Farmer's Market Dinner

What’s better then walking to the farmer’s market picking up an assortment of foods and going home to cook dinner for a friend? Today I did just that. After a trip to the gym I headed over to the Union Square Farmer’s Market.

I picked up sorted squash, peaches, sheep’s milk feta cheese, a small watermelon, and basil after that it was a quick stop at whole foods for some shrimp.

After a long day it is nice to prepare a quick, easy, healthy meal with just a few ingredients and I did just that. My friend Heather came over and we sipped on some wine and caught up as I got to work in the kitchen.

To start the meal we had:

Peach, Watermelon, Feta and Basil Salad

Ingredients:

1 peach

Sliced watermelon

3oz feta cheese

Handful of basil

How to Prepare:

Slice up the peaches and watermelon into a bowl. Dice up basil and mix it in with the fruit. Cut up feta cheese and crumple on top of fruit and basil mixture. Serve.

Note: I like to eat this salad without dressing in order to let the flavors of the fruit speak for themselves. Should you want to add a dressing a splash of Balsamic Vinaigrette adds a nice kick.

For the main course:

Sorted Squash Pasta with Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 Zephyr Squash

1 Asian Cousa Squash

1 tbsp Lemon

1 tbsp EVOO

Salt and Pepper to taste

12 Large Shrimp

¼ cup chopped Basil

How to Prepare:

Julienne Squash (I have mentioned my love for my OXO peeler in the past, but a mandolin will also do the trick). Whisk together Lemon and EVOO and add in some salt and pepper to your liking. Add dressing to the squash. Chop up basil and add to squash mixture and let sit (the zucchini will soften when left to sit in the mixture). Next sprinkle a little salt, pepper and lemon on the shrimp and sauté in pan until cooked fully through.

Note: This dish can also be prepared without the shrimp. Great replacement’s for non fish eaters would be haloumi (a greek sheep and goat cheese that is excellent for grilling and holds the shape and texture)

Dinner was a hit! Both dishes where filled with fantastic flavors and it didn’t take more than 30 minutes to prep and cook this meal.

Have you cooked anything from the farmer’s market recently?