I went to Chino Farms, finally. Chino Farms, in Rancho Santa Fe, is owned and operated by the Chino family. They grow and sell the most beautiful produce I've ever seen.
I got some bi-colored corn, different squashes, lemon thyme, strawberries to die for, jalapenos, green beans, and fennel. Chino Farms is known for their strawberries, and I concur. These little gems were so delicious, and their flavor is something I don't find with strawberries from Whole Paycheck or any other organic grocer. Worth the 2-hour drive just for them!
My friend, Christy the chef, gave me a great idea about the corn. As a single person, who wants to shuck, clean, boil or grill? So much time, blah blah blah. Well, per her instructions, I shucked and cleaned the ears, rinsed them, wrapped in plastic wrap and microwaved for 2-3 minutes. Let me tell you, that is one of the best tips I've ever received, as this was the perfect and easy way to cook corn on the cob with no effort. Christy = genius!
I've been a bit obsessed with the Vietnamese Corn Salad from Susan Feniger's Street (http://www.eatatstreet.com/). This has corn, scallions, pork belly and a lovely vinegar based sauce, and damn it, I cannot find thie recipe anywhere! So, I tried making my version, which looked like this. Corn, scallions, peppers, fish sauce, soy sauce, oil, a little butter, and zucchini, but no pork belly. It came out well, but not a match to Street's version. I am going to try this again, with Chinese black vinegar, to see if that makes a change.
Any suggestions are welcome....
April...have you tried adding a bit of fish sauce and/or shrimp paste to the recipe? I find both in quite a few Vietnamese recipes. A light hand is the key.
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