Melons and shopping mindfully
Melon season is here! Titusville Farm is harvesting their watermelon and cantaloupes, and let me tell you, there's nothing like a cold slice of their sweet market melon on a hot July afternoon. Grab one (or two) and get excited for all the fruit salads, grilled melon experiments, and straight-up snacking in your future.
To get started, pick up some fragrant mint from Halal Pastures mint, Doc Pickles olives, Madura cucumbers, Maplebrook feta, and try this Greek-style watermelon salad! The briny punch of the feta and olives provide the perfect counterpoint to the cool and sweet of the melon!
Stop by Pura Vida for some of their iconic scallops to make this watermelon salad with fried shallots. If they have crab meat on Sunday, consider making this bright crab and cantaloupe salad packed with mindtand ginger, available at the market right now.
And for your market breakfast or lunch, Smok'd is firing up the grill! That's right, we’ve got barbecued meats at the market this Sunday, so come hungry. Whether you're after brisket, pulled pork, or ribs, they've got you covered. Looking for a vegetarian option? Noam at Zabari Falafel will have you smiling ear to ear with one of his warm pitas filled with fresh falafel, creamy hummus, and pickled veggies. Delicious!
Good news: Dough Co. bagels is back from their summer hiatus. I can’t wait to bite into the zippy perfection that is their jalapeño cream cheese!
Cream Bomb returns with their incredible cream puffs — light, airy, filled with silky goodness. Do not walk past this table without grabbing at least one. And for those of you who missed Black Girl Kimchi the last time she was at the market, you and your gut are in luck — they’ll be back this Sunday! Try their delicious, fermented kimchi made with ingredients from the African diaspora on all of your summer sandwiches. (Pro tip: it's delicious on a Dough Co bagel with said jalapeno cream cheese).
And speaking of fermentation, your market favourites Bien Cuit Bakery have a new lighter, rye bread that requires an extra long fermentation process making it less dense than most rye breads, and perfect for sandwiches!
Now that That Pasta Club has joined us, with their wide range of hand-rolled pasta shapes, I'm constantly seeking out great pasta recipes like this seasonal fresh tomato and pistachio pasta which would be lovely with their bucatini or linguine. Grab your pistachios from Kariba Farms. Meant to be served at room temperature, it’s the perfect light and easy dinner for when the summer nights are just too sweltering!
Looking for an usual star-of-the-market purchase to expand your palate and remind you that you haven't tried everything yet? Look no further than the Tivoli Mushrooms tent, where intriguing piles of branching, succulent stalks called sea beans, or salicornia, await you. This salt-tolerant plant grows near the shore, and has a delightful crunch and snap not dissimilar to asparagus or green beans. Their tangy flavor is best lightly sautéed with some butter and herbs.
Mead Orchards has a panoply of berries right now to make this berry tiramisu or this cooling blueberry panna cotta.
And finally, a note on shopping local right now. You’ve probably seen the news about the parasite outbreak making its rounds, and it’s an important reminder that how we source our food matters! The beauty of shopping directly from growers and small producers is that you know exactly where your food is coming from—the faces behind your food. Plus, you're supporting local families and farms, which matters now more than ever. So if, like me, you’re being cautious (at bar trivia this week, I asked the kitchen to hold the lettuce on my burger), remember that one of the safest things you can do is lean on your local farmer’s market.
We've got a new jazz duo joining us this week, so grab a bite, find a shady spot, and let the tunes wash over you while you shop!
