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 see 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!

Winter is the height of the season in Southern California for many of the greens we all love.

Kale, Spinach, Rapini, Chard, Mustard, Pea Tendrils. You see them this time of year at the market. They are so beautiful, like masterful Baroque still-life paintings of the Dutch Golden Age.  The intensity of detail of these greens can almost be off putting. Intricate shapes, complex gradations of color; thick, lush and vibrant. Cooking with them just makes you feel like an artist.

But if you are able to look past all the variations of green greens, you might notice another type of green entirely. And that green is RED!

You may be familiar with Red Leaf Lettuce. It’s a pretty alternative to the Green Leaf Lettuce you find in your local supermarket. Aside from its striking red blush, it tastes fairly similar to its more common green brother. Though, I swear it gets all black and slimy much quicker than the green guy.

This is one of those recipes. It seems like there are a lot of steps. It's best if you can do them over a day or two. But I promise you these are the very things that make this recipe so EASY! Because all the steps take only a few minutes of actual activity, and they can be done all at once or over several days. The cooking itself is a snap and can be made snappier with a self-timed oven.

The method of preserving the tuna is really more of an oil-poaching method. It's a wonderful method to master and can be adapted in so many ways– from salads, to main courses. I particularly like serving this tuna on toasted baguette slices with shards of red onion! So you see, it's worth the effort, because the technique will pay you back– I promise. I think I may have originally learned this method from an Alice Waters recipe. But I am pretty sure serving it with a Panzanella Salad was my idea! But don't quote me on it...

This recipe has other virtues as well. It is a great opportunity to use up that day old bread, and those less than ideal off-season tomatoes you stupidly bought. What were you thinking? Plus, it's fun to introduce new tastes to the people in your life who may take a bit of prodding when it comes to unusual or strong flavors. I consider it our duty to educate them.

I call it a Three Bean Winter Panzanella Salad with Preserved Tuna.

It’s February and half the country is snowed in. I heard there was snow in Florida last week! Well I live in Southern California and we are feeling the effects of some cold weather too. Not snow, of course, but chilly none-the-less.

Cold weather puts me in the mood for substantial dinners. Soup is good food and can be just the thing for a winter’s chill. But snow and ice require real sustenance, the kind that sticks to the ribs, and gets our butts into endurance mode. I am talking survival of the fittest, manly meals.

Manly meals require animal sacrifice. I am sorry, that is just the way it is. We are the masters of the King Of The Hill mentality, and that mindset requires us to eat other creatures in order to show our dominance. I am not kidding. It requires that.

So I have a whole week of eating other creatures planned for you here. But not wimpy little creatures that my baby sister might eat. Little girly creatures like chicken, squab or fillet of sole. Nope that’s not the kind of meat that I am talking about. In fact you won’t see anything with feathers or gills here at all this week.

If there is one universally loved vegetable it seems to be asparagus. Even the fussy eaters in my life, or the “no vegetables for me please” freaks, will eat asparagus. I know people who eat it several times a week. Even when it’s off season, expensive and not that great.

So now that the fat young spears are in season here in California, cheap, and really great I thought the time was right to honor it with this weeks Market Matters post from the Hollywood Farmers Market.

I love asparagus. But not all asparagus is the same. There are the very thin types. Often called baby asparagus. Which is mostly a misnomer because the thin spears are usually from older plants and are produced further out from the center of the plant.

Thin asparagus is usually a bit stringier.  It has an earthier, more pronounced asparagus flavor in my opinion too. This does not mean it is not as good as fat asparagus. In fact many people prefer this type. I would say fat or thin are pretty much equally good. If handled properly.  Fat spears almost always need to be peeled. Thick asparagus seems to concentrate its fibers in the skin. Peeling may be necessary because in some methods of cooking they can become a mushy mess by the time they have cooked enough to get the skin tender.

Nature’s Pride sent me a couple of loaves of bread recently asking me to try their new product. Free bread – what’s not to like!

But seriously, I thought I’d put this bread through the paces. So I made sandwiches. Good sliced bread absolutely must do well with sandwiches. It’s 90% of its duty at my house.

I am pleased to report that it indeed made excellent sandwiches. The main reason for this fact was because it's not too sweet. Have you noticed that many of the grocery store brands of bread have gotten strangely sweet? It seems modern companies have crept up the processed sugar content in these breads slowly over time. As Americans began to turn to “healthier” whole grain sliced bread I think these companies doubled down on their bets by increasing the sugar content.