As a registered dietitian nutritionist and amateur salesperson it's taken several years to figure out what works and what doesn't as a Taste Cart volunteer and St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market vendor. Below is a pictorial on the joys of cooking for a crowd and talking nutrition.
One of the more challenging parts of this is figuring what to make and finding out what the farmers will have. Sometimes the farmers have a bumper crop of something and I develop a recipe to move that product. Other times I want to try something new. That was the case with today, October 28, 2017. I wanted to try a Toasted Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette. I had all the ingredients in my pantry so it was pretty easy.
All the ingredients I needed were already in my pantry
The recipe for this dressing is a the end of this pictorial.
When I do a dressing it is usually in a mason jar or in an old jelly jar. I add all the ingredients and shake it up. These will keep in the refrigerator for months. I'm not kidding. Bacteria and mold don't like salt, vinegar and garlic and I always have some concoction in my fridge. I started by prepping the fresh ginger and adding it to the jar.
Fresh ginger.
Then I chopped two cloves of garlic and also added it to the jar.
Two cloves of garlic, chopped.
From then I added the oil, vinegar, soy, honey and toasted sesame oil which gives it its great flavor. This oil is also great on barley, farrow or quinoa mixed with chopped vegetables and feta cheese. Wow! What a good salad.
Everything goes in a mason jar. Shake well.
When I arrive at the Market I go shopping. Today I went to Worden's Farm and bought red kale, bok choy, red leaf lettuce, mixed greens, arugula, and baby spinach. I bought some squash blossoms for color. They are completely edible. I give Worden's a receipt and they turn it in for cash. I spent $18. That's about what I normally spend.
Buying the ingredients at Worden's.
These squash blossoms are edible and often stuffed with cheese or other ingredients. Here, they are washed and chopped and added to the greens for color.
All the greens must be washed. I use buckets of water and colanders since I don't have a sink. It works out well but next time I need to bring my salad spinner. Today I used the sun to dry the leaves.
Washing the greens in buckets.
Today I used the sun to dry the greens. Next time I may bring a spinner.
Once the leaves are dry I plate them into paper serving dishes and provide forks. Then I dress the greens and serve. The Market makes a poster for me and prints out copies of the recipes. People love recipes and talking food and nutrition. For me that's the best part. It is always a totally fulfilling day when I cook at the Saturday Morning Market.
Dressed greens ready for Market patrons.
Wendy Wesley, RDN at the St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market.
Toasted Sesame and Ginger Vinaigrette
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
2 tbs honey
2 tbs soy sauce
2-4 tbs fresh ginger chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
3 tbs toasted sesame oil (You should get some of this stuff today!)
Put all ingredients in a mason jar or old jelly jar and shake. Will keep in fridge for months.