ASHLAND – When it comes to flavorful and nutritious food, there’s nothing like fresh and local.
Ashland University chef Kevin Burke said the seasonal foods at Ashland Main Street’s Downtown Farmers Market speak to him.
“Two weeks ago there wasn’t as much variety as there is now, as you have the cauliflowers and the cabbages and things coming on,” he said. “You start in the beginning of the season, and nature just takes you through it. In a couple weeks we’ll be seeing more of the winter squash, more apples and pears.”
This time of year Burke likes to savor fresh tomatoes with fresh basil, fresh mozerella, olive oil, salt and pepper, or he tosses cantalope with lime, mint, yogurt and honey for a refreshing treat.
Burke shared his farmers market food preparation tips with Ashland University staff and other guests at Wednesday’s farmers market.
- For fajitas, cook a hanger steak or a flank steak over high heat to medium or medium rare, and then slice it on the bias
- To help a tree fruit ripen faster, put it in a bag with an apple. Don’t store a tree fruit next to lettuce.
- For a fresh take on melon, add small amounts of lime juice, mint, organic yogurt and honey. If you like spice, you can toss melon with jalepeno and cilantro as well as cumin or coriander.
- Season foods at every stage of cooking, not just at the end. For example, roast potatoes with oil, salt and pepper and garlic. The salt helps them caramelize.
- Cut down on the amount of oil you use to stir fry by getting a wok or fry pan very hot first and frying only small amounts of food at a time.
The program was part of the university’s Real Food Challenge for faculty and staff, according to Director of Campus Wellness Deborah Sullivan.
“We’re encouraging people to eat minimally-processed foods, and they’re just keeping track on an honor system for six weeks,” Sullivan said. “I send out a weekly email with some tips, and then the group has been sharing recipes.”
Burke led two farmers market sessions and is preparing two healthy meals from his farmers market finds to serve at the Eagles’ Nest on campus.
At the end of the challenge, the university will raffle off healthy prizes like lunch for two prepared by the chef and gift certificates from Local Roots and Honey Haven Farm.
The Real Food Challenge is just one of several wellness initiatives at the university, Sullivan said. Another popular initiative allows staff to sign up to use a desk cycle, which allows them to pedal while seated at their desk. Sullivan said the program started with two sharing around campus and now has 12 of the devices– and a waiting list.
During Wednesday’s farmers market trip, Burke praised the meats from Twin Oak Farms in Perrysville for being hormone-free and antibiotic-free and he highly recommended Merle Griffith’s local honey. The honey might cost a bit more at the farmers market than the store, Burke said, but he promised market-goers that if they tried it once, they would never buy honey anywhere else.
Burke shared several simple recipes for fresh fuits and vegetables and answered questions like, “How do I know if a melon is ripe?” (It should have a little give, a sweet smell and a smooth texture. If it’s rough, it was picked too early.)
Ashland Main Street Executive Director Sandra Tunnell said she appreciates the collaboration with Ashland University to bring people to the market and show them how to shop for and prepare food.
“A lot of people are intimidated by a farmers market because you see the food and you don’t know what to do with it,” she said. “I thought it was really generous of Kevin to walk around and explain things to people. And everything he said is relatively simple. You don’t have to have a culinary degree to do great things.”
The downtown farmers market runs 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Oct. 6 in the City of Ashland’s Parking Lot B, between Claremont Avenue and Luther Street, just south of Town Creek.
