Stuck in my cozy tiger bed.

I have become a hermit.

No seriously. It's been days since I left the house to go anywhere other than Kaplan or work. Most of my time is spent giving in to the gravitational force of the futon/True Life marathon combination. Occasionally, I venture to the gym or the pool.

I'm loving every minute of it.

Friday night was the first official culinary experiment of the summer. On Wednesday, I wandered down to the Farmer's Market in Triangle Park. The market is in full swing - tons of vendors offer their fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, breads and meats while kids and dogs play in the fountains. Following the suggestion of Alice Waters, I didn't go with anything specific in mind - just to select what looked fresh, interesting and delicious.

Lots of things fit this description. I picked up a basket of small, juicy peaches that smelled too good to pass up. I also bought a whole grain baguette from Texas French Bread (http://www.texasfrenchbread.com/). This bread has proven to be the best French bread I've found in Texas, so far.

At the end of the market was a man selling, among other vegetables, beets. I love beets but have never tried to cook them before. I decided this was the perfect opportunity. Not being a big fan of cooked greens, I initially selected beets that did not have their leafy tops attached. The farmer, however, convinced me that I was missing out - he said that the greens were the best part of the beets and that their flavor was better than any other greens. I took his word for it.

Cooking the beets was easy. I wrapped them in foil and roasted in the oven for a little over an hour. After letting them cool, I peeled and sliced them. I chose to use them in a composed salad with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese, topped with oregano, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Success? Definitely.


Now it was time to cook the greens. Still a little bit apprehensive, I found a recipe for beet greens that involved my favorite vegetable of all: bacon. After sauteing some bacon (mmmm!), chopped onions and garlic, I added some water, crushed red pepper and a little bit of sugar, then braised the greens in the cooking liquid. After they were tender, I finished them off with a little bit of cider vinegar.

Ok, I know they don't look that appetizing (I swear they looked better in person), but they tasted DELICIOUS. They were sweet, smoky, tangy and flavorful. Definitely worth repeating. The only thing that would have made them taste better would been if Jack had been here to nervously watch, laugh when I forgot to hold down the top of the Brita down and spilled water everywhere, and pause Degrassi to come over and try them.

Here's the recipe if anyone's interested in trying it :)
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_greens/

Next up: tonight I'm going to attempt Cobb salad with homemade ranch dressing. (Shout out to Jonathon...) That is, if I can tear myself away from Jersey Shore.