Find Your Dinner at the Farmers' Market: Cook With Baby Beets and Sugar Snap Peas

I missed my trip to the Farmers' market last week, so I was eager to get there this week and see what was available. It was a rainy day so there weren't as many farmers as usual. I guess not as many customers come out in inclement weather so it might not be worth their while to make the trip into the city. The benefit for my son and was not having to stand in line and having the chance to talk to the farmers who are there. I had a chat with the fellow who sold me the stinging nettles a few weeks ago and told him about the soup I made. I jokingly gave him a hard time because he wasn't there the following week when I wanted to use them for my dinner party. He smiled and shrugged and said "that's farming". He took the time to explain to us what all of his herbs were for and how to use them while he made bouquets of the spring flowers he had brought to sell.

My buddy Seth was there and gave us a taste of his wild huckleberry jam which was tart and delicious. He had some dried elderberries there and we talked about the elder bush in my front yard and how I would go about drying the tiny berries. Apparently you toss them on top of salads for a little hit of tart fruit. Personally, I've always contemplated making elderberry wine. The guy who sells sprouts noticed that I was trying out sunflower shoots instead of my usual pea shoots and the lady who was selling strawberries topped up my quart before she passed them over to me. I guess I'm getting to be a bit of a fixture at the market.

I was very excited to get the last bunch of baby beets, even though the market had only been open for 10 minutes. The farmer said she didn't have many because she was just thinning them out but I think even she was a bit surprised at how quickly they got snapped up. She also had some sugar snap peas, so between the beets and peas, I had my dinner plans.

I'm on my own for a couple of days, so I just cooked up a bit of my vegetables and then put in over a spelt pasta that I had and it was delicious. If you cooking for more than one, then just increase the ingredients accordingly. This is one of those make-it-up-as-you-go recipes, so don't be afraid to experiment with whatever you have on hand. The beet greens were tender and I just washed them and chopped them up and tossed them in as well. The beets were so young, I didn't even bother peeling them. With sugar snap peas you just break off the top and peel down the tough string side and then eat the whole thing, pod and all.

Pasta with Baby Beets and Sugar Snap Peas

4 baby beets with beet greens
handful of sugar snap peas
1 green onion, chopped
1 garlic scape, chopped or 1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
cooked pasta for 1
freshly ground pepper to taste
sea salt to taste
parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat. Toss in onion and garlic and turn the heat down to medium low. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.


2. Wash beets and cut into quarters. Toss into the pan with the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and cook for another 5 minutes. I cooked these al dente, but if you want the vegetables a bit softer you can cover them for a couple of minutes.


3. Wash and roughly chop beet greens and add them to the pan, cooking until just wilted, about 3 minutes.


4. Meanwhile cook pasta, reserving a half cup or so of the cooking water before draining pasta. Add a bit of cooking water to the vegetables, just enough to make a sauce.


5. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over the pasta and add Parmesan cheese.

Difficulty Level: Easy

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