This time next week (and the week after that, and the week after that…right up ‘til the end of the year), our pantry will be chock full of farmers market goodies! Saturday, April 9 marks the opening of our favorite outdoor market – the Peachtree Road Farmers Market, held each Saturday from April through December outside Buckhead’s Cathedral of St. Philip. It’s the largest producer-only market in the state (meaning that the folks selling you stuff actually produced that stuff), with over 65 vendors this year. You’ll find fruits, veggies, eggs, organic meats, baked goods, cheese, yogurt, pops, ice cream, Savannah-caught shrimp and all kinds of basking-in-the-sun Saturday market enjoyment. PRFM also hosts weekly Chef Demos, seasonal events like the Slow Food Ice Cream Social, Halloween Parade, and Holiday Artist Market, plus special events and live music. I love Peachtree Road Farmers Market so much that I write their blog. Check it out for opening day details – and get excited for all things good, fresh food!

Image courtesy of Peachtree Road Farmers Market

Location

From when we are little, we know what goodness is. Good things bring joy and often come by way of good people. For many of us, myself included, goodness and love have been shared over meals prepared with great care; not necessarily grand feasts, either. From fresh buttered toast to tenderly rolled pasta, the best foods I’ve eaten are those that come from a place of goodness.

Over the last month, John and I have visited a couple of places that have made me think about the beauty of good food intentions. We finally made it to Atmosphère, a French bistro about which we’d heard much and which happens to be around the corner from us in Midtown. We had frequently seen happy diners sitting out on the patio and were finally lured in by a great special offered on Tuesday to Thursday nights – the $25 per person three-course menu. For a slight increase, you may choose the special of the evening as your entrée choice. When we arrived, we were greeted by the owner, shown to our “special table” and taken excellent care of by our kind, but not overbearing server. Our salad and soup courses were accompanied by piping hot-out-of-the-oven bread – bread with that magical French combination of crunchy outside, chewy inside – our entrees were perfectly portioned and seasoned, and the crème brulee was perfect. We paired the meal with an affordably priced bottle of rosé and could not stop smiling for most of dinner. The food was delicious, yes, but the night was more than that; I almost can’t resist saying that it was the atmosphere (I guess I didn’t resist it), but by atmosphere I mean the people involved, too. It’s the owners, the waiter, the chef; the whole restaurant beams with pride for its people and its food. It’s a place of welcome. A place of shared goodness.

The second place that has made me think on the goodness of people and things is the much-talked-about Cacao Atlanta, the only bean-to-bar chocolatier in town. For a fascinating look at owner/chocolatier Kristen Hard and at the complex, politically charged world of cacao, check out this great article from Bill Addison (it was originally printed in the February 2011 issue of Atlanta Magazine). Addison is so right about the reverential feel of Cacao’s boutique space. We visited the new Buckhead location with its pristine white woodwork and marble, antique touches and, of course, gently placed rows of chocolates that are as exquisite to the eyes as they are to the mouth. This is another place where it’s easy to feel the care and love that goes into making and sharing this food. The women behind the counter believe in the mission of fair, good chocolate as much as their boss does and they can’t wait for you to taste the results. After you select a few treats, your choices are placed on a precious silver tray; you sit in one of the bistro-style chairs, and can’t help but think of each chocolate as a happy little blessing. In that moment, you just see good. And it takes someone who makes a thing called a Love Bar (and means everything behind the name) to bring you there.

The new Cacao Atlanta is right across the street from somewhere we can always find good people and good food – the Peachtree Road Farmers Market – opening its season on April 9. We’re excited about our favorite farmers as well as some new vendors at the Market, like Westside Creamery and Queen of Tarts. Peachtree Road is the largest producer-only market in metro Atlanta and it also happens to be our favorite. Each Saturday you can find amazing people and fantastic food, both for immediate snacking and groceries for the week. In other words, it’s pure, unadulterated goodness. 

Locations

We’ve told you before about our affection for farmers markets. We wanted to mention, too, that Jennifer blogs for the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. Topics include weekly chef demos, seasonal produce tips and recipes, and farmers market issues and advocacy. Check out this week’s post about what it means for a market to be “producer-only” and for some really interesting stats on how buying local affects Georgia’s economy. 

I’ve never broken anything’s neck before. That was the thought that crossed my mind last night, as I cradled a cell phone between my ear and shoulder; my sister-in-law on the other end, talking me through the preparation of my first whole chicken roast:

She asked, “Is the neck still attached?”
I replied, “I think so. It’s the length of my middle finger.”
“That’s the whole thing. You have to break it.”
“What? With what?”
“Do you have a cleaver?”
“No. I’ve got big sharp knives, though.”
“That won’t cut the bone, you’ll have to break it by hand first.”
“Does it have to come off?”
“You should be able to stick your hand clear through the chicken, so yes.”
(I stare into the cavity, definitely can’t see clear through it. Oh, dear)

She told me to get in between the vertebrae with my fingers, bend it against the natural curve of the neck, and just snap it. I felt very primal and, when it snapped, I honestly couldn’t believe that I’d done it. I mean, I’m not naïve; I know this is a mundane task that folks have been doing for eons, not to mention the tasks that came well before this one. We’ve got to eat, and if we like to eat animals, we’ve got to do things to them that just aren’t…polite. So I held its little limp neck in my hands and said, “Now what?”

“Cut it off.”
“Oh.”

I proceeded to gently cut the neck off with my very sharp knife. Thunder was rumbling outside and it felt quite dramatic, in a Little House on the Prairie kind of way. I could never be a doctor or anything like it; it took me a minute to get over what I’d done to this chicken – and it was already dead! What I can say is that the closer I get to the beginning of steps in the food chain, the more I appreciate how precious food and its production really is. I couldn’t help but buy this chicken from Riverview Farms at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market because it’s not often I see fresh, local, humanely raised poultry for sale in town. I had never roasted a chicken before, but this seemed like as good a time as any to start.

It wasn’t until about 2 hours after I’d put that beautiful bird in the oven that my husband realized I had put it in upside down. That’s right, sitting squarely breast side down. I was so wrapped up in my first butchering exploit that I overlooked that one tiny detail. I felt crushed for letting myself and that chicken down. My husband calmly turned it over and roasted it for another half hour, resulting in some lovely meat. Not seasoned, but lovely. Tonight we’ll put some T. Bill Lee’s BBQ Sauce on it and it will be one delicious bird.

And next time, I’ll do right by you, chicken. I’ll do right.

Since spring has sprung, we've been enjoying weekly trips to Atlanta's local farmer's markets. Our favorites are the Peachtree Road Farmer's Market (a large selection of veggies, meats, cheeses, and breakfast/lunch goodies), Morningside (a little more low-key, smaller, but across from Alon's!), and the Piedmont Park Green Market (closest to home). All three offer pretty sweet chef demos and great dog-watching to boot (the latter, I'm convinced, is my husband's favorite part of market-ing). I always loved visiting the markets for sensory delights and chef/people watching, but it was Food Inc. that convinced me to rely heavily on local farmers for our main source of groceries. I had always known local/organic was best for many reasons (health, environment, supporting local farmers and artisans), but seeing what waste and corruption truly exists in corporate food culture really put me over the edge. SO here we are, trying to do our small part by buying as much local/organic/humanely raised products as we can. Since we both work for non-profits, we're having to get creative with stretching the greens, as it were...

This is where the basil comes in! Basil is just awesome right now - you can't help but smell it if you walk into any of the vendor tents at the markets. It's bright, beautiful, and brings back memories of incredible caprese salads in Italy (and a few at home in the States, too). It doesn't hurt that it's also pretty inexpensive - the going rate seems to be $2, but you need to walk around the market before buying. I got a significantly bigger bunch at one farmer's stand than the other's, for the same price. And with a few key ingredients, basil will provide you with at least 8 meals, no joke!

Enter pesto. It's super-simple to make; you can make a ton of it out of few raw materials; and it freezes well. I am in love with the Barefoot Contessa (and her kitchen...and her garden...), so my favorite recipe is hers (below). I mixed about 3/4 cup pesto with a pound of pasta for a quick supper this weekend (if we weren't pinching pennies, it would have been grand with shrimp involved...) Pesto is also great as a pizza sauce, over chicken with a nice piece of provolone on top, caprese style with a thick slice of buffalo mozzarella and juicy tomato, over an omelet, in any number of Asian dishes, and you could even use it in a cold noodle salad with sun-dried tomatoes and your other favorite veggies - it's a great go-to!

I truly can't wait to go back to the market next time and see what we come up with. I like the spontaneity of trying a new recipe based on what's good at the market, but I also advise taking a list (for a cheat sheet of what's in season when, the Peachtree Road FM has a great pdf online). Having a list helps with the pennies! And the more pennies you have, the more lobster rolls you can buy from Souper Jenny or pizza from Moto Bene or bread/pastry from H&F or cookies from The Cookie Studio...Ok, maybe my husband's favorite part is the puppy-watching, but his real goal at the market is to keep me from spending all our pennies...

Here are a few shots of our pesto pasta - note that if you use the pesto as a pasta sauce, you'll probably want to add a bit of salt to taste to your finished dish.

My pesto pasta

John's pesto pasta (he adds red pepper flakes for an extra kick)