Sufganiyot

Hannukah starts tomorrow night, and in anticipation of the holiday I wanted to bring a dish to potluck inspired by it. Usually we go with latkes, but a quick look in the pantry told me that I didn't have enough potatoes to make enough for the entire group. 

Instead I decided on sufganiyot - doughnuts traditionally eaten on Hannukah. Of course, I  then realized that if I made fried doughnuts at my house, that by the time it came to eat them they might be mushy or soggy from having been left sitting around. In my mind (and house) the best donut is a fresh doughnut

I scoured the web for a baked sufganiyot recipe, and came across one that seemed like it would turn out well. Having all the ingredients on hand helped solidify my decision and soon I had some yeasty dough proofing in the kitchen!

After letting the dough rise, I found myself with a helper in the kitchen. Apparently hearing the word "doughnut" is an easy way to get an extra set of hands, and I wasn't going to pass it up.

It didn't hurt that one of the first steps after letting the dough rise was to flour a cloth (which was super helpful. This was a very sticky dough!).

After making sure that every inch of the dough was covered in flour, we painstakingly rolled it out.

I didn't have a "doughnut cutter" that the recipe called for, and instead, we made do with a ball jar size glass. It seemed to do the trick, and I just kept making sure it was dusted with enough flour to prevent any sticking.

After letting the doughnuts rise again, we popped them into the oven. I found that they needed about 5 more minutes of cooking time than the recipe called for, but it was still a quick bake.

We coated half in cinnamon and sugar.

And half in sifted powdered sugar.

The end result was mixed. Truthfully - they were tasty. They really were. I mean, how bad can sweet dough topped with more sweet stuff be bad? Everyone at potluck had at least seconds or even thirds. However, these are nowhere near real sufganiyot. They ended up being more like delicious, sweet rolls. 

I thought I was being slick with baking them, but the whole point of sufganiyot is to fry them in oil. When we relayed the events of our day of doughnut making to my father later on that evening he said "those aren't doughnuts" - and you know, he was right. While a yummy dessert these baked "doughnuts" just didn't pass the Hannukah treat test. Hmm...I guess that means we'll just have to make them again, and this time we'll fry them! 

Soup-a-long: Week 3

I meant to have this blog up a day or two ago, but just never got around to it. Let's blame it on the post-Thanksgiving food coma I was in. Not a bad place to be, really...

This week's soup-a-long's recipe is courtesy of my friend Emy. She told us all about this wonderful Armenian soup called Manti. To be fair, the first time she mentioned it, I snorted. It sounded horribly complicated and time consuming. In my mind, soup should be relatively easy to make with few steps beyond chop, dump and simmer.

All the various steps for Manti. Picture taken by Emy from the family cookbook she uses.

However, Saturday rolled around and Marc was at work all day; it was super chilly out, and I needed something to do. Manti sounded like the perfect idea. I started with the meat filling. That was the easy part. I defrosted some CSA ground beef (instead of lamb) and mixed it up with the onion, salt and pepper. I also added a little oregano for a bit more flavor.

Can you believe I actually gave up a chance at ground lamb at the last meat swap? I was like, what would I make with it. Oh, yeah: Manti. doh. Next time...

Getting the meat filling prepped was the easy part. Then it was on to the dough for the Manti. I used my beloved Kitchen Aid mixer to make the dough, and found myself adding more and more flour because the dough was incredibly sticky. After letting it sit for two hours I started the tricky process of rolling it out.

Again, I had to keep adding more flour, because if I didn't, it would just bunch up and get all hard to handle. I got a little nervous that the more I added flour the tougher the Manti would be, but the dough still rolled out pretty thin. Then, I grabbed a knife and eyeballed my grid for cutting up the squares of dough.

The photo came out slightly blurry, which seems apropos for how this whole endeavor went, really.

Once I got everything all filled up, I pinched them together and placed them in a greased baking dish. I have to be honest and say I googled around to see pictures of other people's Manti to see how mine fared in comparison. This is when I learned that most people use premade wonton wrappers which make their Manti pretty flawless looking. Mine...were not so much.

However, what they lacked in presentation, they made up for in flavor. Once I baked them a bit, then added the broth and baked them some more, my house started smelling fantastic. They came out bubbling from the oven and were ready to pop in a bowl. 

The tops of some of them were a little crispy from not having been fully submerged in the broth. That really wasn't an issue once they were all piled in a soup bowl. However, next time I'll definitely be making this with more broth so that they're soft all around. The combination of the dough and meatball inside was perfect. The meat cooked well and was incredibly moist while still being cooked all the way through. 

Everyone who tried it gave it the thumbs up, and despite it being a bit of a hassle with making my own dough, I will definitely be trying this again. It's a perfect, hearty soup for a cold day - it will warm up your house and your belly! 

Birthday Potluck

The birthday girl, Sina, & Elijah

Whenever somebody's birthday falls near a Monday, it's always tradition to celebrate with a special dessert. This past Monday was no exception, when we all gathered to celebrate one of our potluck kids turning four.

The birthday girl happened to be Elijah's best friend Sina. Elijah and Sina are a month and a half apart, but have known each other since birth. They've grown up together and anytime there's a birthday, it always feels like a family celebration. Monday was no exception.

Sina's mother Hannah made a delectable chocolate cake (a sinfully delicious recipe from Smitten Kitchen) layered with freshly whipped cream frosting and strawberries. We arrived just as Hannah was frosting the cake - our timing couldn't have been any better. 

mmm...cake!

There was a little bit of leftover frosting, but we quickly figured out what to do with it.

Potluck appetizer? Maybe?

The final product turned out beautifully - and tasted just as awesome. The strawberries and fresh cream went perfectly with the moist chocolate cake.

nom. nom. nom.

The birthday girl was impressd as well and made sure to quickly grab a slice after ensuring that her candles were properly blown out. Of course, we all had to sing, and our voices loudly (and mostly on-key) filled the kitchen.

We all sat around, enjoying the cake and the evening. Everything else was delicious as well, but beyond the food, what really stuck out to me was the gathering of our friends in celebration. Being able to share these special moments in an intimate, familiar way like dinner, truly makes this group feel like a family.

Thanksgiving Bread

For the past two week, my son has been seeing a song that he's learned at school for their Harvest Festival. The song quickly became an ear worm, and I've found myself singing to myself at various points in the day.

Thanksgiving bread. <clap clap> We make it and we share it. And together as we eat it, let's be tha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-nkful.

When my mother asked if I could bring some bread for Thanksgiving dinner, I thought - why don't we just make it? Clearly the spirit of the song (and holiday!) had gotten to me. But then I realized that whenever I make fresh bread (and we do - often - thanks to the easy to follow book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day) is really is best all warm and delicious straight out of the oven.

I had a feeling that oven space would be limited on Thanksgiving day (and I was right!) so I started thinking about what alternatives I could come up with. I ended up acquiescing and bought some excellent bread from a favorite local bakery, but still wanted to bring some in addition to the butternut squash & pear pie that I made (which, by the way, made an absolutely perfect breakfast this morning!).

I hopped on over to one of my favorite cooking sites - 101 Cookbooks and stumbled across a recipe for buckwheat cheese straws. After a quick trip to the store for some buckwheat flour, I assembled all the ingredients and got to work.

I love when recipes have only a handful of ingredients

I mixed the dough all up and popped it in the freezer as instructed. However, when I took it out a little while later, I was bummed to see that it had somehow gotten all crumbly. It was also hard as a rock and resisted all attempts at being rolled out flat, so I left it alone for a few minutes. When I came back, it still didn't want to be rolled, so I started slicing thin bits off and rolling them into logs.  

Ok. I'm a big cheater. I ended up using pre-shredded cheddar from a bag (hence the "golden" color

Despite the resistant nature of the dough, I ended up getting into a groove of cutting and rolling and the pre-baked logs seemed fine (albeit a little delicate). I baked them as directed and the house ended up smelling deliciously cheesy. When they were done, I couldn't help but snag a warm cheese stick - as a taste test of course.

While the buckwheat flour is a little dense, it worked well within this recipe and complimented the cheese and thyme nicely. Everyone seemed to enjoy them as well, especially my son who got a huge kick out of eating something that looked like a stick.

I'm not sure if the difficulty in rolling out the dough was just something done on my part or what, but we'll definitely be trying this recipe again, so I'll have plenty of opportunities to play around with it and see what happens next time.

So, while we didn't sit around sharing homemade Thanksgiving bread, perhaps we started a new tradition of thanksgiving cheese straws. Either way, there was definitely a lot to be thankful for yesterday, and I'm glad I was able to spend the holiday with my family.

 

A Twist on Thanksgiving

Since my mother will be hosting Thanksgiving this year, and I'll only be making a couple of dishes, I thought it would be fun to make a Thanksgiving inspired dish for potluck this week.

Why yes, this was delicious.

While browsing through the archives of Food Network (a favorite place to waste time), I came across this recipe for scalloped spicy sweet potatoes from Bobby Flay. I was on board immediately. Not only was I able to whip out and use one of my favorite kitchen gadgets (my mandolin) but I always enjoy a good spicy/sweet flavor combo - as long as it's not too spicy.

I bought some lovely looking Japanese yams, which I was assured were just like sweet potatoes.

Of course, when I cut into them, I noticed that they were an off white color, rather than the colorful orange you're used to with regular sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes...or are they?

Crossing my fingers that this wasn't going to be a problem, I continued on. Knowing that I'd mostly likely shy away from the dish if it was too spicy, I decided to slowly add the spice to the cream. 

That cream looks a bit jaunty, no?

Because it seemed like a smart idea at the time, I dipped my finger in to the chipotle peppers and tasted it to see exactly how spicy it was. 

Yikes. 

I immediately followed that up by dipping those same fingers into the bowl of cream. I added the chipotle puree bit by bit until the cream took on a light pink color and the entire kitchen smelled deliciously smokey. 

I placed one layer of sweet potato on the bottom of the pan (I used a 9 x 13 glass dish) and then decided that 2 cups of heavy cream just wasn't enough dairy and sprinkled a little bit of shredded cheddar cheese in between each layer of potato.

I popped the dish in to bake as directed and by the time it was done it had caramelized on the top and had a lovely looking crispy edge. In the end it was the perfect combination of sweet, savory and spicy. While it was certainly a heavy dish with all of the cheese and cream, you only needed a small slice to be satisfied. By the end of the night it was all gone, even the extra crispy bits around the edge. 

I'll definitely be making this dish in the future when I'm feeling the urge for a little twist on sweet potatoes.  

Counting on the Contessa

My mother is a huge fan of Ina Garten, who's probably better known as the Barefoot Contessa. I'm not sure what my mom loves most about Ina...her gorgeous house in the Hamptons, her seemingly effortless ability to throw together a dinner party or her to-die-for recipes. It also doesn't hurt that my mom actually got to meet Ina one night a few years ago, and despite wanting to gush and fawn over her, somehow just managed to inquire about her cute purse.

I happen to agree with my mother regarding all things Ina, and often find myself perusing through my Barefoot Contessa cookbook.


So, it only seemed fitting that when I invited my parents up to our house to celebrate my mother's birthday, that the Contessa featured somewhere in our dinner plans. I try not to extend myself too much when hosting a dinner party. There's that fine line between wanting to be a good hostess and putting out a perfect meal, but also enjoying your guests at the same time. In that vein, I try to choose recipes that will essentially cook themselves, but still turn out well.


Thankfully, the Barefoot Contessa seems to have a few of those up her sleeve. In addition to my own dishes of simple lemon and herb roasted chicken, green salad, cabbage, and roasted potatoes, I chose two dishes from Barefoot Contessa At Home to try out. Both came out beautifully.


The first was broccolini with a balsamic dressing and couldn't have been easier.

Ingredients

• Kosher salt

• 4 bunches broccolini (1 1/2 pounds)

• 1/4 cup good olive oil

• 11/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 lemon

Directions

In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil. Remove and discard the bottom third of the broccolini stems. If some stems are very thick, cut them in half lengthwise.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper. When the water comes to a full boil, add the broccolini, return to a boil, and cook over high heat for 2 minutes, until the stalks are just tender. Drain well and place in a large bowl. Pour enough dressingover the broccolini to moisten and toss well. Splash with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm or hot.

 The second was a hearty and flavorful stewed lentils with tomatoes. 

My brother does not eat meat, so I always try to have something on hand that would be considered more of main dish than a side, and these lentil fit the bill. For some reason, cooking with curry always makes me a touch nervous, but this ended up being tasty without being overpowering and actually, was even better the next day! I can see this dish quickly becoming a winter staple in our house for sure. 


In all, the Contessa did not let me down, and as we sat around the table (listening to my mother's "how I met the Contessa" story for the 18th time) I think everyone else seemed to agree.  


And now...seeing as it's Monday, I'm off to raid the pantry in hopes of finding something tasty to whip up...

Coconut Rice

Plain Brown Rice. No coconut...yet.

Rice is something that pops up in many of the meals we make here at home, either as part of a main dish or as a side. There are so many wonderful rice recipes out there, but what I've learned over the last few days is that rice - in its basic form - can also be wonderful.

After my stomach finally settled down enough to allow me to eat something solid, I turned to the familiar comfort of the B.R.A.T diet. After finishing up all the bananas and applesauce that we had in the house, I wasn't quite feeling up to toast yet, so I settled on the rice part.

I just wasn't sure if bland brown rice was going to be good. I wanted to at least enjoy what limited food I was eating if possible. However, there wasn't much I could think of doing with the brown rice that wouldn't have had my stomach stressing out.

Normally, if I am making a side of brown rice, my favorite way to do so is to bake it. It's quick, easy and for some reason tastes ten times better than simply cooking it on the stovetop. However, I also usually use a bunch of oil and chicken/vegetable broth with this method - so that was out.

Padding around my pantry, I looked to see what I could use, and stumbled across something that isn't normally there: coconut water.

Somebody had suggested that I drink some coconut water while ill, to replenish my lost vitamins, so I had my brother go out to the store and pick me up some. He came back with this:

Goya? Oh, Boya!

I wasn't quite sure that this is what my friend had in mind. I'm not completely clueless and have heard tell of fancy coconut water that people drink when they workout and such. I've just never actually had it. A quick google search proved me right, and my husband promised that he would bring back some of the "fancy" coconut water later that evening.

Perhaps the grown up juice box appeal makes it fancy? Still unsure.

In the end, I actually tried both, and the Goya is just as tasty as the fancy, $2.50/boxy bottle ones, so...(I'm sure somebody will point out the difference to me soon enough).

Either way, I still had a six pack of Goya in the pantry and needed to do something with it. For some reason, it made perfect sense for me to incorporate it into my rice (the fever had broken at this point, I swear!).

I went with the standard method of 1 cup of brown rice to 2 cups of liquid - only in this case I used 2 cups of coconut water. I passed on the usual pinch of salt and dash of either butter or oil I normally add, just in case my stomach wasn't quite there yet. I heated it up until it boiled, and then allowed it to simmer for almost an hour.

The end result was incredibly tasty. The rice was sweet, creamy and delicious, without being overly powerful. It was actually enjoyable to eat, rather than simple bland nutrition. Plus, it was kind of fun to find a little nibble of coconut flesh in every other bite.

As I ate, I started thinking of how I could use this newfound knowledge of coconut rice. I could add pineapple, cashews, chicken and a dash of curry powder. I could add raisins, cinnamon and milk for a little pudding action. It was at this point that I knew I was truly on the mend. 

Since I still have a couple cans of coconut water still lurking around, I'm sure I will test out some of these ideas and see what I come up with. Hopefully these ideas will end up working just as well! 

Soup-a-long: Week 2

You might be thinking that I'm slightly crazy for having already participated in this week's soup-a-long while just on the mend from a stomach bug...especially when the soup is a broccoli/potato/cheese one.

mmm...good!

However, I'll let you in on a little secret. I actually made this soup last week. Somebody suggested it to the group, and knowing how good it is, I just couldn't wait.

And I was right - it was delicious.

This soup recipe is a favorite of the Monday night crew, and the recipe was posted to our Google group's document section. I'm not sure where it's from or if my friend Lex (the one who always made it) is the one who actually came up with it, but either way - it's become a staple here for sure.

I've since shared this recipe with so many people, that I can never remember who has it. So, when it was suggested for this week's soup (by somebody else!), it didn't take much prodding from me to eagerly agree.

This soup is as basic as they come, has few ingredients and is easy to make... but tastes absolutely phenomenal. It's warm, comforting and the perfect soup for a chilly night.

 

All the ingredients you will need!

2 pounds potatoes (peeled and cubed)
32 ounces broth (chicken or veggie)
3 cups broccoli (2 medium sized crowns...this was a guesstimate on my part. I figured too much broccoli wasn't going to hurt anyone)
3 cups cheddar cheese (shredded)
2 cups onion (diced) (I went with 1 large onion)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs. Butter

Saute the onions in the butter (do not brown)
Combine onions, potatoes, and broth and boil/simmer until potatoes are tender (about 15 min.)
Add the broccoli and continue to simmer until the broccoli is cooked (5 min.).

Happy, yummy veggies!

Transfer half of the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree.
Add the puree back into the pot with the potatoes, broccoli and broth.
Salt and pepper to taste. Add the cheddar cheese and warm the soup until the cheese is melted.  

As you can see the soup is pretty easy, even for a newbie cook. One thing that made it even easier is that we have a hand held blender and didn't need to worry about moving any of the soup from one place to another - I could just blend it right in the pot!

We enjoyed the soup with some nice, crusty bread. Yum.

This week's soup definitely gets a gold star from me compared to the "meh" soup from last week. To be fair, the bean and barley soup came from a low-fat cookbook...how could it ever compete with a soup laden with butter and lots of cheddar cheese?

The obvious answer is: it can't. Cheese will always win out. I think it has to do with the order of the universe or something. And sure, I could worry about what this deliciously simple soup is doing to my body. Or I could just spend a an extra half hour playing an energized game of hide & seek with my kiddo instead. Cheese and hide & seek? Yes, please.

Check in next week to see what soup will be up, and if you have a favorite soup recipe you'd like to include in our soup-a-long, please leave a recipe in the comments!

Monday Night Menu...in Mothering!

Before I got this blog up and running I had actually been jotting down my thoughts, recipes and ideas regarding our Monday night dinners. One thing led to another and I ended up submitting an article pitch to Mothering, a parenting magazine that I thoroughly enjoy. 

Mothering tends to promote a 'natural parenting' lifestyle and I thought that an article on coming together as a community via potlucks was something that would fit in well. The editors seemed to agree and we worked together to fine tune what I submitted into what eventually ended up in the current issue of the magazine!

Eep! I'm right there on the cover on the bottom left!

You can find my article, "Food Makes a Family" in the November/December issue of the magazine. I wrote a brief description of the hows and whys of potlucking and followed it up with a bunch of recipes I've made often over the years. I definitely recommend picking up a copy to check out the recipes (some which I'm sure will end up on this blog at some point) and the fabulous food styling that took place.

While I can - and do! - make all of these recipes, I have to say that the kind folks from the Mothering test kitchen made them look more amazing than I ever could. They made all of the recipes I submitted and their talented food stylist snapped the shots. I'm working (slowly) on my photography skills, and flipping through their photos made me want to work even harder! 

I swear, my chicken never looks this good when I make it. Sure, it probably tastes just as fantastic, but doesn't the saying go that we eat with our eyes first?

Photo from Mothering Magazine

See? They even made a pretty apple flower to top Hannah's winter slaw recipe!

You can check out the rest of the recipes, as well as read the article in this month's issue of Mothering!

Melancholy Monday...

No potluck for me tonight.

My son - 2008 - but perfectly exemplary of how I currently feel

I was the unlucky recipient of some sort of virus over the weekend. While my fever is almost gone, my stomach is still battling itself...which is never a kind moment. So, despite wanting the comfort of my friends, I will spare them the chance to get whatever this is. In this instance, sharing is *not* caring!

Of course, I still read all the emails that were passed back and forth on the potluck list serve today. Clearly I am a glutton for punishment as I read about white bean chili, egg noodles with peas & ham, sausage and sweet potato pie...both my stomach and my heart did not appreciate it.

But, there is always next week, and you can bet I'm already looking forward to that. I can guarantee that my son is definitely looking forward to next week as well since boxed <gasp> macaroni and cheese was the most effort I could muster up at the present time for his dinner.

However, despite not feeling up to attending potluck tonight, there will still be plenty of food related posts this week, including week 2 of the soup-a-long! In the meantime I will continue to rest, drink my fluids and try any of the number of home remedies friends have suggested (ginger, coconut water, elderberry syrup). Feel free to leave your own advice in the comments!

Soup-a-long: Week 1

I'm breaking the first rule of soup club: I'm talking about it. But, since I can't figure out what the penalty would be... (No soup for you!?), I'm going out on a limb and sharing.

Some friends and I have decided to do a soup of the week club. It's pretty darn simple. Each week a different person will choose a soup recipe and everyone will make it, reporting back with how it went. 

Soup club couldn't have come at a better time...with the chilly temperatures and the early darkness making me feel all homey, whipping up a pot of soup sounds just about perfect, really. 

The first soup up is a bean and barley soup submitted by my friend Rachel. The original recipe comes from 1001 Low-Fat Soups and Stews and has been adapted slightly. I added Rachel's commentary in orange, and then my own in green. 

2 cups Great Northern beans (I used canned, so 3 cans or so) 

2 1/4 quarts water (skip this if you're using stock, which you totally should because stock is awesome) 

1 meaty ham bone or 2 pork hocks (you could leave this out if you're veggie but it will be bland. We don't dig on swine, so I did leave this out, and yeah...kinda bland.) 

1/4 cup pearl barley 

2 cups chopped onions (2 medium onions. I appreciate this comment b/c for a visual-spatial challenged person like myself, it's always hard to figure out how many onions will make up a cup once chopped) 

2 large carrots, sliced 

2 large ribs celery (including leaves), sliced (skip the leaves if you're using stock, which I always do) 

3-5 beef bouillon cubes (skip these if you're using stock - any stock will work here, I use chicken stock most of the time. I ended up using vegetable broth instead of water/bouillon. Again, probably contributed to the "eh" overall feeling of the soup) 

2 garlic cloves, minced 

3 bay leaves 

1 1/2 tsp dried thyme 

1/4 tsp ground celery seed 

1/4 tsp pepper 

3 cups cabbage, thinly sliced (I did not use the cabbage. I had the cabbage, but the boys in my house were all "NO CABBAGE!" so...I will be making some homemade sauerkraut later today. sigh.)

8 oz (1 can) reduced-sodium tomato sauce 

1. Cover beans with 2 inches of water in a dutch over and heat to boiling; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 1 hour. Drain. (skip this part if you're using canned beans. I did.) 

2. Return beans to dutch oven with remaining ingredients except cabbage, tomato sauce, and salt; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Add cabbage and simmer 30-40 minutes or until beans are tender. (if using canned beans, then 40 minutes is way too long. Simmer until the cabbage is cooked) 

3. Remove ham bone and cut meat into small pieces; return to pot. Discard bone and bay leaves; skim fat from surface of soup. Add tomato sauce and simmer 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt. 

My overall impression of the soup was: "eh." - definitely not a resounding response, I know, but...it wasn't bad.

Really. 

I did do a few things differently, though. I don't like crunchy veggies in my soup, so I sauteed up the onion, carrot and celery in some olive oil (probably losing the whole "low-fat" aspect of the soup in the process).

The holy trinity

I thought I had purchased pearl barley. Turns out I got quick-cook barley...it looks more like oatmeal, but since the amount was so minimal in the recipe, it didn't seem to matter one way or another. 

There was no meat in this soup and I used vegetable broth instead of stock/water/bouillon cubes. And, like I mentioned before, I omitted the cabbage.

But, these are the hazards you encounter when you switch up a recipe. I'm okay with that. It was kind of a bummer that the first soup up was sort of a bust, but I'm excited to see what soupy treats (I can mess up) are up next. 

Till Next Season...

One of the wonderful things about living in this Happy Valley is that there are multiple opportunities to access locally grown food.

Locally grown food shows up everywhere, from smaller natural food stores to the local co-op and even in the produce section of larger grocery chains. However, my favorite way to find from-the-source goodies (besides actually going to the source, i.e. the farm) is via the local farmers' market.

We're lucky enough that each week we have two farmers' markets occur in our town. One takes place on Saturday mornings and fills up an entire street in town. You can find anything from produce to baked goods, plants to meat. It's a nice array of products and always bustling.

But I have to let you in on a little secret. My favorite farmers' market occurs every Tuesday afternoon, and is tucked in between the town parking garage and Thorne's Marketplace. I'm not quite certain why the Tuesday Market is my favorite.

There's no one reason I can pinpoint.

Veggies galore

Perhaps its the variety of vendors you can find there on any given Tuesday. From broomsticks, goat cheese, maple products, handcrafted bread, local meat to of course produce of the fruit and veggie variety, the list goes on and on.

All sorts of maple goodness
 (sorry for the dark quality of the pix - lame DST making it darker too soon!)

Wait a second...those aren't carrots.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the occasional restaurant or coffee shop that sets up a booth, offering drinks, soups or even homemade chocolate-dipped macaroons.

Two local meat purveyors trying to keep warm on a breezy afternoon

The Tuesday market has become more of an adventure than a mere shopping destination. You never know who you'll meet or if perhaps a friendly cow, goat or chicken might be in attendance.

Music fills the plaza as each week a new band shares their sounds. Groups crowd around, sitting on the brick pathway, listening as they eat...a fresh apple, a cup of soup, a goat cheese truffle.

Goat cheese goodness

Kids run around (especially my kid!), alternating between checking out the arts & crafts area to playing with the fallen leaves or found pebbles. 

I'm going to do my best to hold on to all of these memories, since this week was the last Tuesday Market of the season. Next May can't come soon enough, and I'm already counting down the days until the market is back in full swing.

Of course, this doesn't mean a stop to local produce. Last year a group of farmers got together to bring us a winter market - meeting in the basement space of Thornes on Saturday morning. They will be back again this winter providing eggs, meat, veggies, bread and (hopefully!) some hot cider once again. 

And somehow, we'll manage. I'll  sit in my living room knitting scarves and dreaming of freshly shaved ice with homemade blueberry syrup, knowing that spring is only a few (okay, a lot of cold, snowy) months away.