The Bounties of Summer

There's nothing more enjoyable than a trip to the farmer's market on a summer Saturday morning before it gets unbearably hot out. My friend Kris and I explored the Del Ray Farmer's Market this morning, sampling everything from mushroom chili to sweet white peaches.

So on a day when I would normally be gearing up for the morning Shabbat service at Temple Micah, I found myself worshipping at the foot of the oyster mushroom and the fresh tomato. It's never good to go to one of these places with an empty stomach like I had today. I came away laden with bags of cheddar cheese, creamy yogurt, ratatouille ingredients, white corn, fresh basil, homemade pesto, white peaches, blueberries, and one of those baskets of mixed oyster mushrooms pictured above.

We decided to merge our purchases into a dinner of the summer's finest offerings tonight, reaffirming that we could both easily be vegetarians. If the men in our families are craving meat, it will just have to wait.

I think scrambled eggs with pesto sounds like a good breakfast, don't you?

P.S. Here's the dinner menu for our feast on summer's finest offerings:

Fresh sharp cheddar on gralicky crackers
Linguine topped with mixed oyster mushrooms and fresh pesto
Ratatouille with the vegetables still a tiny bit crisp topped with fresh basil
Crusty French bread
Mixed fruit including melon, white peaches, and blueberries with a choice of blueberry ice cream or lemon sorbet
Chilled pinot grigio

The meal was served on our deck with the sun setting. It made all that early morning shopping worthwhile.