THIS WEEK AT THE FARMERS MARKET Carole Osterink ccSCOOP Editor 05-24-09 - 3:30 p.m. - This Saturday at the Hudson Farmers Market—my local farmers market—arugula was in abundance. Arugula is great in salads, piled on pizza, stuffed with mushrooms and cheese into quesadillas, and tossed with pasta, but now when arugula is abundant and local basil isn’t ready yet, it’s good to remember that you can use arugula to make pesto. The process is the same as making basil pesto. For every cup of packed arugula leaves, use a tablespoon each of toasted pine nuts, a (packed) tablespoon of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Put the arugula, pine nuts, and cheese in a blender or food processor and blend until the mixture is almost smooth. Gradually drizzle in the olive oil as you continue blending until the mixture is well combined. Then season to taste with salt and pepper.

You can use this pesto for anything you’d use basil pesto for, but it’s especially good tossed with boiled or steamed Yukon gold potatoes, cooled to room temperature, for an early summer potato salad.

Rhubarb made its appearance at the farmers market this week. Since the local strawberries aren’t ready yet, it’s too early for strawberry rhubarb pies and tarts, but in the meantime, you make rhubarb compote. Start with two pounds of rhubarb, washed, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Put it in a heavy saucepan with 1¼ cups sugar and ⅓ cup water. If you’d like, add a little minced crystallized ginger. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer until the rhubarb is very soft—about 20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and let it cool. Rhubarb compote is delicious over vanilla ice cream—or, if you haven’t added ginger to the compote, over ginger ice cream.

The Farm at Miller’s Crossing had red radishes for sale at the farmers market. Not a lot of guidance is needed to enjoy a radish. Wash it, trim it, and crunch it down. But you’ve never experienced a radish sandwich, it’s time you did. You’ll need good quality white bread and butter. Generously butter two slices of bread. Cover one piece of the bread with sliced radishes. Overlap the radish slices. Be generous. Add a sprinkle of salt and cover with the other slice of bread. If you’re planning on serving this for high tea, cut off the crusts and cut the sandwich into four squares or triangles. If it’s just your lunch, cut the sandwich in half and enjoy.

I discovered a more sophisticated variation of the radish sandwich about a decade ago in Food & Wine magazine, presented as a starter for a casual dinner party. In this variation, salted butter is slathered on small pieces of pumpernickel bread and topped with shredded red radishes. This is a great appetizer for the single host/chef. You can set out all the ingredients and have your guests create their own canapés while you attend to things in the kitchen or at the grill.

A few weeks ago while searching on epicurious.com for something new to serve as hors d’oeuvres, I discovered a recipe for Tuscan Kale Chips. It seemed so simple and promised to be so extraordinary that I was determined to try it, but at the time there was no proper kale to be found. So on Saturday, when I spotted beautiful fresh kale offered by the Germantown Community Farm at the farmers market, I snapped it up, with the intention of trying this recipe, and that very evening I did.

Nothing could be easier than these “chips.” Toss kale leaves with a little olive oil. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet—making certain that they don’t overlap—and bake them in a 250 degree oven for half an hour. That’s it. I made half the recipe, using six kale leaves instead of twelve. It’s a good thing I exercised restraint at the beginning, because showed none when they were done. I poured myself a glass of Pinot Grigio and ate them all—without guilt! These giant “chips” are not only vegan, they’re low in calories, low in cholesterol, and incredibly delicious. What could be better?