It's Sunday, time for another Market Matters from the Hollywood Farmers Market. Today I set my sights on green garlic, which is the immature bulb and stalk of the garlic you know and love. It only makes an appearance for a brief time in spring. I was determined to get my hands on some today. The market did not disappoint either. I came home with a couple of big bunches. How lucky is that?

Speaking of lucky, I don't know what's happening to me. I think I am on a roll!

Because the food I have been presenting lately has really inspired me. I think I have upped my game here at SippitySup. I am a pretty good cook. But I am what I consider a casual cook. But some of this fare lately; it seems downright fancy! What's gotten into me? I might get used to sacheying around the blogosphere like a real cook. Something's got to give though... there's a flop in my future. I can feel it.

But not today. I made soufflé, or rather soufflés– 8 perfect little individual-sized Green Garlic, Leek & Goat Cheese Soufflés. Not only were they not a flop, they weren't flat either. They rose right out of those little ramekins and held their volume long enough for me to snap a photo of them right at their peak. If you'll pardon the pun. So I hope you will click over or scroll down and take a look-see at how pretty they are.

And as if that weren't lucky enough. I was even able to get them to the table for lunch with friends; proudly towering and piping hot. I served them with a simple green salad, really good bread and a nice bottle of Sancere.

Yeah, it's a pretty good life!

Meat & Potatoes. I promised a week of Meat & Potatoes. 6 recipes in 6 days. That's a week in my book. So this is the last of these recipes.

My meat is sausage. Spicy Italian sausage. My potatoes are potatoes. Is that clear enough?

If not I should also say this is a recipe for flatbread. Meat & Potato Flat Bread with Mustard Greens. I added the mustard greens because spring has begun to sprung here in So. Cal and the hills are alive! Every spring the first things to come alive in the hills near my house are wild mustard plants. That means urban foraging to me.

I live in the Hollywood Hills. My street backs up to some L.A. County conservancy property, which bleeds into Lake Hollywood and the land owned by Department of Water and Power, and culminates in 4200 acres of Griffith Park. That is a lot of wild land in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world.

As I said, winter rain makes spring come early in California. Julie Andrews has nothin’ on these hills, because they really are “alive” right now. That means the tasty young leaves of wild mustard are everywhere. So I was out bright and early today gathering a big bag of mustard greens. Naturally I just had to use them within hours of picking them. So they make an appearance here in the last of my Meat & Potato posts. Meat & Potato Flat Bread with Mustard Greens serves 8 CLICK here for a printable recipe.

Neeps and Tatties. That did not come out of my brain. But I have had them on my brain ever since I first read about them over at The Daily Spud. It seems Neeps and Tatties are a traditional Scotish favorite, though my version is hardly traditional.

I am sure you can guess that the Tatties are taters. Actualy potaters. But Neeps may be new to you. If so I hope the name makes you smile as much as it does me. Especially when said in conjunction with Tatties! Neeps and Tatties. I dare not say where my mind goes when I hear that phrase.

But where my mind should be going is to the Scotish turnip, or what we would call a rutabaga. Because that's what a Neep is. A super huge rutabaga. I used regular old American-sized rutabagas so keep that in mind when reading the recipe. It's a long recipe too so I want to get a move on here. But I do need to say this is another entry in  my week of Meat and Potatoes, or rather my week of Meat and Tatties (with Neeps).

Eating in truly exceptional restaurants is one of life's great joys in my opinion. Fortunately I live in Los Angeles where there is no shortage of such establishments. But for a variety of reasons (such as the state of my wallet) you can't always indulge yourself in this manner.

Still, sometimes you want to eat something special. Something particular. Maybe it's a regional specialty that you are craving. Perhaps it contains some unusual or hard to find ingredients. These are the times it pays to be a decent cook. But even decent cooks can get slammed up against the wall because when you crave something particular, something unusual there is the likely possibility that the corner market is not gonna carry all the items you need. How are you gonna make your particular culinary dream come true?

You could always improvise. There is a certain joy in creating something out of nothing. You could substitute a few anchovys for the Colatura di Alici in that special pasta you flipped over in that little seaside village south of Rome. You'd feel great, the pasta would be delicious, but deep inside you'd know it wasn't REALLY what you were craving.

So here we are on day 4 of mint.

We did a mint tea that highlights the simplest essence of the herb. Then we used it as part of a medley of bright notes in a fruity tomato salad. We continued coaxing its distinctive flavor out by infusing mint into a classically French Cherry soup.

But I never really discussed why it is I chose mint in the first place. There certainly are more glamorous herbs in this world. What about shiso? Everybody is talking about that exotic little leaf.

It seems I have had a French flair going on here lately. So why not feature the most classic of the Provençal herbs, rosemary?

But I chose mint.

Partly because I wanted to prove it’s not just for Tic-Tacs and toothpaste, but also because I have a deep and abiding respect for mint. It took me a lot of years to get there though.

Time once again for another Market Matters. I am choosing the leek. While it is true that leeks are generally available any time of the year. It should be noted that traditionally they were a warm climate wintertime crop.

Leeks really are one of those cornerstone ingredients. They play support so very well in soups and stews. They are indispensable in many broths and sauces.

In France, the leek is known as poireau, which oddly enough is also a derogatory term meaning "simpleton."  But the leek is anything but simplistic. The leek has a very refined, subtly sweet flavor. Far more nuanced than its cousin the standard onion. I think it deserves the spotlight once in a while. And that’s just what I intend to do. So get ready Mr. DeMille, Allium porrum is ready for her close-up!

Thought to be native to the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern areas, leeks have been cultivated for more than 3,000 years. They have long been popular in Europe. But have only just begun to become a staple here in the U.S.A. That’s in a large part due to foodies like you! So good job!

But this also means I don’t have any “at the ready” ideas about how to give this gal her starring role. I need inspiration.