Hey there, September!
It feels strange when school starts before Labor Day weekend. The three-day weekend is meant to be summer's swan song, the last hurrah of gathering around the grill before routines set in and lazy, unscheduled mornings morph into alarm-driven drills.
The good news is that the first week of school is short, and so is the second week. So, there is time to breathe and adjust. The market is here for you to help make your weeknight dinners a little easier, but also to help you plan for your weekend festivities - even if they may be tempered this year.
Last week I had to go to Los Angeles for some personal business and when I came home, I had so many market vegetables that needed to be cooked, from peppers to cauliflower to onions, carrots and squash. I chopped them all into similar-sized cubes and tossed them with some chickpeas, Za'atar spices and Agape Premium EVOO and roasted them on a sheet pan at about 375 degrees until they were cooked through and slightly caramelized. Then I used the roasted veggies to fill an omelet one night, to serve alongside a juicy roast chicken from Letterbox Farm on the next night. On day three, I tossed the remaining roasted vegetables, whose flavor had only deepened, with salad greens, shredded leftover chicken plus an avocado for a delicious high-protein salad. I'm leaving my sheet pan out for the foreseeable future.
I highly recommend you do the same for easy school-night dinners like this sheet pan chicken with apple fennel and onion or these sheet pan chicken fajitas to celebrate the panoply of peppers available at the market right now.
As for lunchboxes? A friendly reminder that both Bien Cuit Bakery and Wave Hill Breads offer sliced breads to elevate your sandwich game. And Mead Orchards' honey crisp apples are in and so delicious to eat out of hand. Check out their new variety of apple: the sweet Maia, which is described as “candy sweet with a crispy crunch”. What teacher wouldn't want one of these?
By the way, Mead is offering a special Rosh Hashanah "bag" this weekend to help you welcome and sweeten the New Year: the bag is filled with 4 pounds of Honey Crisp apples and a jar of Mead honey. Valued at $30, they are selling the bags for $25 this weekend.
FYI- at one of the restaurants I ate at in L.A. they served sliced apples with their hummus and Mediterranean spreads instead of vegetables. Why have I never thought of that? It was delicious. This might be the last weekend for blueberries, sigh. Consider making these blueberry bars to perk up those lunch boxes, or to serve as an after school snack while you debrief about new teachers, new friends and, of course, homework.
Make a second batch to bring to a BBQ this weekend. Or, if you prefer to lean into fall, bring a pear ginger crisp made with the first Barlett pears of the season. Obercreek Farm and Halal Pastures both have fresh and fragrant ginger for this recipe.
If you're hosting a large group this weekend, make it easy on yourself and take advantage of all of the brats and sausage we offer at the market (Both R & M Farm & Letterbox Farm sell several varieties). Grill up some zucchini topped with fresh market mint. And make a market salad with anything that catches your eye at the market.
FYI, SHUCK NY has the best excuse ever for missing the market this Saturday: he and his wife welcomed a new baby this week. They are naming their little pearl Vienna Gizzo.
No Place Like Home and La Petite Occasion return after their summer hiatus. There’s a piping hot paella plate and a salted caramel with my name on it.
The always lovely and energetic Julie Corbalis joins us in the music tent. LOVE her.
See you at the market!