Sunday was one of those perfect days. It started with Jeff and Gunner walking with me to Harvard Square. I really love going for long walks with them, and I don't get to as much as I'd like. I'm always so busy! While it was freezing cold Sunday morning (in the 40s!), we still had a nice walk and were able to enjoy the time together.
Once we got to Harvard Square, we stopped at Starbucks, a must on a cold Sunday morning. I've been drinking a lot of pumpkin spice lattes, so I switched it up and had a mocha instead.
After we got our coffees, we parted ways. The boys made the walk back home, and I continued on to the Charles Square Farmers Market.
I spotted Michelle from Fun and Fearless in Beantown, and we caught up while we waited for others (including Jen, Emily, Janel, and Fiona) to show up for the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter event. Soon we met Jaclyn Kolber and Chef Susannah Locketti, who were running the event.
They led us through the farmers market, where we talked about the different produce, asked questions of the vendors, and ultimately planned lunch.
Here's just a sampling of what we saw...
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| Apples |
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| Delicata squash |
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| Brussels sprouts |
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| Green Zebra tomatoes |
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| Dr. Wyche's Yellow tomatoes |
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| Sweet potatoes |
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| Mini eggplants |
After we got all the produce we needed, we made the short walk to the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, where we would be preparing lunch using I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, some pantry staples, and our fresh produce.
Susannah laid out the plan: We would be making compound butters to complement the produce. We split into groups and split up the produce.
The group tasked with sweet butter took the apples and began working on dessert.
The group making the Italian compound butter took the brussels sprouts, some of the eggplant, the Green Zebra tomatoes, a sweet potato, and the red onion.
Our group had the curry butter, and we took the remaining eggplant and a sweet potato.
I scooped a whole bunch of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter into a bowl, and then Michelle, Jen, and Jen's husband set to work flavoring the butter.
While we worked on the butter, Susannah thinly sliced a sweet potato, so we could make sweet potato chips.
We tossed some in the Italian butter the Italian butter group prepared, and we tossed the rest in the curry butter our group made.
Then we coated our eggplant slices in some curry butter and roasted those for sandwiches, and Emily and her husband tossed the Green Zebra tomatoes, brussels sprouts, and red onion with the Italian butter and roasted those for a tasty side.
I peeled and cubed a butternut squash and started sauteeing it in a pan of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. When it was almost finished Susannah suggested I stir in some brown sugar. Then we added a scoop of the sweet butter compound, which had flavorful orange zest and cinnamon in it.
We had such a feast by the time we were done with all of our prepping and cooking.
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| Brussels sprouts, Green Zebra tomatoes, and red onion tossed with Italian compound butter |
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| Farm fresh sandwiches made with buttered ciabatta, roasted eggplant, tomatoes, swiss chard, and fontina |
It was a really fun event, and we learned how versatile I Can't Believe It's Not Butter can be. I enjoyed having someone lead me through the farmers market and teach me how to put together a meal based on what I found. I tend to rely on recipes a lot more than my own intuition. Thank you so much to Susannah, Jaclyn, and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter for this wonderful tour and class.
What do you use for a butter alternative? I Can't Believe It's Not Butter? Margarine? Olive oil?
Did you know I'm now the Boston Farmers Market Examiner? Please check out my page over there, and subscribe to my posts for great tips about local produce, farmers market information, and local farm events. And if you know of any farmers market or farm-related events that need a little more publicity, please let me know, as I'm happy to promote them!
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