Something New to Play With

One of the most innovative farmers at the Bellingham Farmers Market is Roslyn McNicholl, who owns Rabbit Fields Farm, a small organic farm near the Nooksack River. Roslyn recently introduced her own smoked and dried cayenne peppers, which inspired the Whatcom Locavore, Nancy Ging, to use them in a homemade adobo sauce. Nancy has a feature article and recipe using only food produced in our county in the local paper every Tuesday, and I always look forward to reading them.

Those peppers, plus a local wreath from Sumas River Farm for our front door, were on the top of my shopping list this morning. Given the peppers' twists and textures, I thought they might make an interesting blip.

The pepper on the bottom was smoked with apple and alder wood, and the curlier, redder one with cherry and hickory wood. I look forward to experimenting with them in my own kitchen (also known as "playing with food"). You may see them again in a different pose -- or more likely, mere shadows of their former shelves.