Legumes Moches

I think it was Roger who mentioned the promotion of “ugly” vegetables and fruits in French grocery stores at a third of the price of “pretty” or regulation vegetables and fruits. I thought about this again after another dismal and disappointing visit to the weekly Farmers’ Market and comparison shopping for organic local vegetables in the supermarket. I think I begin to see the light.

The Farmers’ Market, maybe a half dozen tables with a handful of each variety of vegetables or fruit, looks like the aftermath of a holocaust, 10-20 years later when things are starting to grow again. In this case, local organic means scarce, ugly and therefore outrageously expensive. That can’t be right! And it’s not.

Many of the same farms that sell local, organic vegetables and fruits in the market, also sell to the supermarkets and while the produce is a bit more expensive than the non organic, there is a lot of variety and appearance counts. So, I think I will either buy in the supermarket or go directly to each farm for variety if nothing else.

Uninspired, I didn’t know what I was going to cook today so I just added things to a pot until I had something. My husband had bought some Italian sausage links on sale, God knows where, that I used along with some lean ground beef.

Sauteing vegetables in olive oil is always a good beginning.

Random Ragout

1 lb bulk hot Italian sausage

1 lb lean ground beef

1 large purple onion, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 each orange and green bell pepper, diced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cans chicken broth

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cans cannelini beans, drained

1 can yellow hominy, drained

Brown the sausage and beef together in a skillet, drain and set aside.

Saute the onion, garlic and bell peppers in the olive oil until the onion is soft. Add the reserved ground meat, grape tomatoes, oregano, basil, bay leaf, diced tomatoes, broth, cumin, salt and pepper, then bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the beans and hominy and continue to simmer for 20 minutes.