Last August Visit to the Market

This is a bad news/good news post. Fortunately the bad news is short, so I'll just get it out of the way....I woke up later than I intended and so hit the market when it was busy (I do love getting in and out before the crowds)...I brought my camera so I could share the hustle, bustle and, more important... what was on tap for the week.

It's great to follow the produce as it makes its way through the season..., carrots that are getting bigger and bigger, the "firsts" - for me it was leeks and still only limited signs of tomatoes,...but I digress. My other bad news...when about to take a photo so you could live vicariously, the camera kept flashing "no memory card"...Bummer! It was way too crowded and my hands too full of pain chocolat (already eaten, so don't even think about a picture...EVER) to actually see about it. Besides my other memory card was at home - naturally!

That said, on with the good news...the memory card was just jostled loose a bit, so all is fine.

The ground lamb and lamb pepperoni will be photographed when they turn into awesome dishes...I'm thinking lamb burgers (these Lamb Feta & Eggplant Burgers were awesome) and pepperoni & mushroom pizza, but you never know. I saw George Christakos of Brooklyn Warehouse (one of our favorite neighborhood bistros- I reviewed it for foodtv.) buying lamb at Wood & Hart right beside me (I guess I'll have to take a trip over to check out what they're doing with it at the restaurant).
Last week I bumped into Dennis Johnston of fid Resto! - another fave casual fine dining spot. He was buying up a huge batch of fresh local chanterelles.
It is definitely corn season and the sweetest young man...perhaps 8 years old was very helpful with my purchase. Only four ears, but then...it's just for me. Perhaps I'll repeat last night's version. My daughter Joanna came up with this...boil, brush with olive oil and cayenne pepper and grill (minus the BBQ of course). I bet I could get grill marks from my grill pan.
Of course I had to buy some bread from Julien's for our Saturday afternoon tradition...baguettes (this time Asiago) and goat cheeses from Ran-Cher Acres. The other bread...rosemary olive sourdough will make some awesome sandwiches or tomato bread salad during the week...drool, drool.
And I had to buy these gorgeous little tomatoes (so sweet, they're my "pop-in-the-mouth-anytime" candy-like treat... Perhaps they'll even make it into a salad or two. Last night we used up last week's purchase of cute little eggplants, nestled here with the tiny tomatoes) with Ted Hutton's recipe, but ate it all up before I could take a photo. Don't worry, I bought more so I could repeat the meal with less cute distractions (Boaz & his brother Dov are taking their parents to PEI for the weekend).
More firsts...how stunning are these tiny pears from the Annapolis Valley?
or these beautiful local peaches...
not to mention the first of the local apples...these are July Red, tart and crunchy. They will be starring in my first apple crisp of the season. Can't wait for this year's apple picking with the boys. Dov may only be able to eat them, but Bo will definitely be picking this year.
First leeks mean a favorite soup of mine - Mushroom, Leek & Spinach. Only question...do I add these cute new potatoes or save them for lemon roasted potatoes like Jo made last night. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Last, but definitely not least, the most fantastic garlic - and organic, at that - I ever bought and right from Four Seasons Farm in Maitland, NS- no need to import from China, or anywhere else. If I could only freeze this time of year to get some all year long.

Definitely time to take a break and enjoy some of my bounty. I know I sound like a broken record, but local really does taste better - plus by supporting local farmers you contribute on so many levels...but enough about me... What's your favorite Eat Real Eat Local food available right now?