The Tailgate Farmer’s Market was fun!
Since I’ve been gone so many Saturdays, I really haven’t had a chance to check out Charlotte’s markets this summer. But I always forget that there are a handful of them open on Tuesdays. Our Regional Farmer’s Market has parts that are local, but it also has California lettuce and Mexican product. Not exactly local. But the Tailgate is local, and a lot of the produce organic. The trade is the selection is pretty small. I didn’t see ANY fruit!
The veggies were gorgeous thought!
And I was thrilled to find a rather large selection of local meats from at least 3 different vendors. Here was one –
The loot – including a pound of grass-fed ground beef – = about $15.
When it was dinnertime, Matt go to work and I spent the time reading blog posts from the Summit. Thanks for all the kind words and great photos guys!
Soon enough, dinner was on the table and I hadn’t helped!! (With the exception of eating this appetizer he brought me – and photographed!)
Thus, I asked him to write up the post. I was thrilled to find out he even took photos! There are a lot of "That’s what she said" references in here. Heh heh.
Matt’s Food Blog
It’s so tempting to buy huge produce, but it usually doesn’t taste as good as a normal sized veggie. But the allure of giant zucchini won out, so we bought it. The caveat, though, was that we would stuff it – that way we could enhance (or mask) the likely dull flavors of the zucchini.
First I got .25C of millet cooking in some veggie stock. Then I cut the zucchini open – it smelled like a butternut squash or some sort of gourd. The seeds were big and hard, and the inside was getting stringy. I scooped this part out and threw it away.
Then I scooped out some more of the zucchini meat, but held onto it for mixing into the stuffing. I lightly coated the zucchini halves with canola oil and put in the 350* oven for about 15 minutes while I worked on everything else.
I chopped a large globe tomato, the zucchini meat, and a tablespoon of capers and cooked in a little canola oil. Season with salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, add oregano and/or basil as desired.
Then I mixed in the cooked millet with a little bit of sherry, and tasted to check the flavors.
The zucchini had cooked a little at this point, and my only regret about this meal is that I didn’t plan earlier to cook it longer. Since it was like a gourd, it should have been cooked like a gourd – a good 30 minutes, possibly in a steamy oven.
Top with some grated cheese, pepper jack in this case, and bake for about 15 minutes (still 350*). Again, it could probably cook in the oven indefinitely and this would help soften up the zucchini some more, but it was still fine to eat.
An excellent summer feast! Might need to keep some toilet paper on hand after this fibrous meal…
***
LOL at fiber!!! Exactly the reason why I didn’t eat my whole boat.
Here’s what he looks like when I take my evening blog photos. Waiting patiently to start eating. A true gentleman.
The filling was awesome – super cheese!!
But the boat was indeed undercooked and sorta crunchy
I saved mine – I plan on cooking it more and eating it for lunch one day!
He ate his like an apple!! Crunch crunch. Toilet paper.
At the advice of Janel at the Summit, I’m going to take my vitamin with dinner. (One A Day Women’s). I don’t have trouble digesting it with breakfast, but I think it takes away the romance of oatmeal to have to remember the vitamin. Dinner seems more laid back.
I had a Bliss for dessert
***
Got an email from Lydia that said: "So good I had to replicate" LOL!
***
BEV says Barney Butter is 3 fer $19.10 at Amazon!!
***
Off to finally relax!!! I haven’t vegged out since Thursday. (Well I guess did veg out at lunch and dinner today 😉 )
xoxo,
Gossip Girl Kath
Shannon The Healthy Beach Bum says
That zucchini boat looks AMAZING 🙂 What a delicious recipe. All that cheese looks soo good and lol at the fiber content! I never knew they were packed with that much. Have a great night ! 🙂
Julie says
Wow, that dinner looks so filling. I’m stuffed just looking at it. That’s very sweet that Matt waits for you to eat, he is quite the gentledude.
Spotty Prep says
Thank ya’ll for the giggle! Ohhh bathroom jokes…I hope I’m never so mature that they are no longer funny….
Shannon (The Daily Balance) says
Zucchini boats look delish – go Matt!
Have a relaxing evening!
Lizzy says
can’t go wrong with a huge zucchini. lol. making “boats” out of it is such a good idea! Nice job matt!!!
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope says
What an awesome market! That zucchini looks great!
Question – Do you always bake the zucchini before adding in the filling? Is there any reason to do this? I’m just wondering since I normally don’t bake them when I make my own zucchini boats.
Amanda says
ooh, we got ground beef from the Underwood Family Farm at the big farmer’s market a week and a half ago… it was SO good!
To anyone who hasn’t tried grass-fed local beef, it’s a must! It’s so much better than regular beef 🙂 Yum!
Whitney says
Two things:
1. I love your avs! Where did you score those?
2. Matt’s blog = hilarious!
We do need to run soon. Well I guess that was three things. Oh well.
katey says
that boat idea is a good idea! you guys are so creative 🙂
Foodie (Fab and Delicious Food) says
Mmmm, that looks delicious! What a great dinner!
Jen says
ha ha gossip girl…..
that dish look nom nom crunch nom
Susan says
Ohmygosh, that’s a zucchini boat to the extreme!! I bought a giant one over a week ago that I’m still trying to get through!
Krissy (Single Serving) says
Looks yummy!
Question about your multi-vitamin. My RD doesn’t really push me to take one. She says if I’m eating right I should get all the vitamins I need. I think that’s mostly because there are issue for people who take excess single supplements (like E for instance). I’d love to know your thoughts on the subject.
Eve says
That is so nice that he cooks dinner for you! I may have to try a similar recipe some time soon.
Kathy (Moving Beyond Perfection) says
Wow, that zuchinni looks enormous!! So does your egglplant too, haha! Anyway, I love all the boats I’m seeing pop up in the blog world. They are so cute, and they all look beyond delicious.
Help Meghan Run says
I made zucchini boats a while back with bulgur, canned salmon, and veggies. Tasty! But smaller zukes are usually better. 😀
Alison says
Farmer’s Market, a guest post and a big dose of fiber? The Perfect Evening Trifecta!
Pam (Highway to Health) says
Love the guest post – so funny! The boats look delicious!
Jenn (www. j3nn.net ) says
LOVE the zucchini boats! My mom is a semi-pro baker, we owned a farm market for 20+ years (and an ice cream stand!). We used to use those mammoth zucchinis for zucchini bread that we sold. A lot of times we’d run it through the food processor and then freeze for later use. We used to grow some HUGE ones, like the size of an arm! 😯 lol
Jenn
Marisa (Trim The Fat) says
What a great looking meal! Matt did a wonderful job 🙂
zestycook says
Great meal Matt! Pictures look amazing!
zest!
kay (eating machine) says
pretty dinner!
if i let my fiance cook dinner i’d end up with….
noodles. maybe buttered noodles if i was really lucky.
Emily (A Nutritionist Eats) says
What a great idea for huge zucchini’s!
Run Niki Run says
This actually did make me laugh out loud: “I think it takes away the romance of oatmeal to have to remember the vitamin.”
I love your love of oatmeal! 🙂
Justy2003 says
Wow, that zucchini boat looks great! I love your guys’ creative meal ideas!
I used to take my multivitamin at night (one in the AM and one in the PM) but I quickly realized that I could not sleep well after that. Hopefully it won’t give you the same problem!
greenbean says
you gotta bake the zucchini boats first, then stuff. xoxo
Ashley says
Looks like you had a good outcome at the market even w/o ota.bars 😉 I absolutely love that market. It is local to the extreme..and super down to earth people that know a lot about food! Too bad you didn’t find any fruit. They have had some amazing blueberries and the.best.peaches.ever along with amazing strawberries [in june]. Love all the local grass-fed beef vendors. They rock! =) Aaaand I love the zucchini shell as a bowl!!!
Meg says
ahaha I love Matt’s plastic cup! I *LOVE* drinking from plastic cups…my fiance thinks I’m nuts. Oh well. Cheers! 🙂
Brianna says
haha I thought all the fiber jokes were pretty funny… especially “Crunch, Crunch. Toilet paper”
hahaha nice!
Nina says
Wow you guys are so creative. Can I come and live with you for a while and be your cooking apprentice? hehehe. seriously though, i need some lessons.
Jessica says
lol love the zuke boats. love how he is waiting to eat!
-muffy
Rachel says
Man, no FRUIT? And it’s the perfect time of year, too? Ah, well. You got some good loot. And I really love your inventive (well, to me) dinner this evening. Hope you had a great night!
Caroline says
Is it weird that I almost squealed when I saw all that beautiful eggplant? I can’t help it. I really like vegetables.
lynn (The Actors Diet) says
i love large produce. but better to look at than eat, you are right.
amanda says
today they were doing a taste test of your beloved almond butter (on a piece of toasted wheat bread) at costco, thought of this blog when i tried it haha!
kathleen purvis says
There was fruit, Kath. Carlea Farms had apples.
AnnQ says
Nice visit to the Farmer’s Market!
Lauren says
Can I borrow Matt to give my husband a few cooking lessons? ;). What a creative, nutritious, and yummy meal!
rhodeygirl says
Every time I get off the phone with PB I say “xoxo, gossip girl” and he cracks up. Happy to see I’m not the only one that does that 😉
That meal looks really good- does a dish like that keep the hubby full? My husband (I LOVE saying that!!) needs a serious protein with every meal but I wonder if serious fiber would do the trick???
Barbara says
Seriously LMAO at the fiber remark. It’s a good thing you have two bathrooms:)
I bought season 2 of GG yesterday. Ahh guilty pleasures!
B
Sarah says
You guys are too cute!
Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down) says
Love zucchini boats! 😀 These look absolutely scrumptious!
The farmers market is gorgeous! The best part of summer, hands down. 😀
Bridget says
Hahaha this post was hilarious! I love using zucchinis as vessels!!! I’ve definietly been missing farmers markets this summer with my hectic schedule!
Kath says
Whitney ,
Forev 21!!
And what’s your schedule like this week?
Krissy ,
I take my vitamin mostly for the calcium and iron, but also because when I did a diet analysis on myself in an early nutrition class, I wasn’t meeting 100% for everything. Even someone who eats a lot of real food! My calorie needs aren’t high enough to meet my nutritional needs. If you eat a lot of fortified foods like cereal or bars, then I’d skip the multi, but if not (I don’t really) then I’d vote for one over against.
Meg ,
I prefer plastic cups too!!!
kathleen purvis,
A local celebrity!! Welcome! I’m sorry to have missed the apples, but I was really hoping for peaches 🙂
rhodeygirl ,
HA!
It kept him fuller than it did me because he ate the entire boat. I just ate mostly filling. Matt’s weird though.
Kath
Angela says
I love squash and zucchini. A good tip is to microwave the squash or zucchini face down (after scooping) in about a 1/2 inch of water for 15-20 minutes and let it steam. I find that this softens up the zucchini or squash, just like it would if you baked it for an hour!
britt says
i love “the office!” i haven’t been to the farmer’s market in weeks now because the 100* plus degree heat is terrible here in dallas. your pictures and dinner definitely inspired me to try to make it this weekend.
Lindsay @ bananaandchocolate says
That zucchini boat looks delish! I love when zucchini is sort of undercooked and still crunchy!
brandi says
i love having stuffed zucchini like that. so easy and you can do anything with it.
love all the “TWSS” moments present in that post 🙂
Nicole (dishin') says
Yum! That boat looks huge but delicious! You guys are so funny with your fiber comments 🙂
Michele | aka Raw Juice Girl says
I love eggplant, too–and you look fantabulous in that photo!
I also LOVE farmer’s markets! I usually set up at them with my mom. It’s SO fun to set up and sell–and to walk around and buy healthy goodies to eat! 😀
If you have time, you might enjoy seeing our last booth at an outdoor market. I was wearing a pioneer dress + bonnet! LOL
http://hillbillyheavenherbs.com/blog/2009/08/13/baker-creek-festival-august-2009/
That’s my mom’s blog. Isn’t that crazy that my MOM blogs? LOL
Have a great day, Kath!
*smiles*
Michele
Jess says
I love stuffing vegetables and have recipes for stuffing zucchini that I have never tried because I never find zucchinis big enough to stuff. That one is huge!
Jessica says
I just purchased my first jar(s) or Barney Butter today on Amazon – thanks for the heads-up!
Caroline says
How lovely to have such a creative husband!
Sarah R says
Wow! Looks like a wonderful farmer’s market. I was excited to find local meats at ours this morning as well!
Penny says
What a good hubby you have. 🙂
Katie says
Yum! Those boats look good! Maybe I can get my meat loving husband to try them….