Last Farmer's Market Of The Year, Or Why Sorrel Is The Greatest Green Ever
We have a Farmer's Market by the Contemporary Art Museum, a block from where I work, that goes through the summer. It's nice. I've been coming there the last two years. They sell cool stuff.
Real tomatoes. Radishes. Peaches. Rasberries. Pumpernickel bread.
And - they sold me sorrel.
In my own warped little world, sorrel is the _best green ever_ - and the sad thing is, I only rediscovered it this fall. What do you get if you boil some salted water, add diced potatoes and sorrel and boil until the potatoes are cooked, and then serve hot with a heaping spoon of sour cream? My grandma's Sorrel Soup. My favorite soup when I was little. It's pretty much the ultimate peasant dish, if you think about it. And yet, one of the world's most perfect dishes.
The funny thing is that when we moved to the US, my grandmother started making it with spinach and lemon juice instead, as sorrel was not a likely item to find at Dominics or Aldi. I didn't realize it, except to notice it tasted off.
At some point, I remember my grandma mentioning that spinach was not the right vegetable, and me wondering - ok, what is? But she didn't know. After she died, at some point my mom too mentioned that it wasn't the right vegetable, and I asked - what is? But she didn't know. And then, in July, Natalie, who's pretty much my only Russian friend in Chicago, said the same thing. I asked - what IS? And she said sorrel.
Got some at the Farmer's Market. Made the soup. Tasted it.
YEP...
And now the market's done done, and I'm wondering if I'll find any until the next year.
There's a couple of stalls that I'm a regular at. One sells ugly tomatoes - slightly bruised with fantastic taste, for a third the price - and of course, the sorrel. The other has a lady I've been chatting with for ages - and a lot of fruit. Bought some tomatoes and apples from her today, and got extra apples thrown in free. She wished me a good winter. I wished her right back, and said I hoped I would NOT see her again next year - unless I made a special trip _just_ for the farmer's market.
Which is, perhaps, not entirely unlikely.
Real tomatoes. Radishes. Peaches. Rasberries. Pumpernickel bread.
And - they sold me sorrel.
In my own warped little world, sorrel is the _best green ever_ - and the sad thing is, I only rediscovered it this fall. What do you get if you boil some salted water, add diced potatoes and sorrel and boil until the potatoes are cooked, and then serve hot with a heaping spoon of sour cream? My grandma's Sorrel Soup. My favorite soup when I was little. It's pretty much the ultimate peasant dish, if you think about it. And yet, one of the world's most perfect dishes.
The funny thing is that when we moved to the US, my grandmother started making it with spinach and lemon juice instead, as sorrel was not a likely item to find at Dominics or Aldi. I didn't realize it, except to notice it tasted off.
At some point, I remember my grandma mentioning that spinach was not the right vegetable, and me wondering - ok, what is? But she didn't know. After she died, at some point my mom too mentioned that it wasn't the right vegetable, and I asked - what is? But she didn't know. And then, in July, Natalie, who's pretty much my only Russian friend in Chicago, said the same thing. I asked - what IS? And she said sorrel.
Got some at the Farmer's Market. Made the soup. Tasted it.
YEP...
And now the market's done done, and I'm wondering if I'll find any until the next year.
There's a couple of stalls that I'm a regular at. One sells ugly tomatoes - slightly bruised with fantastic taste, for a third the price - and of course, the sorrel. The other has a lady I've been chatting with for ages - and a lot of fruit. Bought some tomatoes and apples from her today, and got extra apples thrown in free. She wished me a good winter. I wished her right back, and said I hoped I would NOT see her again next year - unless I made a special trip _just_ for the farmer's market.
Which is, perhaps, not entirely unlikely.