02 Jan2011
Finding new ingredients is always a thrill for me. Whether local or foreign, I always get excited when I come across something unusual, or otherwise previously unavailable in the local market. Even better if they are locally grown. Here are three items that I picked up in what may have looked a bit like a “drug drop” at a Makati mall parking lot… A few days before Christmas, I texted the proprietor of Kitchen Herbs Farm and asked if there was any chance I could get some produce on one of their regular runs to supply some of the city’s top restaurants. Luckily, the drop of time was just a few hours later, and I managed to get lots of greens and these three items. But I had to do the “pick-up” in the parking lot of Greenbelt, armed with my own scale. :) Up top, some dill weed flowers–both beautiful and possessing a slightly more intense dill flavor than just the leaves.
I also got the most amazing baby beets, some just as big as a grape tomato or small sineguelas fruit. The beet greens still attached, these were a great find… Note the relative size of the beets to the teaspoon in the photo.
Finally, I managed to get a kilo of the youngest carrots you have ever seen, and I knew immediately I had the makings of a wonderful salad or several salads over the holidays… Up next, a salad that uses all of these wonderful finds. If you are a restaurant or chef and curious about the other herbs, mini-vegetables and delicious greens available in wholesale quantities from Kitchen Herbs Garden, contact Gejo Jimenez at kitchenherbs@gmail.com for more information.
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COMMENTS:
kayenne says:
those beets look gorgeous! and i’ve never seen carrots so small. any idea where to get carrots with the full leaves still attached and heirloom tomatoes? i sometimes need them for photography.
Jan 2, 2011 | 10:23 pm
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Bijin says:
love beets in salads!
Jan 2, 2011 | 11:01 pm
Gej says:
Happy New Year!
Thanks MM! Glad you liked the produce. Ha ha! It certainly felt like a “drug drop” at the parking lot, though the merchandise was definitely legit.
I look forward very much to see how you used them in your salad.
Kayenne, (MM, I hope you don’t mind the advertisement), Kitchen Herbs Farm will be back at the Mercato – at the Pinoy Organics area – every Sunday ( 7am – 2pm) starting this coming Sunday, January 9, till March 6 (except Feb 6). I’ll have baby and young carrots with leaves intact, plus other specialty produce.Hope to meet you there.
Hope to see you too, MM!
Jan 3, 2011 | 12:19 am
marilen says:
Delicious salad you must have made, MM , especially since you got baby beets and freshly harvested!! Love beets in all forms – fresh, canned, pickled. There is an earthy clean bite sensation about this veggie.
Jan 3, 2011 | 4:28 am
Trisha says:
Amazing developments. So good to be buying local there I bet. Dill pollen, just like fennel pollen!!! Endless possibilities…..
Jan 3, 2011 | 7:22 am
Junb says:
Oh those are Gems !!!
Jan 3, 2011 | 12:56 pm
millet says:
beautiful! the local korean community here has vegetable gardens to supply their restaurants, and they have all sorts of baby veggies -radish, carrots,squash, and many hard to find vegetables. the kimchi made with baby radish (with tops attached) is one of my favorites!
Jan 3, 2011 | 2:08 pm
millet says:
dill flowers are nice and fragrant additions to flower arrangements! the local florists here do it all the time.
Jan 3, 2011 | 2:22 pm
atbnorge says:
Awww, the dill made me long for summer because I know my plant will grow again. Soooo nice on salmon sprinkled with lemon!
Jan 3, 2011 | 10:00 pm
gara says:
where can i buy those small carrots in philippines?
Jan 6, 2011 | 5:47 pm