Passionfruit Butter

I took this a while back – there was a free king cake tasting since it was Mardi Gras time. There are some things that just incite a visceral, happy reaction, and this is one of them. There’s no better way to start your Saturday than by going to the farmers’ market.

A&K provides delicious citrus of all kinds, shapes, sizes, and colors. I’m a freak for blood oranges and got a particularly good one there.

Here I am with Jenna. We are big fans of the strawberry popsicles: pretty much mashed strawberries frozen in popsicle molds. They’re packaged in Ziploc baggies and taste like the essence of strawberry, everything good we love from the fruit. A favorite breakfast of mine.

One of my favorite CCFM purchases is Ryals cheese. The family has a farm in Tylertown, MS, and they produce some of the best goat cheese I can find. You can see some of the options here; in all, chèvre comes in regular, black pepper, Cajun spice, garlic, lemon dill, honey-pecan, and cranberry-walnut. There’s also a regular goatsmilk feta as well as a Greek feta (spices, olive oil). Everything is good, but I never leave without one of the fetas. The goatsmilk makes it sweeter – like a perfect hybrid of crumbly sheepsmilk feta and creamy chèvre.

You can see here how the log of Cajun spiced chèvre is thoroughly coated – you get a lot of bang for your buck, which means the flavor of the peppers (and a pleasantly acidic hit of vinegar) is front and center rather than an afterthought. I find it’s a perfect balance for someone who wants the comfort and richness of goat cheese but also the exciting, contrasting dynamic of fiery peppers. The log itself is just big enough to provide a counterbalance.

It’s brilliant on a Triscuit.

I will forever remember these tomatoes from the Barrilleaux farm as the ones that converted me to a tomato lover. They were served in a special salad at Patois that was so uncomplicated, featuring almost exclusively local ingredients: Ryals feta, arugula, green goddess vinaigrette, and succulent slices of these tomatoes. Contrary to the gritty, watery tomatoes that alienated me all my life, these are saturated with flavor down to the last seed. My mother and I fought over the last bites.

This is our humble recreation, drizzled with just a bit of balsamic vinegar – this was one of those nights where we wanted something delicious and wholly minimal-effort. This did the trick. The harmony and purity of the ingredients reminds me a bit of Caprese, but the feta has a saltier, more assertive flavor than sweet, mild mozzarella. And oh, god, these tomatoes. I can’t even speak.

The tomatoes are also wondrous if served with just some fresh cracked black pepper. Sorry for the blinding colors; I haven’t yet found a way to correct the various flaws that come along with nighttime/indoor photography.