Back to the Farmer's Market!

Beautiful beets at the farmer's market last week.  I think they were called bullseye beets because they were crimison on the outside, but white like radishes on the inside with a little red bullseye when you cut them in half.  I cut them up tossed them in sea salt and olive oil and threw them on the grill along with some tender broccolini - then I dressed the whole thing up in lemony vinaigrette. Here are the results:

This is a truly terrible picture, out of focus and you can't really see how beautiful the beets and broccoli looked together. Dang.

I love the vinaigrette I make.  I can eat it by the spoonful.  Or if I have fresh bread, by the loaf-ful.

Throw a crushed or minced garlic clove in the bottom of a measuring cup.  If you happen to have been to Trader Joe's recently, and they have this:

...then you are in luck my friend.  I love this stuff - it's pre-crushed garlic in these little squares that you keep in the freezer and you plonk into whatever you happen to be making - such as vinaigrette.  

On top of the garlic, spoon some dijon or a nice grainy country mustard - anywhere from a tsp to a tblsp - depending on your taste.  Grate in a bit of lemon rind, then squeeze in half the lemon.  Chop some herbs - tarragon is good - I am growing thyme and marjoram in my sad little garden (yes, the one with the one with the very hungry caterpillar eating my fennel - as pictured below) which is what I threw in my vinaigrette. (Left the caterpillar outside.  It's still eating my fennel.)

Stir your ingredients all around with a baby whisk or a fork.  Pinch in some salt and pepper.  Add about 1/4 cup of sherry vinegar then 1/4 to 1/2 cup of olive oil.  I like my vinaigrette on the tangy side. You can play around with the lemon juice too.  Add more salt and pepper if you need to as well.

there's my cute baby whisk!

Pour it all on top of what ever you like, salad, a steak fresh from the grill, roasted potatoes, or, in this case some still crispy beets and brocollini hot off the grill.

I promise, this vinaigrette will make you so happy you won't care about the garlic breath you'll have the next day.

Well, this has been a long way of saying I'm so glad the Farmer's Market is back in business for the season.