at the market now

October’s almost halfway through, slipping away fast already through my fingers. This weekend, I ripped out almost everything from my summer garden- all that remains is basil, a cucumber, and zinnias. I worked the soil, adding compost and planted lots of new seeds and starts- kale, beets, carrots, chives, green onions, and more. Raked up the constant stream of multicolored leaves dropping from our Sweetgum tree. Paused and reflected on how gardening and connecting with the earth, really touching it with your hands and dancing in this relationship with it to create food, how it truly is a privilege. A mood booster, something that feels like a birthright. Everyone should have this. It saddens me how we have become so separate from this natural connection, so sterile and worried, concrete and plastic and asphalt becoming more familiar to us than fresh sweet garden dirt. A small way to plug back in and ground down this autumn is to plant something- if you can’t grow in winter where you are, perhaps something inside. A ficus, some windowsill thyme, a succulent, even sprouts. Anything you can nurture and grow out of dirt with your bare hands and nature. It is important.

Another way of tapping back into that is seasonal produce. Honoring and observing the seasonal shifts and the new foods for the season- if you’re unsure or maybe it’s hard to tell because you only have a supermarket where you live- a good bet is buying what looks fresh and is more local. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels, kale, cabbage, arugula, radishes, etc), grapes, apples, pomegranates, hardy greens, winter squashes and pumpkins, root vegetables, sweet potatoes, nuts, and lettuces are all great choices right now.

Here’s what we bought this week.

seasonal, fresh and local produce:

2 large heads of broccoli: for a side with stir fry, put straight into the crisper drawer.
2 heads of cauliflower- one white, one golden: for roasting, put straight into the crisper drawer.
a large brussels sprout stalk: cut the stalk in half so it would fit, then straight into the crisper drawer.
a large bag of red grapes: put in a linen bento bag in the fruit drawer.
kirby cucumbers: for pickling, used right away.
a bulb of fennel: for fennel salad, put straight into the crisper drawer.
2 large heads of red butter lettuce: for salads and sammies, separated the leaves, washed, dried, stored in my salad spinner in the fridge
a medium head of Savoy cabbage: outer leaves got used right away for soup. Remaining head went straight into the crisper drawer.
3 red onions: for pickling and sammies, stir fries etc. Stored in a straw basket on the counter.
a bunch of French breakfast radishes, for snacking and perhaps roasting. Washed, removed greens, and stored in a damp kitchen towel in the crisper drawer.
a bunch of carrots: for snacking, stored in a damp vegetable bag in the crisper drawer.
3 red bell peppers: for snacking and stir fry, straight into the fridge
a large head of red cabbage: for making the first batch of cool season kraut! Stored straight in the fridge.

pantry goods:

a liter jar of dried black beans: last week I cooked them in the IP last week with a cinnamon stick, garlic, smoked paprika and onion and it was so delicious.
a liter jar of dried chickpeas: for the best pot of chickpeas, repeat. These were so useful + delicious last week.
a small cloth bag of cashews: for making chia pudding + cashew cream.
a package of tempeh: for sweet and sour tempeh stir fry.

This week, I didn’t cut up any of the vegetables like I did last week, because all my large containers are in use at the moment. So, I just chucked most of it straight into the crisper drawer, which works great for hardier/cruciferous veg if you plan to eat your produce within about 5 days.

things I plan to make this week:

pickled red onions: another week, another batch.

dill pickles: a gift for a friend with the last farmers market cucs of the season.

roasted cauliflower + chickpea bowl with lemony yogurt : a repeat from last week, we loved this recipe and it was super simple/relatively quick.

butternut + kale soup: I made this on Saturday and have leftovers to eat this week for lunch. Delicious and seasonal.

black bean quesadillas: we make refried beans with the dregs of a pot of black beans, then make “quesadillas” (not really bc there’s no cheese, but you could add some if you like). Spread the refried on one warmed tortilla, pureed sweet potatoes on another + layer garlicky sautéed spinach and sliced jalapeños in between. Serve with a dollop of limey or chipotle cashew cream on the side to dip each wedge into.

cabbage + pepper slaw: to go with quesadillas. Thinly sliced cabbage + red bell pepper (I use my mandolin for super thin slices), massage with lime, salt, sliced serrano chiles, a drizzle oil. So simple, so good.

sweet and sour tempeh with rice and broccoli: Joel winged this one tonight, but I linked a similar recipe.

a pot of the best chickpeas: repeat from last week, I might repeat forever? These are so good.

making my first fall 2k19 batch of kraut this week, I had been thinking about it, then organic local cabbage went on sale. Bam.

chia pudding again, because it was super nice having this in the fridge when sweet cravings kicked in. Vanilla this week to switch it up.

chickpea salad sandwich melts: THE LUNCH we have been craving lately. Chickpea salad (mash chickpeas, add finely diced celery+onion, splash of kraut brine, veg mayo or tahini ranch, s+p), spread bread toasted with some melted cheese (we like Parmela’s sharp cheddar), and some romaine for crunch. Pickled onions too if you have them, or kraut, or pickles, peperoncini, or any pickly think really. So good. Thanks for this, Jess.

ok, last one. SWEET CHILI BRUSSELS. They are so good. I make my own sweet chili sauce via this recipe. Halve brussels, toss with oil, roast at 400 till tender and crisped, about 20ish mins at 200c/400f. Remove. Toss with some sweet chili sauce and minced fresh garlic and return to baking sheet, bake an additional 5 mins or so. Squeeze a little lime over when they come out. Devour.