Brr, it sure is getting cold here in NYC--the radiator occasionally kicks in but I haven't gotten around to taking my air conditioner out of the window, so it's still pretty nippy in the apartment. Fortunately I have lots of warm pajamas, and nothing warms the place up like cooking or baking. The farmer's market by me is still going strong, but the tomatoes and zucchinis of the summer have been replaced by potatoes (I picked up some gorgeously colored purple and pink ones), apples of an incredible variety, hard squashes, and jugs of cider. There's a great mushroom stand too, and I succumbed to a big handful of super fresh, beautiful mushrooms (they're going to be sauteed with olive oil and garlic and topped with an egg).
I also picked up a stalk of brussels sprouts. I know, this is a vegetable you either love or hate, or in my case, you start off hating it and end up loving it. I LOOOOOOOVE these now, especially roasted, and I extra love them when they come on a stalk like this. Not that I'm eating the stalk, but it looks cool--a brussels sprout spear! I also bought a bunch of carrots and some sweet potatoes, which I made into a sweet soup with a bunch of ginger. Perfect for fighting off any sniffles.
I went a little nuts buying apples--there were just so many varieties to choose from, so I bought one or two of each. For a quick, almost instant pie, I chopped up a winesap, a Mcintosh, and a golden delicious apple, tossed them with a bit of cinnamon and lemon juice, and packed them into a small baking dish (bought these on sale ages ago--great for single portions!) and then baked it with a square of puff pastry from Trader Joe's. So simple, so good. The apples are so sweet that they didn't need any sugar added, and they baked down into a lovely sweet, sticky consistency. Actually I could probably dispense with the pastry and just eat the apples next time. But it was perfect to eat while watching movies (Kiki's Delivery Service, so good) with, you guessed it, a big cup of tea.
Sunday's winding down, and tomorrow's the start of another busy week. I've got some cookie testing to do, too, but that'll probably have to wait until next weekend! (In the meantime, are any of you watching the Walking Dead? I can't decide whether I like this series or not, yet.)
5 comments:
Yummy, cozy post! Loved reading about NY's autumn market bounty and brussels sprouts, squash...edible autumn.
Guess what, we made your delightful ginger-pumpkin muffins this weekend, blogged them, too!
Your apple pastry is a thing of simple beauty, love it.
I'll miss the summer vegetables, but I've been really enjoying all the crazy potato varieties! And all the apples, of course :)
Mm, ginger....I need to make some more of those for breakfasts on the run!
I would give anything for a farmer's market to appear in the neck of my woods- especially with such gorgeous and incredible produce like the ones you picked up!
I have admit though- a little sheepishly- I've never seen brussel sprouts still attached to the stalk. I'm not a fan of them but if they came like that in my supermarket, I certainly would be more inclined to give them another try :)
I'm with your on brussels sprouts.. had then only once as a kid, and HATED them.. but they were so overcooked (I later found out) and when cooked properly, I LOVE them! I got one of those stalks recently..that just reminds me of more photos I have that I should probably post on my blog sometime in the next century. . .
@thecoffeesnob, up until like 2 years ago, the only way I knew to buy brussels sprouts was in a cup covered in plastic at my supermarket, hehe. So these are still kind of a novelty for me. I like them roasted in the oven until they are almost caramelized :D
Megg, I think the problem when I was a kid was that I just had them boiled. I mean, boiled is fine, but only if you also then toss them in butter and soy and lemon (mm). But my favorite is roasted!!
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