Lifestyle

Jeff Black points out what he thinks may be the largest oyster bar on the East Coast. (Tim Carman/The Washington Post) Jeff Black, the restaurateur who has given us such places at BlackSalt in the Palisades and Addie’s in Rockville, really hates it when journalists and bloggers refer to his expanding restaurant “empire.” It’s kind of hard to blame him: Just Google “Jeff Black” and “restaurant empire,” and check out those results.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

That’s right: Nearly 5,000 results by my search. “They always say, ‘Jeff’s empire is growing bigger,’ and I hate that,” Black says this afternoon over lunch. “It gets under my skin.”

Black’s wife and business partner, Barbara Black, thought it would be better for her husband to embrace the imperial term rather than reject it. Embrace it he has: The Blacks’ forthcoming project in the Mosaic District in Merrifield will be called the Empire Oyster House.

Turnips are currently available at farmers markets around the area. (Edward Schneider for The Washington Post) The first turnips of the season arrived a few weeks ago, little white (or purple-streaked) roots and abundant greens. Most years, I serve the two separately, the turnips lightly butter-glazed and the greens cooked in an Italianate way and served with pasta or on grilled bread.

And that is how I cooked them on a recent market day, but with the idea of serving them together, following the unimpeachable logic of nose-to-tail (or root-to-leaf) turnip eating.

The greens I cooked in advance: In a big pan, I rendered some thinly sliced guanciale, and in the resulting fat (supplemented with olive oil), I sweated two cloves of garlic, sliced, and some chili flakes (actually half a small crushed chipotle, whose smokiness can add an extra dimension, no matter what the cuisine). After cutting the turnip tops in half and rinsing them thoroughly — but draining them imperfectly, leaving some water to cook them in — I packed them into the pan, added salt and covered the pan until the greens had begun to wilt. A few minutes later, they were done — thoroughly cooked, with the stems retaining a little crunch. I set them aside to cool.

Without "lean finely textured beef,” says Temple Grandin, major cattle producers might as well take a "truckload of cattle and say, 'We're just going to throw these cattle in the garbage.' " (Nati Harnik, File/Associated Press) Temple Grandin — the famed animal scientist, author and inspiration behind the HBO film about her struggle with autism — says she didn’t know much about “lean finely textured beef” this spring when the controversy broke over the so-called “pink slime.” So she remained mum on the subject that grossed out a nation.

“I only like to talk about things that I know about,” Grandin said, explaining her silence during a Wednesday phone interview with All We Can Eat.

Well, Grandin has since educated herself, and she’s clearly in support of pink slime, the pejorative term to describe carcass trimmings that are heated, run through a centrifuge (to remove fat) and treated with ammonium hydroxide to kill pathogens. To Grandin, it’s all about waste.

“It should be on the market. It should be labeled,” she says of the meat filler. “We should not be throwing away that much beef.”

Many markets have started to welcome shoppers this season, but a few more will open this week (additional details are available through the map link below):

• Thursday’s Workhouse Farmers Market

• Saturday’s Smart Markets at Springfield

• Wednesday’s NoMa Farmers Market

• Wednesday’s Shady Grove Farmers and Artisans’ Market

INTERACTIVE: Click the image above to view our interactive farmers market map.

And now for a taste of what you’ll find:

At Thursday’s FreshFarm Market by the White House:

Bigg Riggs Farm: rainbow chard; spinach; strawberries; kohlrabi.

Coulter Farms: oxtail; tongue; raw cow’s-milk cheese.

Grassential Farm: veal.

Picnic Gourmet Spreads: cheese spreads (Parmesan, Moroccan cilantro, Gorgonzola chive, tandoori garlic).

Spring Valley Farm and Orchard: sugar snap peas.

At Thursday’s FreshFarm Market in Penn Quarter:

Evensong Farm: beef (all cuts); three kinds of pork sausage.

Garner’s Produce: English and snap peas; Yukon Gold potatoes; summer squash; Savoy cabbage.

Mountain View Farm: strawberries; mizuna. Certified organic.

Sand Hill Farm: broccoli.

Happy almost-June, everyone. You can tell summer’s on the way because this week we announce the results of our second annual Smoke Signals Barbecue Sauce Contest. I must say, it’s one of our favorite judging events; our panel got to taste some dynamite sauces this year. Whether you’re a fan of red sauce, mustard-based sauce or some other sauce, you’re bound to like one of the winning recipes.

Also this week, Joe Yonan’s Cooking for One column explores grilling for one. And we flip through a couple of new books about pressure cooker cuisine and give you four recipes to try.

Got any tips (or questions) of your own about barbecue sauce, grilling for one or cooking with a pressure cooker? Join us for today’s Free Range chat at noon. We’ll be glad to see you. Meanwhile, warm up with this question from last week’s chat:

After I prepare chicken, I always have chicken juice in the sink. What’s the best way to clean the sink so it’s good to go for washing dishes, filling the Brita, etc.?