As much as I love my farmers market runs, by the end of October it gets harder and harder to drag myself out of bed and down to the markets when it’s still dark out. So while I know that I’m dealing with something that’s just about done, part of me is glad that I’ll actually be able to sleep in the next Saturday. Then, like this year, by New Year’s Eve I’m chomping at the bit for the first spring market of the season.

Not much left by this point, lots of repetition, like these apples that are sold at least a couple of different people at the different markets. We’re really pleased with the selection and quality of The Orchard of Bill and Vicky Thomas.

And I savored my last bag of salad of the season.

Got plenty of potatoes for storage, too.

Ditto with a diverse selection of winter squash, which I’m trying to work into my diet while it’s still good.

And of course, the ubiquitous cauliflower can’t be overlooked.

And super looking forward to the selection of veggies from Wayward Seed.

So, there’s your season – took me long enough to get all the entries posted, but I’m glad it gave me the opportunity to look back and remember. Are any of you hitting any of the winter markets? Any recommendations?

I really miss AJ’s (of Sassafrass Bakery fame) cute decorated cookies, like these adorable Halloween ones.

And I sort of regret not getting a pie pumpkin this year. I hear pumpkin pie made from scratch is a totally different beast than your canned Libby’s puree. I’ll have to give it a try next year.

Still can’t fall in love with chestnuts, no matter how much I want to.

Now this is an interesting specimen. Not sure what its scientific name is, but I call it a Peanut Pumpkin. Anyone know if the squash’s flavor is similiar to normal pumpkins?

We made a great batch of broccoli cheddar soup with a couple of these beautiful stalks of broccoli.

The weather was definitely taking a turn to the cold by this point, although nowhere nearly as bone-chillingly cold as it is right now. I’d take the 50ish temps in a heartbeat right now.

Dried corn makes a great decoration. We hung some on the front door this year instead of our normal kitschy autumn wreath.

Looking at this picture, I’m dying for a good salad.

I really learned to love beets this year, as long as they were roasted. Drizzled with a little honey and sprinkled with some coarse sea salt…yum.

I couldn’t get enough cauliflower this past summer, either. What I wouldn’t do for some local cauliflower right now.

The carrots were especially sweet this year, as well. I had an ongoing love affair with root vegetables.

What fruits or veggies are you missing the most right now?

I always want to grow decorative gourds, but never do. It doesn’t mean that I don’t love decorative gourds, I decorate with them all the time in the autumn, but just feel that if I can’t eat it, it’s a waste of space in my personal garden. Go figure.

What I wouldn’t do for some local raspberries right now. Or any fresh berries, for that matter.

I really should make some more tree fruit meals while they’re still readily available.

I’ve been meaning to cook with Asian pears, but never have, that I can remember. Any recipe suggestions, anyone?

Ditto with salsify.

This reminds me, I have a bunch of squash in cold storage that I really should check the condition of and/or get to using.

I’ve yet to go to one of the winter markets. Anyone have the scoop on any of the new ones?

Looking back, this market is where the tide truly turned as far as produce – it had definitely gone from the last vestiges of summer to the bounty of fall. These decorated baby squash should have been my first clue that Halloween was right around the corner.

I have got to say that hands down, I spent most of my money at the Wayward Seed Farm stand – the variety of produce they grew was just amazing. I discovered (because of them) lots of heirloom vegetable varieties, like these Dragon Heart Carrots.

Sigh…looking at these sunflowers has me counting ahead to spring – keep your fingers crossed that the winter will go by as quickly as this past summer did. It never does though, does it?

One of the things that gets me through the winters, though, are the dried beans from Pop and Judy’s Patch. We stocked up on pretty much all of the varieties they had.

Not a fan of chestnuts myself, but there were plenty to be had for those who are…

I’m a fairly new convert to Brussells sprouts – especially when they’re caramelized with bacon and cream. Yum.

I think was the last week for tomatoes. You know summer is definitely over when the tomatoes go away.

And I think this was the last week that it was warm enough to eat outside, too – lovely Saturday morning breakfast of Gagh from the Little Kitchen at North Market Poultry and Game.

Although it’s nice to be taking a bit of a break from waking up at the crack of dawn every Saturday, I miss eating locally like you wouldn’t believe.

We got there a few minutes before market opening, and used to our markets here, started talking to some farmers, only to be approached and yelled at by a yellow-shirted Market Manager – yikes. You would have thought that we had held someone up at gunpoint. We may not have Avalanche Pizza here, but give me our laid back farmers markets any day of the week.

One of the things I love about that market, though, are the things that you see grown locally that you never see at our farmers markets here in Columbus – like this bitter gourd.

And something we’ve been looking for up here in any form for ages – single clove garlic, which is absolutely wonderful sliced razor thin and then sauteed up with some broccolini.

Or the locally grown paw paw, which is something I personally can’t stand, but is something that seems to have a huge following around here.

I’m not exactly sure what kind of nut a “butternut” is, but they had those there too.

Concord grapes are awesome for making jelly – we made a few jars this summer that were absolutely wonderful. Love that I can have a taste of summer when it’s so damn cold outside.

One of the discoveries we made this time around was the Avalanche Pizza stand. Oh, man, do they have a way with baked goods. We came home loaded down with pretty much one of everything, like this bread topped with tomatoes and anchovy (or was it sardines?).

There were even alpacas there to pet.

Unfortunately, as much as I love the stuff I can get at that farmers market, I didn’t care much for the overall vibe of the place. We’ll be back, for sure – but it makes us all the more appreciative of the awesome folks we have selling up here in Columbus.

Back to the market report:
The tide has definitely turned – the shift has been a bit subtle, but most of what you’re finding at the markets right now are the fruits and vegetables of fall – winter squash, apples and pears, root vegetables. I’ll miss the bounty of summer, but can’t wait to start cooking for fall. As the temperatures start drifting downward, all of a sudden those soups and stews and hashes sound a lot more appetizing. I love fall – that is, until fall becomes the neverending winter of my discontent. I suffer from seasonal affective disorder, so mid-January is the worst for me. So I’m going to enjoy the pleasant part while I still can.

This type of pumpkin (marina di chioggia) makes the most wonderful quiche. I get so tempted by it every year, but feel intimidated by it’s size. Maybe if I had to cook for a family of 12…

Just as I’m getting sick to death of tomatoes, luckily tomato season ends. Remind me of this moment in January or February when I’m staring suspiciously at those anemic store-bought things they pass off as tomatoes wishing I had a real one.

Have no clue what people do with sunflower heads (eat the seeds, maybe?), but they sure are interesting to look at.

Mmm…turnips. I see a lot of stews in my future.

My favorite way to decorate during fall is naturally – decorative gourds as a centerpieces, dried corn hanging from the door…

Love the concept of the “fruit basket”, Gillogly Orchard style. For those of us who don’t want to commit to a large quantity of just one type.

And looking forward to the apple tarts that will start showing up at OK Mercantile in the next few weeks. For now, however, I need to be content with lemon poppyseed scones.

The next weekly market (9/19/09) will be Market Days in Worthington, which I plan to avoid like the plague. I’ll likely be in Athens instead…

It seemed as if at the end of July we were getting a taste of the first root veggies to be harvested. We must’ve eaten our weight in peaches.

Ditto with garlic. Couldn’t get enough this year.

I really miss sweet corn, which was especially good this year. Sweet and crisp and delicious.

Wayward Seed had tons of apricots, which were excellent in a clafoutis.

And Mrs. Rhoads, of Rhoads Farm Market, brought in an awesome pickled peppers to sample – more about that later. Needless to say once tasting it, I made multiple batches here at home.

End of July for the first winter squash of the year? It was a sign of things to come.

Back to fall for the next market report.

This was a Wednesday market at Dublin, but I was in such a hurry to leave the house that day, I forgot my camera. So excuse the poor quality of the pics – they were taken with a camera phone, because I figured that crappy pics were better than no pics at all. And excuse the prose below that is written as though it were the present – I wrote this months ago, and am just getting to posting it now.

The tide has definitely turned at the farmers markets. The apples are out in full force. After coming to farmers markets for a few years now, that’s my division between summer and fall – the arrival of the apples. The earlier the apples, the shorter and milder summer we’ve had, at least in my estimation. I don’t know if that holds any scientific weight, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

And alas, the tomatoes are coming to an end. Eat ‘em while you can, folks – because it’s only downhill from here.

I bought so many leeks it’s not funny. I’ve been making a lot of risotto lately, and leeks have been a central ingredient.

And I’m still contemplating the best way to use a ton of eggplant…

Mmm. Tomatillos. Love them. When you cook with them, they lend a nice acidic sweetness to whatever you’re making.

I’ve loved trying out all the different heirlooms this year. Which one is your favorite?

I’ve got to say, I’m really enamored with the mid-week market at Dublin. For a first year market, it’s beyond great. Have you folks gone yet?

Despite Paul forgetting to wake me up (which meant I slept 20 minutes later than usual), we still managed to get out of the door on time, and got to the market around 7:30am. It had been raining cats and dogs all night, and was still really overcast when we got there, so I apologize for the lack of good photos. The lighting wasn’t great and I wasn’t feeling too into going to the markets. So my heart wasn’t completely in it. If I hadn’t needed to go to pick up a couple of things, I probably would have skipped out all together.

You know I’m feeling bad when even pictures of sunflowers don’t cheer me up. Maybe I should have bought a bunch? Hopefully I’ll be back to normal next week…

Was thrilled to see lots of Brussels Sprouts at the market this weekend. I got a quart so that later this week I can make it my favorite way, parboiled and then sauteed with bacon, then finished with a little cream.

And I also picked up another basket of Sungold tomatoes. My own plants aren’t producing much anymore, only a handful a day or so down from the pint from each plant per day peak.

My main purpose for going to the markets today was to pick up some Paul Robeson tomatoes from Wayward Seed Farm. I got the last few they had. I’ve found that I’ve fallen in love with black tomato styles, so I picked up a few Black Krims from a few stalls away.

Off to Worthington, where there was an overabundance of all kinds of fruit, including the first Honeycrisp apples of the season. Yay! Was also very tempted by pears from Eschelman’s Fruit Farm (sold at the Wayward Seed stand).

And yes, I was one of the people who stood in the line for strawberries at Crum’s Strawberry Farm. The farmer who runs the stand isn’t very friendly, but he’s kind of got a captive audience and I’ll put up with a little gruffness for some good strawberries in August.

So that was my Saturday. I spent the rest of my time curled up the couch watching a Being Human marathon on BBC America all afternoon and evening.