The Union Street Farmers’ Market can be intimidating, especially on a student budget. To navigate it successfully, here’s the golden rule: walk through the entire Union Street Farmers’ Market once before you stop at any of the vendors. Don’t even stop for a sample, you’ll feel guilt tripped into buying something immediately. Trust me, the first strawberry you see won’t be the last.
I love to buy my herbs from Firefly Farms, but that’s just personal preference. But, one of my favorite vendors is Vine, a bakery with the most delicious fresh pastas and breads. Get there first, they sell out of the best pastas and breads pretty fast.
We don’t get a lot of fresh produce in college, so I look forward to making this meal all week: crisp salad, succulent tomato bruschetta, and my Vine pasta, drenched in a brown butter sauce that could make a grown man cry.
Brown Butter Pasta
- Prep Time:5 minutes
- Cook Time:15 minutes
- Total Time:20 minutes
- Servings:2
- Medium
- 1 package Vine pasta
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 tablespoon shallots, chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
- Fresh sage leaves
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
- Parmesan cheese, shaved
Ingredients
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Step 1
Boil a pot of water over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt and a drop of olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Cook pasta for about 5 minutes, or until al dente.
#Spoontip: save a few tablespoons of the pasta water before straining, it’ll help thin out the sauce and loosen the pasta later on.
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Step 2
Chop the shallots and garlic. Set aside.
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Step 3
Chop the rosemary and separate a few sage leaves. Set aside.
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Step 4
Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the shallots. Sautée for about a minute and add the garlic, rosemary and 4-6 sage leaves.
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Step 5
Let the sauce thicken over medium heat until the butter begins to brown and the sage wilts. Remove the sage and toss in your pasta.
#Spoontip: now you can add a couple tablespoons of your reserved pasta water so everything tosses loosely.
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Step 6
Season with salt and pepper and add some fresh parmesan, if you’d like, and enjoy.
Fresh Bruschetta
- Prep Time:10 minutes
- Cook Time:5 minutes
- Total Time:15 minutes
- Servings:2
- Easy
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon basil, dried
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Ingredients
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Step 1
Halve and seed the tomatoes. You can just scoop out the center with a spoon.
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Step 2
Slice your baguette and arrange on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven on broil for about 5 minutes.
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Step 3
Chop the tomatoes into small chunks.
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Step 4
Add dried basil.
#Spoontip: if you’re using fresh basil, chop and use about twice as much as you would dried.
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Step 5
Chop the garlic clove and add to tomatoes. Add a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and toss together.
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Step 6
Arrange your finished toast slices on a plate with the tomatoes in a separate bowl. Serve while the toast is still warm.
Simple Arugula Salad
- Prep Time:5 minutes
- Cook Time:0 minutes
- Total Time:5 minutes
- Servings:2
- Easy
- Arugula
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper
Ingredients
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Step 1
Rinse a bag (or about 3-5 cups) of arugula in a colander. Pat dry.
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Step 2
Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Toss and enjoy.