Blackout Ceviche

Special credit for the term "Blackout Ceviche" goes to Johnny Northside.

You can buy shrimp at the West Broadway Farmers Market, although you might not want to do so right before a storm takes out power for two days.

That was precisely the dilemma I was faced with last weekend.  I had this great shrimp, but no way to cook it and no place to keep it fresh.  Sure, I could have used a lighter to heat up my gas-powered stove top.  Or I could have brought the shellfish to a friend's house for temporary safekeeping.  Instead, I decided to make an adventure out of this situation and also a test of faith to see if God Wanted Me To Contract Salmonella.  (He didn't, apparently.)

Ceviche, for the uninitiated, is a way to cook seafood without actually cooking it.  The acidity from citrus juices acts as a cooking agent for the meat and makes it safely edible.  As an added bonus, it is carbohydrate free, lactose free, gluten free (I think; I'm not really sure what gluten is), it doesn't contain red meat or pork, it's not cooked, and it can be made without shellfish if one so desires.  It's basically a dish that can be prepared in a way that meets the standards of almost any dietary fad and offends no one.  Except vegans.  And Ted Nugent.  Anything that ticks off both has got to be delicious, right?

So I prepared the ceviche and then stored some in my freezer and a little bit in the fridge to keep me tided over during the blackout.  Everything in this recipe was found either at the West Broadway Farmers Market, the Broadway Cub, or my own backyard garden.  The herbs from my garden are not traditional ceviche seasonings, but they were what I had available.  And just because you might want to copy my recipe, don't think you can come by and take the herbs from my house.  You'll have to buy them from the market's aggregate table.

To make "Blackout Ceviche," you take...

Winning the Jackpot at the West Broadway Farmers Market

Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Thanks to a grant from Allina Health, the West Broadway Farmers Market offers a bike/walk raffle.  If you bike or walk to the market, you can enter into a raffle to win $25.  But there's a catch:  that money has to be spent at the next market.  I was a lucky winner two weeks ago, and cashed in my Broadway bucks last week.  The deals are so good that I actually had a hard time spending twenty-five dollars in one shot.

What does $25 get you at the West Broadway Farmers Market?

Market to Mississippi

Post, photos, and images by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

On a wet but otherwise perfect October Sunday, about forty people gathered at the West Broadway Farmers Market to mark the end of the season. (almost!  We still have one Sunday left on the 30th!)  We started out at the regular site, just off of the Capri and Nice Ride kiosk near Logan and Broadway.  From there we went to 26th, then up Emerson to Webber Park, and across to North Mississippi Regional Park.  With a few dozen people of varying abilities, and an equipment malfunction, the ride took almost an hour.  But biking it alone at a decent clip, one could probably make it in closer to twenty minutes.

Some folks brought out their customized bikes for one last spin before the weather turns cold.

Along the way, the devastation of the tornado was still prevalent, especially once we got to the river...

Black Onyx Creations Serves Up Top-Notch Coffee!

Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman

Over much of the summer I've been hula hooping at the West Broadway Farmers Market, and supporting local businesses who sell their produce here. One of my favorite vendors is Black Onyx Creations, who serve up a terrific cup of joe. Today they are selling my favorite kind of java, Tanzanian Peaberry coffee.

Frank and Terry Wlliams, the proprietors, explained to me why it is that the Tanzanian Peaberry is better than other peaberry coffees. This blend is made specifically from a bean that is grown as a single bean. Other peaberries are just the genetic anomalies of regular coffee beans. As I sit here typing this post, I'm hearing Frank expound on the finer points of Black Onyx's chais and other blends. Their knowledge of the finer points of their coffee is matched only by the quality of their product.

(Oh, and their ability to swap at the hornets that come to visit the market.)

The Farmers Market is open on West Broadway, just east of Penn Ave, Sundays 10-3, through the end of October. The caffeine kick will kickstart hula hooping too!

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