Market haul

Just got a little excited about my market haul today and wanted to share 🙂 Here are some plans I have for them:

• The mini cauliflowers are too cute not to keep whole, so I plan to bake them along these lines but with a saffran-yoghurt topping, some homemade tomato chutney on the side and served on top of…
• … That beautiful lacinato kale, sauteed lightly in garlic, chili and olive oil
• Not sure about the yellow beans yet, but you can’t go wrong with using a large chunk of that garlic head to make simple, delicious loobyeh.
• The last of the summer zucchini are for an Indian curry-like dish I am making tonight, where the zucchini are simmered gently in a creamy tomato sauce gently spiced with a cinnamon stick, a couple of cardamom cloves and fresh coriander and parsley. A few minutes before serving, some green peas are added just until they are cooked through, and the whole thing topped with some toasted poppy seeds.
• The beautiful broccoli along with their leaves are for spontaneous quick meals (steamed/blanched for a few minutes) or raw in a salad with that amazing butterhead lettuce and the little red-and-white radishes.
• The exquisitely aromatic quince are going to be poached and then used in a version of this marbled poppy seed cake.
• During apple season, when an abundance of varieties floods the market, I like to do some taste tests to compare different sorts. This time I got the darling of Switzerland — Berner Rosen, Canada’s national apple —  McIntosh , and mystery Spartan .
• Finally, the pears and plums are not going to last long, because they are ridiculously sweet and delicious all on their own.

Aaand, those chestnuts hiding out in the background were picked by a friend in Ticino and should really be used soon. Perhaps roasted, as a snack while watching the Switzerland – Portugal football game tonight.