A Good Summer Supper

The farmer’s market is in full swing again and even more bountiful, I think, than last year. I love the idea of looking at all the offerings and then picking out the best for that night’s dinner. It seems like we have gone back to a simpler day when dinner went from the farm to the table with very little processing in between. And talk about fast and easy meals! Nothing goes together more quickly than a dinner based on fresh produce from the local farmer’s market.

One does have to take a little care, however. If you spot produce that is not even close to ripe in local gardens—for instance, cantaloupe in early summer—ask the vendor where it came from. He or she may be buying his wares from the same place your local supermarket buys theirs except the price at the farmer’s market is higher.

If you really want to be sure that you are buying locally grown produce, take a trip around the countryside. There are signs all along country roads calling out to you to buy their fresh strawberries, raspberries, corn, tomatoes, melons, eggs, cheese, maple syrup, pears, apples and baked goods—all at their appointed times. One time, Zig and I returned from an overnight get-away through Amish country and came back with strawberries that were so fresh we brought a woman with her picking pail from the field to sell them to us. Of course we were allowed to taste them and look them over to be sure they were sweet. The price was $1.50/quart less than at the market.

None of us have time to roam the countryside every day, however, and the farmer’s market is the perfect place to find treasures and convenience. I know, for instance, that the tiny marble-sized potatoes I found last Saturday were from around here and so were the shell peas. Shell peas are like sweet corn—they turn starchy very quickly after they’re picked. But a hybrid has been developed for sweet corn that remains sweet for quite awhile under refrigeration and now, it appears, there is a similar hybrid shell pea. The ones I bought were fantastic.

Here is a dinner that I made from my gleanings last week. My mother would have called this a good “summer supper.”

Breaded pork cutlets
Creamed new potatoes and peas
Wilted lettuce
Strawberry shortcake

Breaded pork cutlets

2 boneless pork loin chops (about 6-8 ounces each)
1 egg
1 cup dry toasted bread crumbs, homemade preferred
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. butter or oil or combination

Pound pork chops until they are about 1/8 inch thick, or even thinner. Cut into four pieces. Heat butter and oil in large skillet until a haze forms above. Beat egg with a fork on a flat dinner-size plate. Pour bread crumbs in another plate and add salt and pepper to taste. Dip each cutlet into egg and then into seasoned bread crumbs. Carefully put into hot skillet. Fry for about 2 minutes on one side; turn and fry 1-2 minutes on other side. Remove to oven proof dish and keep warm.

Creamed New Potatoes and Peas

2 pounds uniformly small new potatoes—marble-sized to walnut-sized
2 cups shelled fresh peas
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper

Drop potatoes into boiling, salted water and lower temperature to slow boil. Cook until tender—from 10 minutes to 20 minutes, depending on size. Test tenderness with a fork.
Drain and keep warm.

Cook shelled peas in small amount of water (sweetened with 1 Tbsp. sugar) on top of stove for about 10 minutes—again, if peas are very young and small, decrease time. Taste after 8 minutes for sweetness and doneness. Don’t overcook. Drain and keep warm

Melt butter in small, heavy saucepan. Add flour and whisk smooth. When roux is bubbly, add milk gradually, continually whisking; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and add drained potatoes and peas to white sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Wilted Lettuce

Fresh leaf lettuce or combination of lettuces from the garden or farmer’s market
2 slices bacon
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp heavy cream

Fry bacon until very crisp, but not too brown. Drain on paper towel and reserve drippings. In pan with drippings, add vinegar and sugar. Boil, stirring and bringing up all browned bacon particles. Take off heat and add cream. Stir until smooth and pour over clean lettuce in bowl. Toss; add crumbled bacon.