St. Pete’s Morning Market is soon becoming my favorite place to be. Love the people, the farmers, and the artisans!! My thoughts for today were to put together a spinach salad with fresh blueberries and well.... I don't want to give too much away. I picked up some organic produce from one of the many vendors there: Worden Farms. They had such a beautiful display of veggies, lettuces and spinach. They definitely had the prettiest tomatoes I have seen. Their flowers were so bright and vibrant, love the colors! Another weakness of mine, definitely flowers!
There were a lot of choices. My main goal today was to make a pizzazzed-up spinach salad with our supper tonight.
But you can’t have salad without the homemade dressing. I am thinking poppy seed would be great. I am very inspired by all these ingredients. I know I am going to need Dijon mustard and honey. The beautiful thing about this market and I am sure many others in this area; there are some very unique culinary finds. These are the artisans to look for; which brought me to CJ’s Gourmet Mystic Mustard. You could tell they were very elegant in their jars with nice labeling. I had to check it out. There were a lot of different mustard infused flavors. Yummy!! I decided to go for the lemon mustard, since I would need both ingredients for my poppy seed dressing. Perfect! I love it when things come together. The other flavors there that looked really good was Peach Bourbon, Garlic, Raspberry and Dill mustard to name a few.
She is at www.cjsgourmetmustard.com if you are interested in ordering some online or if you want to check it out in person. I am sure you will see CJ’s Gourmet Mustard at the St. Pete’s Morning Market on Saturdays. Thank you Carolyn, it was a pleasure meeting you and your lemon mustard did taste amazing!
My last stop was Stamper Cheese. I couldn’t leave without some cheese to top that salad off. The spinach I bought can stand up to a stronger cheese. Lots of pretty cheeses to choose from: Gouda, Blue, Swiss, Brie sheep and goat cheeses to name a few. I ended up with a smoked gouda. Really nice cheese with a smokey bite. Goes great with fruit. Stamper Cheese is a Gourmet Artisan Cheese from Wisconsin. You can reach them at www.stampercheeseflorida.com.
It was a great day to bring a some recipes and fresh ingredients together, and to get inspired. Of course today was also about enjoying the fruitfulness of life. It’s great when you can share it with friends. We ended our great afternoon with a mimosa or two, and some nibbles at Pier Teaki. Pier Teaki is a rooftop Bar at the end of the Pier in St. Petersburg. With great views of the water, St. Petersburg and beautiful Vinoy Park. If you're lucky you may see a dolphin or two. What a beautiful day we had. Life is not only a gift, it is a blessing. So it's important to be thankful for every day.
Nicole’s Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
1/2 c of mayo
2 tablespoons of CJ’s Gourmet lemon mustard
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 pinch of salt
1 turn of cracked pepper
2 tsp of poppy seeds
1/2 clove of grated fresh garlic
In a bowl add your mayonnaise, with 2 tablespoons of
CJ’s Gourmet Mystic Mustard (lemon). Whisk them together. Then add your apple cider vinegar, lemon juice with your S&P. Add 1-2 tablespoons of half and half cream. Add your poppy seeds. Combine all together. Makes about 3/4 cup of dressing.
I decided to make a spinach salad, with fresh blueberries, toasted walnuts with chunks of smoked goat cheese gouda. The dressing held up well with this hearty salad. Pairs well with steak, and salmon on the grill.
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