Urban Farm & Food Fair III

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Thank you to everyone who braved the drizzle and came out to support Baltimore's small local food producers at the third annual Urban Farm & Food Fair. 

It was great getting to see the Real Food Farm food truck, the mini aquaponics display, a beekeeping display, veggie flavored ice cream from Dominion (we had the sweet potato flavor which was amazing!), a steel drum band, and so much more. 

We were happy enough to make $50, which will fund several hours of labor from local employees or buy tools and equipment for next year. Thanks everyone!

We made a "Lemon - Pepper Pasta Salad" with our Sungold Cherry Tomatoes, and also had a cold tea drink made with the Holy Basil grown on the farm. 

Here the recipe we used, inspired by the blog coolcookstyle: 

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

7 tablespoons of good extra-virgin olive oil

The juice of two lemons

The zest of two lemons

1 fat clove of garlic, grated

1 to 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons of coarse-grain Dijon mustard

For the rest:

1 pound of penne

1 pint of Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, quartered (or halved if they are small)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 cup of crumbled French feta (I sometimes find Greek feta too salty)

1 bunch of chives, finely chopped

How to prepare:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook it until it is al dente.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the ingredients for the dressing together in a large mixing bowl. AMicroplane grater is terrific for both the lemon zest, and for grating the garlic.

3. When the pasta is done, drain it and rinse it with cold water to cool it down quickly. Drain the pasta again and add it to the dressing, along with the tomatoes and the bell pepper. Toss all of the ingredients together, making sure that the pasta is well-coated. Add the crumbled cheese and the chives. Toss again. The cheese, the chives, and the vegetables should be evenly distributed throughout the salad. Adjust the seasoning if needed (depending on how salty the mustard and the feta are, you might not have to).

Pack it up for the party, or eat it immediately.

Note: We did not use feta in our salad to cut down on costs and to make the salad more available to people who might be dairy sensitive. But I bet it would be great with feta!

Edit: Cheryl informed me later in the day that the yellow peppers are actually "Lemon Drop" not "Lipstick"

Everyone loved looking at the bright yellow hot peppers, but sales were slow. I recommend chopping up the peppers and putting them in vinegar for use year round. 

Our colorful table display!

I was pretty excited to have leftovers of the pasta salad for lunch this week. Yum!