table talk / By Bob Doran

Bitter, Braised Greens

A day at the market and an election controversy

(Oct. 25, 2007) Braising greens at Little River Farms’ stand at the Arcata Farmers’ Market.Photo by Bob Doran

What was that old saying — “Do you think the rain will hurt the rhubarb?”

GALLERY >

Saturday morning I was wondering more about the effect of a night of hail and rolling thunder on the Arcata Farmers’ Market. Anyone who reads this column regularly knows how much I love the Farmers’ Market, both as a source for the freshest, most local food possible and as a social scene. I didn’t really have any particular fruit or vegetable purchases in mind, but when the day turned sunny I figured I should head downtown after morning chores. (We finally cleaned out the rain gutters, so we’re ready for winter rains.)

All of the weekday markets run through the end of October, which makes this the last week. The Saturday market on the Arcata Plaza (my favorite by far) runs a little longer, until Nov. 17, before going into winter hibernation. So the end is near. Four more to go. (There’s even a countdown sign at the market manager’s table.) I missed last week, so I figured this one was mandatory, and of course I’d find something to buy. An added incentive was the fact that Huckleberry Flint was playing bluegrass that day and I dig their sound.

I started on the northeast corner where Little River Farm has a cafeteria-style array of mix-and-match greens. I put together a somewhat spicy combination with a bit of maché and arugula and some of the basil mix. (I was too late for the straight basil leaves they usually have.) My plan is to reproduce a salad I made recently. Start with a bed of spicy greens lightly dressed with fresh squeezed lemon juice and sesame oil; add a couple of drops of that fiery Chinese chili oil that pretends to be sesame but is mostly soy oil. Amy’s tomatoes finally ripened so we have tons of sweet little orange Sungolds. I’ll cut those in quarters and mix them with diced avocado. Between the oil and the avocado (from Chile) the recipe is far from “local,” nor is it organic, but so it goes. It tastes good.

I also picked up a small bag of Little River Farm’s braising greens (more on braising greens later) and asked John Severn if the rain was a concern. It wasn’t for him. His farm operates year round; when market season ends he’ll still be supplying the Co-op. The weather did cut into market attendance however. A fair number of growers skipped the day (and missed out).

As soon as I hit the sidewalk outside John’s booth, Dan D’Ancona spotted me. Dan and his business partner Jared Capallari were the guys who instigated the Slow Food dinner in September (see “Know Your Convivium,” Table Talk Aug. 23). They’d borrowed my Robo Coupe industrial-strength food processor to make hummus for the North Country Fair — Dan apologized profusely for not having returned it promptly. “No problem,” I assured him, and asked about the business deal I knew they’d been working on — which, it turns out, was just recently finalized. Dan and Jared are now the proud owners of The Catch Café in Trinidad, formerly known as Kahish’s Catch Café.

Dan was in a rush. They were going to do Sunday brunch and he had some shopping to do. What was he looking for? What were they serving? He admitted he had no idea. “I’ll see what I find and get inspired by whatever it is,” he told me. And that’s a great way to approach the market, and probably a good indication of the attitude he and Jared will bring to their new endeavor.

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