Going Loco for Local: Deborah Madison

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IF IT WERE up to Deborah Madison, famed chef and author of books such as "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," squash and melon would never travel farther than from the farm to the farmers market before hitting your plate. She spoke with us about frequenting produce stands, throwing a dinner party using locally sourced ingredients and her new-in-paperback book, "Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating From America's Farmers' Markets" ($26, Broadway).

» EXPRESS: When did you first go to markets?
When I was in college in Cambridge in the '60s. It was Haymarket Square, so it wasn't strictly a farmers' market, but we didn't know any better at the time. It was outdoors with merchants who seemed to know what they were selling.

» EXPRESS: What's their appeal?
Traveling, you get a sense of the possibilities of a region by visiting the farmers' market. I like to find foods that really speak to a place. I live in New Mexico, so our local market has chilies and corn-based foods, like tamales.

» EXPRESS: Which products are most different at the farmers' market versus, supermarkets?
» MADISON: The difference is greatest in fruit. I watch people look at fruit at the supermarket and nobody smells it — there's nothing to smell. Foods that have just been picked have a vibrancy supermarkets can't offer.

» EXPRESS: So, you've had some bad run-ins with fruit recently?
» MADISON: We had a hard winter in New Mexico, so I've had to test recipes with fruit from the good old supermarket. I made a peach tart that looked beautiful, but when we sat down to eat, my husband said: "This doesn't taste like anything." Supermarket fruit is like eating shadows instead of the real thing.

» EXPRESS: Do you find that people who host you at dinner parties feel pressured to localize their produce?
» MADISON: No, I've never noticed that. I'm the one who feels pressured! But, then, it's not usually a problem or an issue. Most of my friends are gardeners or farmers' market fans, so the food is local.

» EXPRESS: What do you suggest to people who don't have the time or inclination to shop at farmers' markets?
» MADISON: Not everybody can make it to the farmers' market, and not everybody wants to go spend the day there. I'm beginning to see people all over the country putting together what they call CSA [community supported agriculture] boxes from a number of farms or a co-op of farmers. So, a box wouldn't just be a mound of kale from one farm, but eggs, a chicken, cheese, baked goods, perhaps fruit. It offers a wider variety of foods from farmers who sell at the market.

» EXPRESS: What's your favorite supermarket indulgence? Oreos? Snickers?
» MADISON: I don't have a big taste for that kind of thing, to tell you the truth.

» EXPRESS: Come on — how about Jif?
» MADISON: OK, you've got me. I love peanut butter. I'll have peanut butter and a little piece of dark chocolate at 10 in the morning any day of the week. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are delicious, but sort of deadly.

» EXPRESS: How do you entertain at home?
» MADISON: I've never been a really organized entertainer, but I have finally learned that it's wonderful sometimes to have the work done by the time people arrive. Most of the time, friends are here, I'm just messing around in the kitchen. It often unfolds as we chat.

» EXPRESS: What do you sip this time of year?
» MADISON: I love to make gin and soda drinks using Hendrick's Gin, rose petals and cucumbers. That's always sort of special for starters.

Written by Express contributor Erin Hartigan
Photos courtesy Broadway Books