Eggplant varieties at Long Hill Orchard
Playing With Your Food” is a weekly post highlighting a few of the many great uses for the wide range of produce and artisan food at the Salem Farmers’ Market, a Salem Main Streets project. The Salem Farmers’ Market takes place every Thursday from June 12 to October 23 from 3 pm to 7 pm on Derby Square. While we can never predict exactly what our farms will be able to bring each week, we do our best to reflect some of the fun items we’ve found recently and what’s likely to be available for the upcoming week. Hopefully this will give you a few new ideas to play with, and inspire you to try some new things at the market.
It’s true – the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler, and some of those trees are starting to look suspiciously….not green. But don’t worry, we still have almost 2 months of market days left! In my opinion, this is really the best time for produce at the market because you can get almost anything. If you love the summer produce, we’re still swimming in summer squash, peppers, melons, and greens and herbs of all sorts, but those who can’t wait for fall are already seeing apples, parsnips, and a few winter squash.
That said, now is the time to continue celebrating the summer produce while we still have it! If you liked our first post about corn, tomatoes, and eggplant, get ready for a few more ideas.
Corn at Clark Farm
Tomatoes
- Santorini Tomato Fritters
- Tomato, Nectarine, and Mozzarella Salad
- Gazpacho Panzanella
- Tomato Crostata with Honey-Thyme Glaze
Eggplant
- Eggplant Basil Salad
- Tortang Talong (Filipino Eggplant Omelet)
- Swearing Like a Sailor Stuffed Eggplant
- Laziest Eggplant Dish Ever – slice one large eggplant into 1/4″ thick slices across, spread lightly with mayo, sprinkle with parmesan cheese (as little or as much as you like), season with salt and pepper, and bake on a greased baking sheet at 400 F for 10 minutes until eggplant is fork tender.
Corn
- Bacon Corn Hash
- Summer Corn Pudding
- Summer Corn Risotto in Sweet Corn Broth
- Salted Watermelon and Corn Salsa
And even better….
- Eggplant and Tomato – Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Mint
- Corn and Tomato – Burst Tomato Galette… or try Tomato and Corn Pie
Pretty eggplant varieties at Heavens Harvest Farm
