By Lois Baxter
Special to The Weekly
Welcome to the Farmers Market Corner. This is a great time of year for enjoying fresh, local produce, baked goods, dairy, meat and more at local farmers markets. During the 2014 growing season, we wanted to share information with readers of The Weekly about the many farmers markets in this area. Each week, vendors or customers from local farmers markets will share tips about unfamiliar foods you can find at your local markets, fun recipes to try with seasonally available produce, and highlights about specific farms you can learn about at the markets.
Did you know there are 12 farmers markets in Penobscot County? Find out which ones they are at the Maine Federation of Farmers Markets at mainefarmersmarkets.org/shoppers/.
Three of those local markets offer a 25 percent matching discount for customers paying with SNAP/EBT (sponsored by Food AND Medicine). They are Bangor Farmers Market, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays at Harlow Street parking lot across from the library; Ohio Street Farmers Market, 2-6 p.m. Wednesdays at the Bangor Grange across from Finson Road; and Brewer Farmers Market, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the Brewer Auditorium parking lot, Wilson Street.
The vegetable of the week is garlic. Who doesn’t love the pungent smell and taste of garlic? I
think everyone has a little Italian in them when it comes to this flavorful vegetable. Yes, garlic
is a vegetable and there are more than 70 varieties. The health benefits of garlic are wide and varied. It is a string antioxidant and antibiotic as well as an antifungal agent. Studies have shown that raw garlic can help prevent stomach and colorectal cancers. Garlic has been describes as a natural wonder drug. It can be roasted or used in its raw form to enhance many delicious dishes. You also can find it in many forms such as minced, chopped, powdered and salts. Are you ready to enjoy some today?
This week’s recipe comes from those I’ve collected over the years:
Roasted Garlic Macaroni and Cheese
For crumb topping:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 ½ tsp. chopped fresh chives
For pasta and sauce:
1 head garlic
Olive oil
½ pound uncooked pasta (shells or rigatoni)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 ½ cups milk
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
To make crumb topping:
Melt the butter over medium heat. Add bread crumbs and chives and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes until slightly toasted. Set aside.
To make pasta and sauce:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice off ⅓ of the top of the garlic. Place bottom portion on a piece of foil, drizzle with olive
oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the top portion back on and fold the foil to make a
sealed packet. Roast the garlic for 30 minutes.
Remove the roasted garlic from the oven and squeeze the cloves into a bowl. Using a fork, mash the cloves into a paste. Set aside.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving ¼
cup of the cooking water. Grease a 2-quart casserole.
In a Dutch oven melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour and garlic paste.
Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes until golden. Whisk in the milk. Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce it to a simmer and let it cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the cheddar, parmesan cheese, dry mustard, salt and pepper until combined.
Add the pasta and reserved ¼ cup of cooking liquid. (It will be soupy.) Transfer to baking dish
and sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
Makes 6 servings.
Lois Baxter volunteers at Food AND Medicine, a nonprofit organization at 20 Ivers St. in Brewer. For information, contact fam@foodandmedicine.org or 989-5860, or visit foodandmedicine.org.