, programs that help support your local farmers and provide them with a boost of income at the start of the growing season. I just signed up for mine at Barberry Hill Farm (www.barberryhillfarm.com/). Bishop’s in Guilford offers one: devbishops.wpenginepowered.com/the-farm/csa-program/. Several other area farms do as well. Locally grown produce that you might see now or the coming weeks includes spinach, asparagus, fiddleheads, basil and other herbs, kale, snap peas, salad greens, sprouts, and greens, along with mushrooms, which are often available year-round. Several vendors are also selling seedlings, along with beautiful flowers for your dinner table.

Sharp knives! Fresh produce! Flowers for the table! And sometimes even with all of those inducements at hand, it gets to be Friday and we’re just too tired to cook, right? Well, our Madison Farmer’s Market still has you covered. You can get pizza from Franks Wood Fire Pizza, bread from Wave Hill Breads and cheese from several different vendors, delicious ready-to-eat meals from Sanctuary Kitchen, along with frozen and ready-to-cook meals from Summer Hill Catering, Beaver Brook Farms, and pasta from Passionately Pasta. The same is true of some other area farmers markets, which are now open or opening soon. We often run listings for the farmers markets at the end of our calendar in the living section.

For those of us who do have our sharpened knives out, here is a recipe from the Madison Farmer’s Market website from chef Jenn Magrey for pasta with seasonal veggies that will become available soon.

Pasta with Seasonal veggies

By Chef Jenn Magrey

Ingredients:

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook the mushrooms, veggies, onions and garlic until they are cooked to your liking; about 7-10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, water, hot/habanero sauce and fresh basil and stir to blend into the veggies. Add the pasta and mix well. Add the butter and cream. Cook until the cream and butter is incorporated. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.