Warren Pear And Raw Cocoa Green Smoothie

This Fall started on a very sweet note.

I have always loved pears, and as I had stayed away from them for a while, I was glad to eat them again this Fall. And I could not have dreamed of a better variety of pears to start with than amazing Warren pears I found at my Farmers Market. Those pears are so juicy and sweet, they might as well be candy.

Of course I love to eat them raw, and in many, many other ways, but it occurred to me that they would do well in a smoothie, one morning where I was trying to think of breakfast ideas. I have mentioned before how I like to make green smoothies with market fresh greens, so I decided to combine a Warren pear, fresh greens, about 2 cups of homemade almond milk, 1 tbsp of raw cocoa powder, and some protein powder.

The result was pure liquid dessert! The pear and chocolate combination worked beautifully as always, and it was a truly delicious way to start the day. Have been hoarding those Warren pears since!

By the way:

• Warren pears are quite sweet when ripe, but you can add a date for additional sweetness.
• You could use any other milk of your liking.
• As is, this will be gluten-free, and dairy free.

Farmers Market Frittata With Ciliegie, Erbette Chard, Scallion and Spinach

I had vegetarian friends with kiddos coming over for dinner and decided to make a frittata.

For some time now, I have been consistently buying eggs from the Farmers Market. And early this summer, I had the opportunity to visit Rolling Oaks Ranch during an informative Farm Tour organized by CUESA. This is one of several farms where hens are pasture raised in the area. The owners, Charlie and Liz, were great hosts, answering all our questions, and visiting this farm gave me a sense of reassurance that the hens were treated humanely. And their eggs have such a different taste: rich, creamy yolks, simply delicious eggs!

So when I had vegetarian friends over for dinner on a Saturday evening, I made sure to use some of them. As there were kiddos over, and I wanted to make something that would appeal to them, I decided to make a frittata with cherry tomatoes which children are typically fond of. The cherry tomatoes were not any cherry tomatoes, since I had ciliegie on hand, a lovely and sweet variety.

Of course I added some greens, though luckily, none of the kids were green averse. I had some fresh New Zealand spinach, a tasty variety rich in minerals, scallions with mostly green (great to keep FODMAPs low), a beautiful bunch of parsley, and Erbette chard, another Italian variety I had not tried before but proved to be mild in taste, so good for younger palates. All the veggies were from that day’s farmers market run, so all ingredients were extremely fresh. To make the frittata, I sautéed the greens, medium sliced, for a minute in olive oil. I separately beat the eggs, seasoned, and added a bit of water and a bit of organic lactose free milk to make the frittata really fluffy for the kids (nut milk was not an option in this case). I poured over the egg mixture over the greens, mixing a bit to spread the greens a little. After a few seconds - so that the bottom part of the frittata had a little time to set-, I arranged the tomatoes on the frittata to make a visually appealing pattern. I left the frittata to cook on the stove for a couple minutes more on medium and then finished it under the broiler until it was fully cooked, and nice and golden brown.

This frittata was lovely to look at and really fresh and delicious, the greens working beautifully with the tomatoes’ sweet touch. What’s more, the kids loved it! Seeing their eyes open and their smiles as they ate made the eve.  :)

By the way:

• This is the way I typically make any frittata, and it is a no-fail method.
• I could not use nut milk here due to food allergies, but nut milks are also good to make a frittata fluffier.
• You could replace the ciliege with any cherry tomatoe at your local market, and same for the greens. So many delicious options at the market!
• In NYC, good farmers market eggs can be found from Tamarackhollow Farm, Millport Dairy and Knoll Crest, at Union Square Market and other Greenmarkets.
• I typically quickly rinse and freeze greens from the market to have them on hand longer, and use them in smoothies.
• This frittata is low in FODMAP and glutenfree, and will appeal to MeatlessMonday and conscious eaters alike.