Fresh finds: Market Square farmers market

The 68,000-square-foot plaza that became Market Square was first mapped out by architect John Campbell in 1764.

Originally known as Diamond Square or Diamond Market, Market Square has been the hub of downtown Pittsburgh since before the U.S. Constitution was drafted. It was the home of the first Allegheny County Courthouse and Pittsburgh City Hall, as well as that of the first courthouse, jail and newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains.

The first “Public Market and Stalls” were established in the square in 1794, and since then, the historic little plot of land at the intersection of Forbes Avenue and Market Street has been host to almost constant social and economic activity.

When you visit the Market Square of today, you can feel the energy as you approach. Whether it's lunch hour, happy hour or well after the dinner hour, the square is a festive and lively space where bustling crowds of locals and visitors take time to shop, dine, listen to live music, connect to free Wi-Fi or just sit and relax for a few minutes.

Among the many scheduled events and activities in Market Square is the weekly farmers market, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays, between May and November. An estimated 7,000 to 10,000 customers make the trek into Market Square each week to purchase everything from biscotti to beeswax candles from the 25 vendors who set up shop for the occasion.

My goal on my visit was to purchase the ingredients needed to make a simple weeknight family dinner, so my visit to this farmers market began with a search for an entrée item.

I spotted a sign for smoked salmon and made my way to the Billy's Country Smokehouse stand. About 40 years ago, Billy Kocevar of Greensburg, Westmoreland County, had developed such a stellar reputation for his hickory-smoked, handcrafted kolbassi, prepared in a homemade icebox-turned-smoker, he decided to expand and open a business offering a full line of smoked meats. And, with the help of his daughter Shirley Stana, he did just that. Since Kocevar's passing 20 years ago, Stana owns and operates the business, still in its original location. Today, Billy's Country Smokehouse (www.billyscountrysmokehouse.com) offers smoked ham, kolbassi, turkey, bacon, beef and pork logs, sausage, hot dogs, pepper sticks, beef jerky and salmon.

Billy's also offers wild-game processing and smoking of deer, bear, turkey, caribou, elk and quail. Their stand at the farmers market offers packages of many of their standard smoked products, and ready-to-eat hot foods like their smoked hot dogs and kolbassi sandwiches. I opted for a package of smoked salmon and a package of the signature smoked kolbassi. The salmon sold at Billy's is a fillet of smoked salmon, my favorite kind, and not the cured salmon that is also known as lox.

I made a spread of Greek yogurt with fresh, minced radishes, fresh flatleaf parsley and minced garlic to serve with the salmon. The fish was moist and cooked to medium. And the smoke flavor was subtle, allowing the flavor of the salmon to come through. I grilled the kolbassi that evening, and with one bite, it took me immediately to memories of a campfire. It is absolutely one of the best sausages I've ever tasted.

With my purchase in hand, I decided that a simple, no-frills, weeknight dinner was in order. I was thinking grilled kolbassi sandwiches and a salad, maybe a little appetizer and even some dessert. Everything I needed to make that happen was available in the market that day. I would need bread for sandwiches, so my next stop was at the Rise Above Bakery stand.

The Rise Above Bakery and Cafe (www.theriseabovebakeryandcafe.com), in Forest Hills, is a small, family-run bakery and cafe specializing in home-style, handmade breads, pastries and cookies, all of which are made without additives or preservatives. Fran Mcdermott-Kvorjak, owner and baker, mixes wholesome ingredients, old family recipes and a lot of love and care into her food. I purchased a loaf of Hungarian Farm bread, a slightly dense, sweet, soft, white bread and a loaf of focaccia, dusted with herbs and spices and baked as a round loaf of bread.

I noticed the Cino de Mayo Salsas sign and decided to make chips and salsa our appetizer that evening. Arturo Vizzuette has been selling his hand-crafted salsas on the sidewalk in front of Enrico Biscotti Co. in the Strip District for about 16 years. He makes the rounds at area farmers markets and can be found inside the Pittsburgh Public Market on Saturdays. Vizzuette, originally from Mexico City, Mexico, uses the freshest available ingredients and recipes passed down to him from his mother and grandmother. He is passionate about his salsas and, outside of your kitchen; you will find no fresher product. He also sells fresh tortilla chips. After a few samples, my daughter chose the Roasted Red Salsa, a mild, roasted-tomato and jalapeno salsa. I choose my absolute favorite, the Spanish Peanut Salsa, a slightly spicy combination of roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, roasted peanuts, smoked morita chili peppers and other seasonings. We also purchased a bag of red corn tortilla chips to round out our appetizer course. Vizzuette grew up using salsas as sauces for fish, chicken and meat. You can find some of his shared family recipes on the food blog www.foodcollage.com.

At this point, all we needed for dinner was some assorted produce and a little something for dessert. We rounded out the rest of our produce purchases at Harvest Valley Farm of Valencia, Butler County; Clarion River Organics, a cooperative of 10 family farms in Sligo, Clarion County, Spring Harvest Farm of Cochranton, Crawford County; and Maple Run Farm of Ebensburg, Cambria County.

Maple Run Farm is an Amish farm owned and operated by the Joseph Dook family for the past 12 years. Katie Dook, the daughter of Joseph, helped me select some beautiful yellow tomatoes for my salad. While doing that, my daughter spotted the homemade desserts, and we decided to purchase a giant Whoopie Pie — also known as Gobs — and a mini Shoo-Fly Pie.

The Market Square Farmers Market is worth the trip. The energy of the crowd is infectious, the fresh and prepared foods are phenomenal. The live music is excellent, and a visit to today's Market Square will leave you excited about the future of Downtown. Details: www.downtownpittsburgh.com

This entire meal and buffet took less than an hour to prepare and set up, thanks to the prepared foods that I purchased at the farmers market. This is one of the easiest family meals I've prepared all summer.

Smoked Salmon with Yogurt and Radish Spread

½ cup Greek strained yogurt

2 large radishes, finely chopped

10 to 12 large leaves of flatleaf parsley, chopped

½ clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 (6- to 8-ounce) smoked-salmon fillet

Combine all of the ingredients — except the salmon — in a small mixing bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Serve on the side with the salmon fillet and crackers or sliced bread.

Makes 6-8 appetizer servings.

Family-Size Grilled Kolbassi Sandwich

¹⁄₄ cup, plus 2 tablespoons, extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium-size sweet red bell pepper, sliced

½ large red onion, sliced

3 medium-size banana peppers, sliced with seeds

4 small sweet orange bell peppers, sliced

2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 loaf Hungarian Farm Bread

1 pound package Billy's Smoked Kolbassi, cut into segments and sliced in half lengthwise

Heat the ¹⁄₄ cup of olive oil in a large saute pan on medium high to high heat. Add all of the sliced veggies, and the salt and pepper, and toss in the hot oil until slightly tender. While your veggies are cooking, slice the loaf of bread in half lengthwise. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to each side of the bread. Grill the inside of the bread on a griddle or grill or in a large saute pan until golden brown. Transfer to a cutting board.

Add the kolbassi slices to the griddle, grill or pan. Cook the kolbassi on both sides until it is slightly caramelized and warm. Transfer the kolbassi slices to the bottom half of the bread and arrange it neatly. Toss the hot veggies once more, then top the sliced and heated sausages with the cooked veggies. Add the top half of the loaf of bread and slice the sandwich into 6-8 portions. Serve hot.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Summer Harvest Salad

1 medium-size head Bibb lettuce

1 medium-size head green-leaf lettuce

2 medium-size ripe yellow tomatoes, cut into small wedges

3 medium-size radishes, thinly sliced

½ medium-size sweet red bell pepper, cut into small slices

1 medium-size sweet orange bell pepper, cut into small slices

½ large red onion thinly sliced

Favorite salad dressing

Rinse and pat dry the lettuce and all of the veggies before slicing. Arrange the lettuce and cut veggies on a platter, and serve with your favorite salad dressing.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Olive Oil Dip for Focaccia Bread

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons aged balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Loaf of focaccia, sliced

Fresh basil, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, optional

Pour the olive oil onto a plate with a rim. Use a high-quality olive oil for this dip. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar around the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with sliced focaccia bread for dipping. Optional ingredients that can be added to your dip include a few leaves of sliced, fresh basil, 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon of freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese.

Whoopie Pies

We purchased our desserts from the Maple Run Farm stand. But here is my grandmother's recipe if you'd like to make your own.

For the cake:

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter or lard

1 cup hot water

1 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

4 cups flour

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 large eggs, beaten

Butter for greasing cookie sheet

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare the cake: Cream the sugar and butter or lard, then add the hot water. Sift the dry ingredients together, and add them alternately with the milk, then add the vanilla. Add the beaten eggs last, beating until well-blended. Drop by the teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool and fill.

For the filling:

2 large egg whites, beaten

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons vanilla

4 tablespoons flour

4 cups confectioners' sugar, divided use

1½ tablespoons butter or Crisco

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the milk, vanilla, flour and 2 cups confectioners' sugar. Beat well and add the rest of the confectioners' sugar and the butter or Crisco last. Spread the filling on the bottom of a cooled cookie, then top it with a second cookie. These will freeze well if wrapped in plastic.

Makes 8-12 small Whoopie Pies.

Shoo-Fly Pie

For this recipe — also from my grandmother — you will need one 9-inch unbaked pie shell.

For the crumb mixture:

1 cup flour

²⁄₃ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

For the filling:

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 large egg, slightly beaten

¾ cup hot water, plus ¹⁄₄ cup more

1 teaspooon baking soda

To prepare the crumb mixture: Mix together all of the ingredients with a fork and set half aside.

To prepare the filling: Mix together the corn syrup, egg and ³⁄₄ cup water, and add this mixture to ½ of the crumb mixture. Add the baking soda to ¼ cup of hot water, mix well, and add it to the filling, as well. Mix well and pour all of the mixture into an unbaked 9-inch pie shell. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of crumbs over the top of the pie.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool for 8 hours or overnight before serving.

Makes 1 pie.

Olga Watkins is the head chef at Hollywood Gardens in Rochester, Pa., and leader of the Olga Watkins Band.