The Union Street Farmers’ Market can be intimidating, especially on a student budget. To navigate it successfully, here’s the golden rule: walk through the entire Union Street Farmers’ Market once before you stop at any of the vendors. Don’t even stop for a sample, you’ll feel guilt tripped into buying something immediately. Trust me, the first strawberry you see won’t be the last.
I love to buy my herbs from Firefly Farms, but that’s just personal preference. But, one of my favorite vendors is Vine, a bakery with the most delicious fresh pastas and breads. Get there first, they sell out of the best pastas and breads pretty fast.
We don’t get a lot of fresh produce in college, so I look forward to making this meal all week: crisp salad, succulent tomato bruschetta, and my Vine pasta, drenched in a brown butter sauce that could make a grown man cry.
Brown Butter Pasta
Ingredients
Instructions
Boil a pot of water over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt and a drop of olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Cook pasta for about 5 minutes, or until al dente.
#Spoontip: save a few tablespoons of the pasta water before straining, itâll help thin out the sauce and loosen the pasta later on.
Chop the shallots and garlic. Set aside.
Chop the rosemary and separate a few sage leaves. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the shallots. Sautée for about a minute and add the garlic, rosemary and 4-6 sage leaves.
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Let the sauce thicken over medium heat until the butter begins to brown and the sage wilts. Remove the sage and toss in your pasta.
#Spoontip: now you can add a couple tablespoons of your reserved pasta water so everything tosses loosely.
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Season with salt and pepper and add some fresh parmesan, if youâd like, and enjoy.
Fresh Bruschetta
Ingredients
Instructions
Halve and seed the tomatoes. You can just scoop out the center with a spoon.
Slice your baguette and arrange on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven on broil for about 5 minutes.
Chop the tomatoes into small chunks.
Add dried basil.
#Spoontip: if youâre using fresh basil, chop and use about twice as much as you would dried.
Chop the garlic clove and add to tomatoes. Add a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and toss together.
Arrange your finished toast slices on a plate with the tomatoes in a separate bowl. Serve while the toast is still warm.
Simple Arugula Salad
Ingredients
Instructions
Rinse a bag (or about 3-5 cups) of arugula in a colander. Pat dry.
Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Toss and enjoy.