Nants Foley and Marcie Lee Morrow shared their favorite ways to cook broccoli and cauliflower at the Downtown Hollister Farmer’s Market on Wednesday. Cooking demonstrations, presented by Sabor Farms, are a new addition to the revamped Farmer’s Market, which now encompasses three blocks of San Benito Street.
Each week the Farmer’s Market cooking demo will highlight fresh fruit and vegetables prepared by well-known locals.
Foley and Morrow demonstrated how to make a Quicksilver Farm Classic Frittata using farm-fresh eggs, local broccoli and Morrow’s own HazMat hot sauce. More than 20 watched as they chopped, whisked, sautéed and seasoned until the egg dish was finished.
Throughout the cooking process, Foley and Morrow shared tips and stories with the audience.
Foley explained why eating fresh, local food is important and how easy it is to transform a normal side dish into something healthy that the whole family will enjoy. “What does this look like,” Foley said as she held up a bowl of what seemed to be mashed potatoes. “This is made with cauliflower and it’s absolutely delicious.”
“Who likes nachos?” Foley asked. “You can make your broccoli taste like nachos,” she said. Foley explained that by adding cheese and a dash of HazMat hot sauce to cooked broccoli, an everyday vegetable could be exciting to eat.
Morrow, the woman behind the locally produced HazMat hot sauce, shared her story. While working as a paramedic, she was challenged by one firehouse to make hot sauce from chiles they grew. “I was in my kitchen with gloves, goggles and a mask on while making the sauce, when it dawned on me –this is a HAZMAT!” Morrow said. The final product became a flavorful, fiery sauce made with apricots and habañeros.
Recipes were submitted by Slow Food San Benito Bounty members and include: Quicksilver Farm Classic Frittata, Slow Food San Benito Bounty Spicy Cauliflower, Ann’s Favorite Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes, Karminder’s Favorite Broccoli and Kat’s Cauliflower Fried “Rice.”
If you would like a copy of the recipes from this week’s cooking demonstration, email Nants Foley at Nantsfoley@gmail.com.