Last week’s market had a drizzly start. So it was wonderful to see so many of you, umbrellas unfurled, spirits un-dampened, shopping at the market as usual. Those who braved the elements to arrive for the market’s opening were able to snap up peaches and raspberries – still available, though now in short supply. At one point the RTA bus pulled up and eight people hopped off, making a beeline for the market. A gold star to those of you who take the low-carbon route to town --arriving by bus, bike, on foot, or by sharing rides with friends and co-workers. You are good citizens of the town and planet.

 “Buy Fresh Buy Local” plans to have a table at the market this Thursday, with a printed guide to local food, recipes and nutrition information, and tips on food safety and storage. Come and learn more about all the great food resources the Cape has to offer. Here’s what we think we might see this week:
  • Tomatoes, all sorts of eggplants, late-season corn, sweet and hot peppers.
  • Peaches, raspberries, plums, rhubarb, dark purple Concord-type grapes, sweet tomatillos, apples, pears, and Asian pears.
  • Lettuces and salad greens, pea tendrils, and arugula.
  • Beans, broccoli, beautiful crinkly Savoy cabbage, chard and kale. Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes), red and white potatoes, sweet potatoes, red and golden beets, carrots, leeks, fennel, radishes, red and white onions, and garlic. Cucumbers, including lemon cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash and autumnal squashes, such as butternut, buttercup, acorn and stripey delicata.
  • Cheeses: Great Hill Blue, Long Lane Farm’s delicate goat cheese, Shy Brothers’ Hannahbells and Cloumage.  Fromage à Trois fresh hand-made mozzarella, marinated bocconcini, burrata, string cheese (and probably fresh pasta.) Asiago and creamy fromage blanc from Foxboro Cheese.
  • Local eggs. Pickles. Smoked fish, fishcakes, fish pâtés and spreads. Singe-Sations hot jalapeno topping. Smoked meats (including ribs, pulled pork) and frozen grass-fed beef and sausages.
  • Basil, cilantro, parsley, and organic potted herbs. Mini-bouquets of flowers and Christine’s show-stopping pots of mums.
  • Baked goods, including Rein’s Real Rye; Pain D’Avignon baguettes, boules, and cranberry pecan bread; The Artisan Bake Shop’s breads, quiches, mini pizzas and seasonal apple pies; loaves and apple cider doughnuts from the Great Cape folks.
  • Honey and preserves. Sirenetta’s signature chocolates and salty caramels, and a new Harvest chocolate collection with flavors like Tipsy Apple and Maple Bacon Pecan.  Brewed coffee and custom-roasted coffee beans from Down to the Ground, plus either Westport or Coastal wines to taste and to purchase.
As evenings get cooler, we don’t mind switching on our ovens and roasting vegetables at high temperature. You might want to try roasting eggplants while they are still plentiful. Choose the regular glossy dark eggplants for this. The addition of a pinch of turmeric is less for taste than for color – it imbues the eggplant slices with a golden hue. You can omit it if you don’t have ground turmeric handy.

Note: Barnstable County Harvest Festival takes place this weekend, Saturday October 1 and Sunday, October 2 (10 AM to 4 PM) at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds, Route 151, in East Falmouth.  Hayrides, pumpkin-decorating and other family-friendly fun, music, arts and crafts, a food-truck and fresh farm produce (www.harvestfestival.info.)