Until late this afternoon we had expected to be leaving for Portugal tomorrow and I had only expected to throw something together with eggs for our supper.   Then we learned that Air France cancelled our flight, making it necessary for us to pull the plug on our entire holiday.  I had to go to Whole Foods for some milk anyway, and when I got there I saw some beautiful wild Coho salmon fillets and decided something more special was in order. I had no greenmarket vegetables on hand, other than a few cherry tomatoes, so I looked for something that might at least be from a local farm.  I found some excellent New Jersey zucchini from a farm whose name was not indicated.

• Coho salmon fillet from Whole Foods, roasted in butter, finished with dill from Lani’s Farm
• zucchini trifolati with cherry tomatoes, garlic and basil (the zucchini from Whole Foods, the tomatoes from Berried Treasures, the garlic from Phillips Farm, the basil from Gotham Greens at Whole Foods)
• the wine was a medium French red, a Cabernet Franc, Domaine Delesvaux Anjou Le Roc 2013

I know, it looks like we’re eating micro portions of duck and huge helpings of vegetables these days. While this particular image is pretty much all about the camera lens, we really are very fond of vegetables.

• duck breast from Pat LaFrieda at Eataly, the fatty side scored, then covered with salt, pepper and a bit of sugar, left standing for about half an hour before it was pan-fried, finished with lemon, oil, and chopped fresh rosemary from Stokes Farm, and scattered with chopped lovage from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm
• small red, orange and purple bell peppers, together with one poblano pepper, from Norwich Meadows Farm, each halved or quartered and sautéed over high heat until slightly caramelized, finished with torn basil leaves from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and a splash of balsamic vinegar
• the wine was a phenomenal Portuguese red, Esporao Quinta dos Murças ‘Assobio’

The label above this tub of green and colors seen resting on a table at Lani’s Farm read, “Mixed Baby Greens”;  I’d say that’s an entirely inadequate description of what was one of the most seductive displays in the Union Square Greenmarket yesterday.

 

 

 

Yes, I know, more cherry tomatoes, and more lovage, not to mention more fish.  Can’t help it, especially at this time of the year.

• sea bass fillets from Pura Vida, marinated for half an hour in olive oil and lemon juice, then sautéed over high heat for a few minutes, and served with a slightly-spicy tomato and black olive salsa (red and orange cherry tomatoes from Tamarack Hollow Farm, Kalamata olives from Whole Foods, basil from Gotham Greens at Whole Foods, dill from Lani’s Farm, a chopped half of a yellow Thai pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm, lemon juice and olive oil)
• yellow Romano beans from Norwich Meadows Farm, finished with lovage from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm
• The wine was a white Portuguese, Aveleda Douro D.O.C. 2012

Very easy, and quickly-assembled.

• 6-ounce mackerel fillets from Blue Moon Fish, brushed with olive oil, seasoned, pan-grilled over high heat for 5-6 minutes, then transferred to a plate and half-covered with a Sicilian-style salsa of halved cherry tomatoes from Berried Treasures, capers, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and a bit of finely-chopped yellow Thai pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm
• young, tender broccoli rabe from Hawthorne Valley Farm, wilted in olive oil flavored with bruised garlic from Berried Treasures, seasoned with salt and pepper, then put on the plate and drizzled with more olive oil
• the wine was a Portuguese Alentejo, Herdade do Esporao V Verdelho 2013