the end of the summer
This morning was a little chilly, enough so that I wished I'd been wearing a long-sleeved rather than short-sleeved t-shirt. Which was wonderful, but also makes me feel a little mournful: I prefer autumn weather to summer weather, but I'll miss the summer vegetables. Apples are coming in, though - my favorite heirloom apple stand was making its first appearance of the season - and two of the three potato vendors were out as well.
The haul for the day: sweet spanish onions (red and yellow); red peppers, green peppers, yellow peppers, apple peppers; green beans; egpplant (nice enough, though sadly not the platonic ideal of eggplants); more basil; pattypan squash; a butterscotch melon; jalapeños, anaheim chilis, serrano chilis; vast quantities of corn, since it'll be over soon; and wheatgrass for the cats.
I didn't get any tomatoes, which I may end up regretting. The green zebras and German heirlooms looked especially good this week, and of course there were the usual brandywines and sungolds and romas and lemon drops and so on. But I'm fairly sure none of my menus for the week actually call for tomatoes, so I resisted.
I'm consoling myself for the impending loss of bright summer vegetables with the thought of all that's lasting for a while or coming soon: hard greens, broccoli, leeks, winter squash, potatoes and other root vegetables. I'm still planning a trip to the Asian market; I should pick up some chorizo while I'm there and see if I can finally work out two of the recipes I was working on last winter (spicy sausage & potato soup, and a chorizo / blue potato fritatta).
So much beauty ahead - and in the meantime, like the song says, we'll spin the light to gold . . .
The haul for the day: sweet spanish onions (red and yellow); red peppers, green peppers, yellow peppers, apple peppers; green beans; egpplant (nice enough, though sadly not the platonic ideal of eggplants); more basil; pattypan squash; a butterscotch melon; jalapeños, anaheim chilis, serrano chilis; vast quantities of corn, since it'll be over soon; and wheatgrass for the cats.
I didn't get any tomatoes, which I may end up regretting. The green zebras and German heirlooms looked especially good this week, and of course there were the usual brandywines and sungolds and romas and lemon drops and so on. But I'm fairly sure none of my menus for the week actually call for tomatoes, so I resisted.
I'm consoling myself for the impending loss of bright summer vegetables with the thought of all that's lasting for a while or coming soon: hard greens, broccoli, leeks, winter squash, potatoes and other root vegetables. I'm still planning a trip to the Asian market; I should pick up some chorizo while I'm there and see if I can finally work out two of the recipes I was working on last winter (spicy sausage & potato soup, and a chorizo / blue potato fritatta).
So much beauty ahead - and in the meantime, like the song says, we'll spin the light to gold . . .