A merry trip to the market, and then we lunch
American writer Henry James said, “Summer afternoon, summer afternoon — to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
To my mind, two other words are equally beautiful: farmers market, farmers market …
Some people call these the dog days of summer, but I call them the salad days, thanks to the market. And for meal ideas, I like to bumble around the market. Sometimes it’s easy to forget about dinner and the idea of cooking — so impressive is the spread. It’s a happy embarrassment of riches: tomatoes, corn, melon, greens and more.
Spending the morning there, before the August sun takes hold of the day, is an event worth celebrating. My friends and I often do just that. Armed with straw hats, canvas bags and wallets stuffed with an assortment of bills and coins, we cruise.
Whose pile of corn looks best? These tomatoes look good, but is there an even more impressive display a few vendors away?
Looking at a pile of tomatoes, another James quote comes to mind: “Excellence does not require perfection.” And so, I buy. We hunt and pick and choose. And afterward, we put together a Market Lunch.
While we may throw together simple fare — sliced heirloom tomatoes with coarse salt, ground black pepper and a sprinkling of good olive oil, for example — it helps to have a bit of a game plan.
For a recent post-market lunch we came up with a true salad days buffet.
Markets often feature vendors offering baked goods and cheeses, so we grabbed some of those, too. Armed with some sturdy bread, farmhouse cheeses and bags of produce, we set out for home.
For starters, there’s Pasta Salad with Melon, Pancetta and Ricotta Salata. This sweet and savory summer salad brings together two old friends: melon and cured ham. But what the heck is ricotta salata? It’s a salted, dry ricotta frequently carried by Italian grocery stores. If you can’t find it, use crumbled feta cheese instead.
The Corn, Tomato and Basil Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette features three current stars of the farmers market, and it comes together in a snap. Leftovers, on the slim chance there are any, can go with roast chicken or in a wrap at another meal. Hint: If you don’t care to boil the three ears of corn, they can be microwaved.
And for dessert, you can’t go wrong with a crisp. This Summer Berry Crisp is simple. Three types of berries are featured (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries), but you could easily use just one or two varieties, depending on what looks good.
And of course, it’s served with a generous mound of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Nothing wrong with that.
As Henry James wrote, “Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to.” So have two scoops.
Afterward, you may find yourself musing, “Summer berry crisp, summer berry crisp … ”