Leeks at Meyers Farmer's Market

Leeks at Meyers Farmer's Market
Originally uploaded by SeabeeCook

I took my family to The Gateway Cafe in Meyers, California, for lunch yesterday after church services. Since we live less than an hour from the Lake Tahoe area, it was an easy drive.

As we drove up to the restaurant, which is located near the junction of U.S. Highway 50 and California State Route 89, I saw the Meyers Farmer's Market. The market runs each Sunday in August from 2 to 7 p.m. It's located at 3200 U.S. 50.

After lunch -- a tough choice between The Gateway's black & blue burger and a veggie burger -- my wife, son and I drove over to the farmer's market, located adjacent to the Meyers Downtown Cafe. The open air market gave us a chance to stock up on produce. The crisper in the refrigerator of a bit bare since I've been out of town for the past 10 weeks.

We purchased a basic produce selection (carrots, cauliflower, corn-on-the-cob, green onions and leeks) from the Rodriguez Fruit & Vegetable Growers booth of Watsonville, California.

I now need to work on a few ideas to use the vegetables. A couple soups from 'Round the Chuckbox come to mind: creamy potato leek soup with bacon or Dutch Girl Cooking's split pea soup with leeks and celery root. A pan-roasted cauliflower gratin will make a flavorful casserole for tomorrow night.

I might also try something new, like leeks braised in cream, garlic and lemon. Or a in a dinner quiche with ham and a nice blue cheese. The other option is to use them in place of onions for a few dinners this week.

I now need to head to the Cameron Park Farmer's Market on Wednesday or Placerville Farmer's Market on Saturday to buy more produce.