Viva Italia!

Chef Demo this Saturday with Keira Moritz of Pacci Ristorante and AltoRex Rooftop Lounge
10:00 am on 7/17

Originally heading for a career in criminal justice, it’s a good thing for us that Chef Keira Moritz chose to follow her passion for cooking instead! Since finishing culinary school at Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina, and receiving her foodservice management degree from the university’s campus in Denver, Colorado, Moritz honed her skills at Denver’s Panzano and San Francisco’s Puccini & Pinetti. A Georgia native, Chef Moritz returned home to express her talent for creating exciting Northern Italian dishes and traditional steakhouse classics at Midtown’s Pacci Ristorante and AltoRex Rooftop Lounge. She supports local farms and artisan producers to provide the best meats, seafood and seasonal produce at the peak of their quality. Moritz and Pacci were recently recognized in Esquire magazine as one of the “Best New Restaurants of 2009.”

When she’s not in the kitchen at Pacci and AltoRex, Moritz is spending time with her border collie, Magnolia, running marathons and kayaking. She also enjoys growing her own herbs and tomatoes.

This Saturday, Chef Moritz will show you how to take this week’s harvest and create your own Italian masterpiece – molto bene!





- Jennifer Maley

From “Who’s your farmer?” to “Where’s your farmer?”

Peachtree Road Farmers Market and Love is Love Farm volunteer Emma Lacey-Bordeaux explores the unique situation today’s farmers face: small scale farming vs. increasing commitments. In this piece for CNN’s eatocracy, Emma talks with Judith Winfrey about our current generation of farmers.

Want to lend a hand to your local farmers? Take a look at what Crop Mob Atlanta is doing to help.





- Jennifer Maley

You Say Potato

Yes, potatoes DO have a season and for us Georgians, this is it! Fresh potatoes are juicier and more tender than “storage potatoes” you’ll often find at the grocery store. Check out this post and recipe from Market vendor Riverview Farms and, come this Saturday, “consider the potato.”













Photo by Flickr user di_the_huntress


- Jennifer Maley

Cool as a Cuke

It’s hot out there, y’all! As we enter the dog days of summer, when it’s too sweltering to consider turning on the oven, take pleasure in these two cooling cucumber recipes from Market-shopping bloggers Sweet Pea and Punkin Seed. And visit their blog to learn more about the history behind these heirloom recipes. 



Don’t forget, you can send us your own recipes to post for Peachtree Road Farmers Market shoppers! Just send your recipe and a photo of the finished product to laurencarey@peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com. 



Recipes and images courtesy of Sweet Pea and Punkin Seed



Mimi’s Sliced Cucumber Salad with Vinegar

Cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced

White Vinegar, enough to cover sliced cukes

Sliced sweet white onion (preferably Vidalia)

Salt & pepper

Ice cubes

Peel and slice as many cucumbers as you’d like and place in a bowl. Add sliced white onion, season with salt and pepper to taste, and mix. Cover with white vinegar – if you want the salad to be a little milder and less vinegary, replace some portion of the vinegar with water. Top with ice cubes and place in refrigerator to chill before eating. This is best made an hour or less before you plan to eat, so that the cucumbers are at their freshest.















Mimi’s Buttermilk Salad

Serves 6

3 medium cucumbers

1 small clove garlic

1/2 tsp. thyme (I used fresh lemon thyme)

Salt

1 quart buttermilk

Optional: thin slices of sweet white onion

Peel and slice cucumbers as finely as possible. Put the garlic through press and add with thyme to the cucumber. Add onion if you’re going to use it – only use a small amount and slice very thinly. Mix thoroughly with the cold, fresh buttermilk and season to taste with salt. Serve immediately or chill for an hour and serve.























- Jennifer Maley

Follow That Beard!

Don’t miss this week’s Chef Demo with Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill – 10:00 am on 7/10

You’ve seen Chef Kevin Gillespie on last season’s Top Chef as a finalist in the top three and voted “fan favorite” by viewers. Gillespie is a “farm favorite,” too, named one of Mother Nature Network’s top “40 Chefs Under 40” in November 2009 for linking farms to forks and promoting better health for people and the planet. The love for his quality cuisine, utilizing seasonal, organic and sustainable products, keeps coming in 2010: honored by Gayot.com as a “Top Five Rising Chef” and named as a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Rising Star Chef of the Year” award. Just last month, Gillespie was invited to prepare a meal at the James Beard House in New York City and was also featured on “Cooking with Emeril” on SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

And yes, even Gillespie’s beard has a following! Not only did he and his beard visit the Beard House, but Gillespie’s beard was also honored here at home as Facebook Fans of Kevin Gillespie’s Beard hosted a Beard Bash at the W Midtown.

You can find Gillespie and his beard at Woodfire Grill, where he is executive chef and partner. An Atlanta native, he’s also a member of Slow Food Atlanta, Southern Food Ways Alliance, Chefs Collaborative and the Society for the Preservation of traditional Southern Barbecue.

Come check out tips and recipes for your Market groceries with Chef Gillespie this Saturday!
















- Jennifer Maley

Real Simple Loves Our Real Farmers

This month’s Real Simple magazine features recipes from farmers markets across the country, including one from Peachtree Road Farmers Market’s own Greg Brown. His recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Crostini is the perfect summer snack or party food. And you can find almost every ingredient at this week’s Market!

Greg and his wife Maeda have owned and operated Greenleaf Farms in Barnesville, GA since 2007. This is their second year offering naturally grown produce and flowers at our Market each Saturday. Learn more about Greg’s journey returning to the land and about his unique produce varieties in this great article from Atlanta Magazine.

- Jennifer Maley

Keepin’ it Fresh

Finding fresh, beautiful produce is not hard to do at your weekly Market. Storing it properly so that you can make the most of it? That can be a bit trickier. For instance, did you know that basil is actually better off at room temperature than in your fridge? Check out more tips like this, including which veggies are best in a sealed bag vs. a perforated one and which produce shouldn’t hang out together in your crisper, in this article from SAVEUR.

The Market is open this Saturday and the tomatoes are looking gorgeous! Thanks again to our friends at Saveur for this quick, tasty recipe for Roasted Tomatoes. Share some with your family this Holiday weekend – Happy 4th!


- Jennifer Maley