Saturday, September 4, 2010

Market report: the lull between seasons

The heat of August makes the produce, chickens, and even the farmers a little tired and unproductive. I overheard two of my favorite farmers at the Western Wake Farmers Market commiserating about hand watering and seedlings that didn't go the distance. Even though the crowds were thinner at the market today with so many people at the beach, some farmers were out of eggs by 9:00. Organic tomatoes were scarce.

On the other hand, winter squashes looked good: bigger and more mature than last week. Arugula is showing up and green beans, which are often hard to find, were plentiful and looked good. Just because it's not as crazy bountiful as May or July doesn't mean there's not plenty of fresh choices available.

I splurged on some fresh shiitake mushrooms. This weekend, I'm going to try making potstickers with shiitakes, butternut squash, cabbage, garlic, and onions. Got the idea of using winter squash instead of shrimp from Isa Moskowitz in her Vegan with a Vengeance, where she uses squash in spring rolls.

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