Green with Envy
Local, seasonal, organic, local, seasonal, organic, local, seasonal, organic…
It’s almost become the national mantra, a chant, a call to arms. Farm to table. Market fresh. American seasonal. The buzz words continue to buzz. The “greening” of America. An urban awakening. A farmer’s market revolution.
I walked the rows of the Portland Farmer’s market impressed with the sea of green before me, with my decaffeinated brain pondering the shade that should be put in a paint can and sold under the name “Pacific Northwest”. Certainly not a light green, not jade; definitely not British racing green or sickly teal, but a deep and meaningful crazy jungle hunter green that seems to envelop everything in this part of the world. This is exactly the color that greets me at each stall, jumping off of the early season asparagus, green tomatoes, green garlic and radish tops as I walked the wide market rows, with vegetables screaming ALIVE! ALIVE! to all who walked by.
Amongst these very vocal veggies there was another layer of greenery that was well and truly a special find - foraged foods. These elusive gems add that unique mystique- the tones that for me gave the market its depth of color and taste of terroir. Morels, chanterelles, and even local truffles were plenty, but the signs of spring and the greenery around us were what I found most fascinating. Fiddlehead ferns curled their finger around the wicker edge of their enclosure, tempting me to throw down some dollars to take these fresh young things back for a boil. Little succulent samphire, straight from the water’s edge, was piled high next to its natural neighbor the Pacific oyster, each one promising a briny bite. Miner’s lettuce and oxalis, from the marshy lowlands, delivered a citrusy spark that resonated on the palate, a little “pick me up” at 9 in the morning that might have been best left for later in the day.
I ate, I walked, and I ate some more, whiling away the day among these delights, drifting from stall to stall talking, tasting, and appreciating (with only a twinge of jealousy) the green green goodness that comes out of the woods and into the market each day. Local, seasonal, and organic indeed…
(Brilliant with cooked greens such as asparagus, peas, edamame, green beans and fiddleheads).
Brad Farmerie
Brad Farmerie grew up in Pittsburgh in a food-loving family, where his mother exposed him to a variety of cuisines from a young age, always insisting on home baked bread and vegetables straight from the family garden. After a brief college hiatus spent exploring the cuisines and wines of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Antipodes, Farmerie followed his love for food to the UK and earned his "Grande Diplome" at Le Cordon Bleu in 1996. He further rounded out his education and technique at acclaimed restaurants Coast, Chez Nico and Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons. Most influential to his own style was his experience working with Peter Gordon at the Sugar Club, and he went on to assist Gordon and Anna Hansen in opening the critically-acclaimed The Providores and Tapa Room in 1996. In 2003 Farmerie moved back to the States to help conceive PUBLIC, AvroKO’s first self-propelled restaurant. In the fall of 2008, Farmerie extended his culinary reach as executive chef of AvroKO Restaurant Group’s Double Crown and Madam Geneva, which takes as its inspiration the unique cuisine that emerged when the British colonized the countries of South Asia and the Far East.