I have to tell you it is much easier to get to the Farmer’s Market first thing in the morning when you have a baby.  Once the baby is up there is not a chance of going back to bed for hours.  Pre-baby, I was solely a mid-morning farmer’s market kind of gal.  There is a beauty to getting up early in the morning, but for me that beauty exists during the week.  Surely Saturday and Sunday were made to sleep it right? Wrong.

We finally started going to the Alemany Farmer’s market last week.  I was surprised to find out that it is the oldest Farmer’s Market in California.  It’s been in operation since 1943.  Pretty cool, huh? There is a fabulous selection of produce available.  For me, it is always overwhelming the first few times that I go to a new farmers market and it takes me forever to shop.  First, I have to do a walk through and gauge what’s available, who’s certified organic, who has the cool weird (generally asian) stuff, who looks friendly, who is busy and who is not.  Let me tell you—it is a challenge when I go by myself and this time I had the baby strapped to my chest and my husband following a discreet 10 paces behind me.  The standouts were the walnut vendor and the date vendor.  There were varieties of dates and walnuts that I had never heard of before!  So exciting…it makes me want to buy a quarter pound of everything I haven’t tried before and do a comparative tasting.  I limited myself to two varieties of dates–Blurry Black and Deglet Noor.  I love to snack on dates—so yummy and sweet and good for you!  For next week I have my eye on some red walnuts and I am busy researching walnut recipes to justify my purchase of these ‘red’ walnuts that are $9/pound.

Tonight we are having a farmer’s market dinner.  I got home from yoga and threw together a quiche with swiss chard, oyster mushrooms and leeks all from the market.  Mashed garnet yams on the side.  It’s easy, quick and delicious dinner, especially if you have frozen pie crust in the freezer.

Here’s my basic quiche recipe, but mix it up and put in the vegetables that you like and have on hand.

Phoebe’s Farmer’s Market Quiche

Preheat the oven to 375F

(1)   9” pie crust

1 bunch of swiss chard, leaves separated from the stem and washed

3 small leeks, use white and light green parts only

¼ # mushrooms, I used oyster, but you can use whatever you have or skip it completely.

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. butter

3 eggs

1 ½ cup milk

½ cup grated cheese.  I used gruyere which is traditional for a quiche, but you are welcome to use other varieties such as cheddar, Monterey jack etc.

1. Press the pie crust into the pie plate and set aside in the fridge.
2. Slice the leeks and chop the swiss chard
3. Clean the mushrooms, and melt the butter in a saute pan.  Brown the mushrooms in butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Browning the mushrooms adds a really nice layer of flavor.
4. Heat the olive oil in a second pan and saute the sliced leeks.  Add the swiss chard, stir so that it starts to wilt.  Add ½ cup water and cover.
5. Once the swiss chard has wilted and it tender, add the mushrooms and set aside.
6. Combine the milk, cheese and eggs.
7. Place the sautéed filling ingredients in your chilled pie shell.
8. Pour the milk mixture over the filling and give it a gentle stir. (more of a poke then a stir—you just want to make sure that everything is evenly distributed.)
9. Bake for about 35 minutes, until it is puffed, golden and jiggles ever so slightly in the center.
10. Remove from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes or so, slice and enjoy!