cool mornings, warm hearts

This morning I stepped, shoeless, onto the sun porch with my cup of coffee and my dog at my heels and had to immediately turn around to put some socks on. The cool air was a bit of a shock. Not unwelcome, just unexpected. 

Especially given all the peak summer bounty on offer at the market right now. The tomatoes -cherry, heirloom, slicing -  show no sign of dwindling. Nor do summer squash have any intention of making way to their winter counterparts. Corn is still piled high and peaches, donut, white and yellow, are clinging on. (See what I did, there?).

Carpe olera! (seize your vegetables!)

I never tire of recipes for zucchini because it is so abundant and flavorful, when done right. This week, one of my favorite chefs, Yotam Ottolenghi, writes about his new love-affair with oft-under-appreciated squash in the NYT, and he offers up this recipe for  baked chicken and zucchini with a basil, caper vinaigrette. His trick to crank up the umami on the squash is to tuck it under the chicken legs so that it becomes jammy in the roasting. I'm already planning my next dinner party around this dish. Head straight to Letterbox Farm or R&M Farm for your poultry.

Of course, zucchini and pasta have always made for good pan partners. This  recipe for spaghetti aglio olio zucchini pasta elevates this classing pairing just enough to keep it simple, yet guest-worthy. La Trafila can steer you with your choice of pasta if spaghetti's not your jam.

Each month, Trotta's House of Pasta, offers a different seasonal ravioli filling. This is the last week for their plum feta ravioli!  I highly recommend tucking plums in savory cooking whenever possible. 

I have a  friend in Ossining who makes the best Mapo tofu ever. So I was particularly intrigued by this Mapo eggplant recipe from Food 52, which I'm eager to try this week. There are so many beautiful eggplants on offer right now. This would be so delicious with some seared tuna or salmon from Pura Vida Fishery and a side cucumber salad.

For lunch at the market to enjoy at one of our colorful café tables while listening to Riverrun,  you have so many options: Wild Radish is back this week after an unfortunate kitchen breakdown last week, SMOK'D returns with your favorite pitmaster, Jeremy, preparing brats and ribs and game hens on the spit. And Ariel, of Del Norte Empanadas, is now preparing breakfast empanadas made with ingredients from the market. (We love that!). (The one good thing about the prospect of colder weather is knowing that Ariel will be bringing back his hearty locro stew).

And speaking of hearty food and food with heart. Back in 1992, Dolly Parton gave an interview to The New York Times in which she extolled the virtues of her favorite dish:  "I love roast pork, especially the fatty part," Parton confessed. "I can't help it, the greasier the food, the better." She also expressed her fondness for all things potato. "Just give me a potato, any kind of potato, and I'm happy."

Halal Pastures had beautiful potatoes on parade last week. Something tells me Dolly would opt for the bright pink ones. If you plan on serving roast pork this week in her honor, this recipe is as unfussy as they come. Dolly, who grew up dirt poor, working on her parents' 40-acre farm in East Tennessee,  ate "farm-to-table" out of necessity, of course. 

According to AgWeb.com, one of Parton’s best-remembered farm stories involved her family’s dairy cow. In her 1994 autobiography, “Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business,” she recalled getting lost in the woods as a child before hearing the bell of the family cow, Bessie, and following the sound home. RIP, dearest Dolly.