poetry in motion and eggplant

In the next couple of weeks, our resident poet, Julia Gardner, 23, will pack up her manual typewriter and head to her teaching gig in Greece.
I asked '21 HHS grad to write a poem about the Hastings Farmers Market,where she regularly pens poems on the fly, based on shoppers' prompts, and here is what she came up with.

I( think she nailed it, and I'm sure you will agree. Make sure you have her write a poem for you before she leaves.)

When the Weary Weekday Cars Desert the Commuter Parking Lot

the people take over—

And, of course, the dogs do too,

tangling leashes around ankles like lampposts

in their rush to sniff each other’s fur,

tying together pairs of chatting neighbors

in chase of the children, those round faces and little hands

sticky with homemade ice cream.

Here, someone is buying a hunk of cheese for a dinner party,

someone is filling a basket of pastries for their nephew's visit;

someone is parsing the feathery crowns of carrots

and bulbs of garlic so fresh that dirt still clings to their wispy hairs

on a quest to brew the cure for their daughter’s cold;

someone is scanning the crowd for their high school best friend

who still meets them here on summer weekends ten years later:

someone is looking for something, and someone is finding it,

or perhaps they are stumbling upon something even better.

The asphalt allows itself to exhale,

and it sounds like chatter and live music,

like the chewing of wood-fired pizza

that dusts pastel picnic tables in charcoal;

the asphalt allows itself to exhale

and so do we.



This week, you can experience all of the above at the market, except theKinwich Sandwich Truck will be here instead of Dough Nation Pizza. 

And, also eggplant. Lots and lots of eggplant in all shades of purple from iris and plum, to mulberry and mauve.

Consider making this hyper-seasonal Ottolenghi  recipe for eggplant, tomato, bulgur and yogurt. Or this rich and smoky eggplant spread from David Tanis. Just the thing for dipping your just-baked focaccia from Abbiocco Salumeria, here for their once a month visit.

Wil-Hi Farm is also here with all cuts lamb. Lamb and eggplant are a marriage made in kitchen heaven so try your hand at this recipe for lamb, eggplant, tomato and pine nuts. It may look like a dish for cooler climes, but it is actually best eaten at room temperature with a frisée, tomato or cucumber salad on the side - take your market pick. The salads at Thousand Leaf Garden Farms are looking particularly fetching these days.

MOMO Dressing is here for their once a month visit, as well, so stock up on all of their Japanese dipping sauces and their deliciously healthy edamame hummus. Market fennel pairs so well with this dip, or any hummus from AYA Hummus.

Widlcraft Bakery is gaining legions of fans for their ever-growing gluten-freen offerings. I hear their buckwheat biscuit is outstanding.

Also, here, Michele of La Talaye Catering. Michele makes exceptional healthy Caribbean dishes. If you missed her the first time she was here, please sample some of her food. Just the thing to enjoy while listening to Lucien C. Smith's band, a blend of toe-tapping R & B, funk and reggae.

Put your kitchen knives and pruning shears by the front door...Ready Set Sharpis here. And please help us fill our gleaning baskets this week for the food pantry. We are looking for x x and x this week. Thank you in advance. 

See you at the market!