HUNGRY GERALD

Yes, HG/BSK try to be as green as possible in terms of food, attention to the ecological environment in which HG/BSK are privileged to live, recycling, energy conservation (heating from natural sources etc.). No, HG/BSK are not voting for Green Presidential Candidate Jill Stein. The enemy, folks, is the Pupin Puppet, Der Trumperer. Enough politics. Let’s go on to a happier subject: HG/BSK’s New Mexico neighbors, Gary and Natasha Gundersen. The remarkable Gundersens are Santa Fe’s premier organic farmers and their stand, Mr.G’s, is an instant sellout at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. When HG/BSK arrived home from days of travel, Gary waved hello and presented a delicious welcome home treat–a big head of lush escarole, freshly picked from the soil. That meant heart and body warming escarole soup. BSK did a riff on the recipe from The Frankies Spuntino Cookbook (a must for your bookshelf if you love down to earth Italian-American-Brooklyn cooking). BSK enriched the soup with plenty of cannelloni beans and bacon. Hot red pepper flakes, a dash of olive oil, abundant Pecorino Romano grated cheese topped the bowls. Next day, HG added cooked Goya Melon Seeds (a small pasta shaped like orzo, but larger). This turned the soup into a version of pasta e fagioli. New York’s late, great Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia (“The Little Flower”) loved this dish and called it “pasta fazoole.” HG lifted a spoonful and bowed in memory of the wonderful man who reformed and invigorated New York in the later years of the Great Depression.

The Saturday Santa Fe Farmers Market is the happiest,and most diverse market HG has ever encountered (and HG has made it a point to visit public markets in such food oriented cities as Vancouver, B.C.; Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice among others). No, you won’t find the array of seafood you’ll find in Barcelona and Venice; the roasted chickens and cheeses of Paris and the parade of pasta that is a glory of Italy. But, what you will find in Santa Fe is a feast for people watchers. There are past and present movie stars (Shirley McClain; Robert Redford; Gene Hackman; Sam Shepherd; Ali McGraw and on and on). There are artists working in every conceivable media (many world famous). Eccentrics in fabulous costumes. Ex-hippies. Present day hippies. Native Americans. Latinos. Tourists. Lots of active and attractive older folk. (Santa Fe isn’t a place where oldsters sit around bewailing their failing organs. They’re out and about, populating the art galleries and museums, cinematequës, concerts, restaurants and cultural events). And, of course there are the young people, many accompanied by babies. There’s very good live music at the market (HG presumes they’re vetted by management since there are very few clunkers). On their visit this Saturday, HG/BSK split up. HG bought tiny Ratte potatoes, eggplants and Holy Chipotle (this is a locally made goat cheese spread of cheese and chipotle peppers which makes a happy marriage of heat and flavor). James Romero, a handsome, smiling guy, was perfuming the air with the roasting green chile peppers from his farm. (“This is what you do if you never went to college,” he shouted). BSK bought a big variety of peppers from him (there will be much lush green chile sauce in HG/BSK’s culinary future). BSK cruised the various stands and bought oyster mushrooms, leeks, fresh garlic and radishes. Shishito peppers are now in season.and BSK selected the best. BSK will fry them in olive oil and garlic with a dusting of sea salt (HG/BSK first tasted this treat in Madrid and became addicted). BSK was lucky. BSK got to Gary and Natasha Gundersen’s stand before these premier organic farmers (HG/BSK neighbors) sold out of their delicious wares. BSK snared a big bag of salad greens, cauliflower and other good things from the carefully tended Gundersen earth. A day of sheer fun under the omnipresent bright sun and blue skies of New Mexico.

The Santa Fe Farmers Market in autumn. Heaven. All the best organic produce: Japanese eggplants, turnips, beets, shishito peppers, tomatoes, radishes, varieties of tiny potatoes, fresh garlic, scallions, cauliflower–and more. Much, much more. Cheese. Bread, Jams, Mustards. Pickles. Herbs. Etc., etc., etc. A virtual cornucopia. HG/BSK bought just picked escarole (this meant escarole and bean soup like that served at Frankie’s Spuntino in Brooklyn), frisee (for the poached egg and bacon salad like that served at Chez Georges in Paris) and a mix of delicate lettuces for mixed green salads. BSK has a deft hand with salad dressings and soups involving greens. Healthy stuff never tastes so good as it does when it gets the BSK touch. The Market air is fragrant with the scent of roasting chiles, the surest sign of autumn in the Land of Enchantment. BSK bought roasted Big Jim peppers (Flavorful but not overwhelmingly, mouth numbing hot. Left those super picante guys for the masochists). The Big Jims went into BSK’s incomparable green chile pork stew. The Market isn’t only about food. People watching at the market is a wildly entertaining past-time. The crowd is diverse: Movie stars (active and retired–hey, there’s Ali McGraw and Shirley McLaine); hipsters and ex-hippies; eccentrics and just plain folks in all sizes and colors smiling and having a good time. There’s music. A perpetual enetertainer is a colorful woman who does the entire Edith Piaf songbook accompanied by a young woman on cello. Also mariachis, jazz, country, folk all take a turn serenading. Happiness reigns.

Saturday is Santa Fe Farmers’ Market shopping for HG and BSK. Pure joy. Yes, here are lots of peppers. The air is perfurmed by the beguling aroma of roasted green chiles.

But, there are lots of other things in the stalls. Little potatoes. Tomatoes. Baby eggplants. Turnips and radishes. Fresh garlic.

And, at Mr. G’s stand, the best baby lettuce, frisee and Asian greens one can imagine. In the indoor section of the market there are breads, cheeses, pickles, quiches, etc. Much music. HG’s favorite performer is a dark haired lady who favors colorful hats. She sings in Spanish and French. Her French versions of “La Vie En Rose” and “Autumn Leaves” are riveting. Better than Piaf. As HG listens, the hungry old guy is plunged right into the heart of Paris.

No, HG doesn’t pick a peck of peppers but he buys a lot of them at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. The pepper in question? Shishito peppers (sometimes called Japanese peppers). These are slim little peppers about two to three inches long. Great with any number of dishes — fish, meat or fowl and equally great on their own. HG likes to put out a big bowl of them — sauteed in a hot pan with lots of garlic — alongside slices of good, toasted bread rubbed with oil, garlic and tomato. HG gathers some friends and pours red wine (Rioja, Tempranillo or Malbec). Lively conversation ensues and much scorn is heaped on Mitt and other enemies of women. HG learned about these peppers in Madrid where a Shishito lookalike is dubbed Piquillos al Padron. These are omnipresent in Madrid bars and bistros, HG and BSK devoured hundreds accompanied by Pulpo al Galego — very tender chunks of super tender octopus cooked in the Galician style (tomatoes, garlic and Spanish hot paprika (pimenton). Bread sopped up the sauces and sangria washed them down. Olé! There’s a minor problem with these peppers. Most of them are mild but every now and then you encounter a hot guy. Then you might need artificial respiration. My pepper guy at the Farmers’ Market also carries piquillos al padron. He steered me away from them. “Molto, molto picante,” he warned. When a Spanish speaking New Mexican farmer says a pepper is hot, you better believe him. They know hot.

No, a fat pig was not available at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. However, an adorable goat was tethered at one produce stand and was the recipient of many pats from little kids who demanded: “Mom, Mom, can I have a pet goat?” Lots of music at the Market including a first: A very good string quartet doing Bach and Mozart tuneful justice. Many handsome, tanned people having a good time. So, what did HG buy ? Shishito peppers. (HG will do a separate post on this tasty vegetable). Haricots verde (they will accompany grilled lamb chops tonight). Tiny eggplants (these little ones have more flavor than the water logged big ones). Baby turnips (sliced raw and sprinkled with olive oil and sea salt are better than radishes). Frisee (looking forward to a traditional Paris bistro salad containing bacon and a poached egg). Garden lettuce. Fingerling potatoes (really teeny tiny and at their best when given a quick fry with olive oil and herbs). Escarole (there will be an Italian escarole and bean soup on BSK’s menu). Two artisan goat cheese spreads — one with garlic and one with dill. Needles to say, everything at the market was organic, local and super fresh. HG and BSK’s culinary future is looking good.

Yes, it’s true. HG, the devoted carnivore, has become a veggie junkie. Dinner last night was HG’s garlicky eggplant caviar, a big platter of sliced radishes and baby white turnips. Ripe, sliced tomatoes with buffala mozzarella (okay, cheese isn’t a vegetable) and lots of basil and very good Sicilian olive oil. Tonight, HG and BSK will have a modest reprise of the turnip, eggplant and tomato appetizers. Then they’ll settle in with penne rigate mixed with a load of cauliflower sauteed in garlic infused olive oil. Tomorrow night plans call for kasha (buckwheat groats) mixed with farfalle (butterfly) pasta. The dish (known as kasha varnishkes) will be topped with fried onions and mushrooms. Greek yogurt on the side. Next night, BSK is contemplating haricots vert and fingerling potatoes in an Indian inspired cumin and mustard seed curry.

Blame the vegetable madness on the superb produce available at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. Star of the market is HG’s organic farmer neighbor Gary (known in the market as Mister G.). You’ve got to get to his stand early to stock up on his incomparable lettuces, escarole, fingerling potatoes, shisito peppers, radishes, turnips, arugula, parsley and many other good things. The knowing gourmets of the Land of Enchantment snap up Gary’s produce quickly.

Sunny and breezy morning at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. Bought sprouts from two endearing, mature ladies. HG likes them — the sprouts, not the ladies — with non-fat cottage cheese and Sicilian olive oil. Bought tiny baby radishes. Tasted marinated goat feta, a variety of jams, honey, mustards and breads. BSK bought baby spinach, mixed lettuces, arugula. Also two big sourdough loaves (one for tomorrow and one for the freezer). Female vocalist accompanied by violin and guitar filled the air with beautiful sounds in Spanish. For sale were two very endearing Nigerian baby goats. BSK was smitten but HG’s cooler head prevailed.