The Glory That Is The Farmer's Market

Late summer's bounty never fails to impress. Wednesday is my local (and by local I mean, next door) farmer's market day. An intersection near the metro stop is closed off, and farmers from Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and D.C. set up shop for the afternoon. Last week I made my first stop there to buy some delicious heirloom tomatoes (brandywine to be specific) for a dinner party I hosted on Thursday. They were so delicious that I knew I'd be going back to the same stand every Wednesday from here on out.

This week, besides more tomatoes, I also bought lovely corn, basil, an onion, some honeycrisps apples, basil, chicken breasts, and POTATOES!

Behold!

These wonderful fingerling and purple potatoes taste just as lovely as they look. After the farmer's market shopping spree, I took a "quick" run to the Lincoln Memorial on the Potomac Rive (ah, the life!). By the time I got home, I was quite hungry, so the potatoes' cook time was a little rushed and probably not as perfect as they could have been.

Tonight's dinner: Heirloom Potatoes with Lentils, Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese

• Mixed Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Onion
• Lentils, cooked
  
• Brandywine Tomato, chopped
• Basil
• Goat Cheese
• Salt & Pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add chopped potatoes, and let them get some color, shaking the skillet and rotating their cooking side every couple of minutes. Adjust the heat accordingly. Once they look golden on the outside, add in the chopped onion, toss to coat everything in olive oil, then cover with a lid (or a plate if you don't have a lid for your skillet like me). Check on the potatoes regularly and make sure they are not burning. Once they are cooked, add in your chopped tomatoes, lentils, and basil and season generously with salt and pepper. Add extra olive oil if the mixture looks too dry. Remove from the heat, plate, and then crumble the goat cheese on top.

This meal is really quite nutritious. You've got lovely colors (colors = antioxidants), loads of fiber, and hearty kicks of protein from the lentils and calcium from the cheese. Herbs are actually packed with vitamins and antioxidants, so pile them on! I caution that this meal can be a little bland, so take whatever extra steps you like in seasoning as things cook. I generally don't combine onions and garlic (it's an Italian thing...), but in this case I might break the rule next time.