Farmer's Market Inspired Cooking

Last week, I was inspired by a story I read about farm share boxes.  So, Saturday morning I woke up in plenty of time to make it to the Mississippi Farmer's Market at the fairgrounds to create my own.  I decided I would get $20 from the ATM and leave after I spent it all (which took all of 15 minutes).  The market was packed with shoppers and enthusiastic merchants and farmers.  I wished I had 5 dollars more to get some fresh eggs, but other than that I was completely satisfied with my purchases.

I decided I would pair these fresh ingredients with some frozen meats we need to use to make our menu for the week.  Here's what I came up with:

Sunday:  Pizza and salad for Basketball night
Monday:  Steak Salad
Tuesday: (Eating with Family for an early Father's Day celebration)
Wednesday:  Mexican "Lasagna"
Thursday:  Eggplant Parmesan
Friday:  Eggs Benedict with Pork Green Chili

Sunday I did a lot of cooking.  I made my own pizza dough, whipped up some apple cinnamon muffins to eat for breakfast for the week, and made a first attempt at home cooked pork green chili, which will top my mexican lasagna and eggs benedict.  I was completely unfamiliar with pork green chili until I lived in Colorado, and now it's one of my favorite condiments.  I don't know if its traditional uses (more than likely, people just eat it like the chili it is), but I like to put in on burritos, eggs, grits, enchiladas, potatoes, etc.

Recipe:
1 tbs. olive oil
1 lb. pork stew meat
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 jalepenos, seeded and diced
1 serrano chili, seeded and diced
4 cups chicken stock
1 jar of salsa verde
1 small can of diced green chilis
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 chopped cilantro

Heat oil in a large pot and brown the meat.  Once browned on all sides, remove from pot and cook onions, garlic, jalepenos, and serrano chili until everything is slightly brown (sprinkle with salt to sweat onions).  Add meat back into pot and stir in chicken stock, salsa verde, green chilis, oregano, cumin, and salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours until the chili is thickened.  Add chopped cilantro and cool.

I'm pretty happy with the result, but next time I think I'll try roasting my own tomatillos instead of buying salsa verde to make the flavor more complex.  Those fresh chilis from the market really did make a difference!