Too Many Tomatoes (and Other Produce)

By Sandy Hu

The start and end of a season always brings out the greed in me. At the start of the season, I overbuy produce because I’m so happy to see all the new offerings. At the end of the season, I tend to buy more than I need because I know that what’s in the market today will be gone tomorrow.

So it was in this state of mind that Steve and I bought too much of everything at the Alemany Farmers’ Market last week – figs, white nectarines, tomatoes, basil and more.

I always inventory everything before I put my produce away. I hate waste and I feel I can manage my inventory better if I make a list. But having overbought, I was beginning to lose control and it was time for triage.

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A Healthy Snack

By Sandy Hu

When my kids were young, I used to try a new brown bag recipe or two each fall to kick off the school year. It might be a cookie, a new sandwich filling, or once, I even made sandwich rolls from scratch. Since I worked full-time outside the home, the variety wasn’t sustainable throughout the year, but it was my way of acknowledging to myself and the kids that it was time to refocus and get back to routine.

If you’re looking for a healthy after-school snack for your kids or a sweet treat to brown bag to the office, try these Dried Plum Bars. They’re made with heart-healthy rolled oats as the “crust” of the cookie and dried plums for the filling. Dried plums, also known as prunes, are considered a superfruit because they have unique phytochemicals not found in other fruits, and are a source of important vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber.

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Chickpea Lessons in a Taxicab

By Andrew Hunter

With my travel schedule, I end up in a lot of taxicabs. I’m always curious about the drivers, where they’re from, and if they’re professionals, craftsmen or artists from a faraway place. Since it’s rude to ask such questions directly, I usually engage in conversation and their stories typically come flowing forth.

Meet Kareem, a Palestinian driver in Phoenix. I jumped into his taxi yesterday wearing my chef jacket; Kareem called me “Chef” with a reverence of someone from a fancy hotel background…turns out he once worked for the Ritz-Carlton. I reciprocated by asking respectful questions of him, which evolved into a discussion on mezze platters. I’m working on a mezze concept and so am especially interested.

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A Trip to Chase’s

By Lori Powell

If you ever find yourself passing through Belfast, Maine, stop by Chase’s Daily (vegetarian farm fresh) restaurant on Main Street, a fixture in Belfast since 2000. You get a triple hit of gorgeous-looking, delicious food… cooked, baked and fresh.

The front part of the space is the restaurant with wood floors, exposed brick walls, wood tables and chairs. Halfway through the large space is a lunch counter in the middle of the room, overlooking the shelves loaded with baked goods and the open kitchen. The back part is a veritable green market with lots of baskets and galvanized steel tubs and bins holding fresh produce from Chase’s 35-year-old farm in Friendship, Maine.

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Tomato Season’s BLT

By Katie Barreira

Around this time last summer, I got a sandwich that blew my mind. I always love a BLT for its addictive combination of meaty bacon, crisp lettuce and sweet-tart tomato. But this particular BLT was all about the “T;” 3/4-inch-thick slices of sun-ripened tomato were the meat of this stunning sammy. This weekend, I returned to see if the best-ever TBL (Tomato, Bacon and Lettuce) was back in season; I was in luck.

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